"And Party Every Day" Casablanca Records book coming out

[whitesockedfunk]

Don't know if it has been posted yet, but there's a book coming out about Casablanca Records in October called "And Party Every Day". Looks and sounds very interesting!

BLABBERMOUTH.NET - KISS: New CASABLANCA RECORDS Insider's Book Coming This Fall

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087...SIN=0879309822

[kdavid13]

Now this I wanna read !!!!!!!!!
I am salivating just by watching the cover !!! :icon_cool:

Thanks for the link !

[thommy2458]

Excellent,thanks for the tip.

[keefelc]

This book should be good!

Thanks for letting us know about it. Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087...SIN=0879309822
says October 1st - hope that doesn't change (unless it's earlier! )!

[drlove]

Thanks, Ya'll --- Now, I know what to request if a family member asks me this fall what can they get for my b-day

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

I went ahead and pre-ordered it. But I'll admit I'm a bit skeptical.
Granted, Larry Harris is Neil Bogart's cousin. And he was his partner in starting-up the label for Warner Bros. But notice how the write-ups make much ado about little things, like licensing the logo for the cover from Universal, etc... And there's not even a passing mention of Cecil Holmes, Marc Paul Simon, or TGIF.

I got all excited about the video "Inside The Casbah - A History of Casablanca Records and Filmworks", when it was released. And it ended-up being a "Rock Steady" production. In other words... It was, essentially a KISS documentary. So, I'll admit to being skeptical as to how KISS-oriented this book will be, as well.

But... My order's in. And I'm hopeful the book is somewhat broader in scope, than past "Casablanca" histrionics have been. So far, the Casablanca chapter in "Hit Men", has been the most reliably, fact-based account of the label.

[larry harris]

I wrote the book And party Everyday, the inside story of Casablanca records and I believe you will find it much more in depth than anything you have ever read about the label and its artists. I would love to get feedback from you once you have read it- my email is talkharris@olypen.com..By the way Hitmen had a bunch of errors and all the negative quotes were from disgruntled people that just did not get it on any level..no 14 Mercedes, just 4 in the begining ..no drugs layed out during meetings...no bull about spending $3 to make $2..Hope you enjoy the story- it is all true..

[whitesockedfunk]

Thanks for the input Larry! I also put in my pre-order so can't wait till I get my copy! Will let you know what I think :-)

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

I wrote the book And party Everyday, the inside story of Casablanca records and I believe you will find it much more in depth than anything you have ever read about the label and its artists. I would love to get feedback from you once you have read it- my email is [email]talkharris@olypen.com...

All right then... :icon_biggrin: Thanks for stopping by and giving the thread some inarguable credibility, Larry!
Now I am psyched about the prospect of learning something about Casablanca, that I didn't already know. Not that I know everything... Far from it, in fact! But, (until now?) the most any of us hard-core fans of the business have had to go on, was what few, verifiable facts we could squeeze out of the few quotes, or anecdotes about The Casbah, that are available.

If the book is truly written, as you say, "in depth" and tells "the inside story"... Well, BRAVO, dude! It's about time! I promise to tear into it, the day it arrives!

And thanks again, for stopping by DiscoMusic.com. If you ever wanted to find your "target audience", it's here!

[DonaldCleveland]

I wrote the book And party Everyday, the inside story of Casablanca records and I believe you will find it much more in depth than anything you have ever read about the label and its artists. I would love to get feedback from you once you have read it- my email is talkharris@olypen.com..By the way Hitmen had a bunch of errors and all the negative quotes were from disgruntled people that just did not get it on any level..no 14 Mercedes, just 4 in the begining ..no drugs layed out during meetings...no bull about spending $3 to make $2..Hope you enjoy the story- it is all true..

You would have done better to have left Hitmen out of your defense of your book. I believe that your work will stand on its own and be judged as being its own researched work.
As you pointed out "disgruntled people that just did not get it on any level" will influence a book. After all you are leaving yourself as the author open to their interpretation of the events.

An interpretation that you would trust as they were there- and you were not. Survivors of ANY incident get to tell the story. And thus skew it in their favor or thru their viewpoints. Frederic Dannen spoke to people- just like you did. Frederic Dannen checked facts just like you did.

And in a nutshell........ that is why you should not bring "Hitmen" into it. Your book is vulnerable to the same issues as "Hitmen" or for that matter, ANY book.

The truth is your book is only going to be as "true" as those you spoke to will allow it to be. "True" within the parameters of what you were able to cross-check and verify.

I wish you luck and will buy your book myself. Music history is my thing.
Let "Hitmen" be. YOUR book is YOUR book. Dont open yourself to unfair comparison one way.....or the other.

[larry harris]

I don't rely on what other people say or remember - I rely on me experiences - i was there from before day one..This is not art all like Hitmen- He actually interviewed me for his book - The only reason i did the interview is that he had called Neil's wife Joyce and told her he was writing a nice piece about Neil and would she get some people to cooperate- He did his research under false premiss- You only heard from people who failed at Casablanca from him not those who were successful...He was planing on a hatchet job from the begining nto only on us but the other labels he had in the book- I do not draw judgements I just tell the story the way I watched it unfold, no need to fact check the things I lived--This is the story of how the record biz was in the 70's when it had creative music loving entrepenuers, not neccessarily great businessmen but people who loved showbiz and all that entailed.

[remicks]

****

Welcome Larry Harris :icon_cool: !


Any chance you might care to share some info on what the book covers???
To what extent do you discuss the disco angle of Casablanca Records??

Can you share some chapter titles ??

Looking forward to reading this !!!!!

thanks!

remicks


*****

[Chap2Power]

Can't wait, Larry. I'll be a first day buyer...

[kdavid13]

Can't wait, Larry. I'll be a first day buyer...

We're all gonna stampede over to the nearest Chapters,Indigo or Barnes & Noble and for a brief moment - we're all gonna look like Humphrey Bogart groupies !!!!!!!!

:icon_lol:

So I swear ; I'll be playing the McArthur Park Suite on the iPod as I'm paying for this one...

[Cdnbob]

For any Canadian DMC members who want to preorder this book, Amazon.ca has it available for preorder for $18.87. Check out this link:
And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records: Amazon.ca: Larry Harris: Books

[totouk]

It's released on Amazon.co.uk on 1st November and is available for pre-order from that site now (my order is in).

toto

[remicks]

*****

hmmm ... I'm a little wary on where this book goes .

I purposely entered a post that greeted Larry Harris during a time when he was logged on here (& for a good amount of time after I posted ) and you'll notice he didn't jump at the chance to answer "I assure you remicks , you and the other disco loyalists at discomusic.com are going to love disco's treatment in this book" nor anything encouraging at all ....

rather he said nothing ... which for me is my cue not to pre-order.

I'll wait to hear what you all have to say about it (... and I'll hold out hope to hear good things :icon_cool: )

However this preview at Amazon is also dubious :

Product Description

Product Description
Now it can be told! The true, behind-the-scenes story of Casablanca Records, from an eyewitness to the excess and insanity. Casablanca was not a product of the 1970s, it was the 1970s. From 1974 to 1980, the landscape of American culture was a banquet of hedonism and self-indulgence, and no person or company in that era was more emblematic of the times than Casablanca Records and its magnetic founder, Neil Bogart. From his daring first signing of KISS, through the discovery and superstardom of Donna Summer, the Village People, and funk master George Clinton and his circus of freaks, Parliament Funkadelic, to the descent into the manic world of disco, this book charts Bogart's meteoric success and eventual collapse under the weight of uncontrolled ego and hype. It is a compelling tale of ambition, greed, excess, and some of the era's biggest music acts.

"To the descent into the manic world of disco " :icon_evil:

why doesn't it read

"To the ascent into the glorious world of disco" :icon_cool:

or some other positively angled wording ..... :icon_confused:


*****

[larry harris]

I did not answer you yet because I have other things in life to do- The Disco period is covered extensively from the day we heard Donna Summer and the finding of Paul jabara- to the work with Alec Constandinos- The Village people's trials and tibutlations and of course stories about Studio 54- The publisher writes those blubs you read not the author so they go for what they think will get the most people interested in the shortest amount of wording..The book deals not only with the music but the characters behind it and how the times and circumstances effected the process..It is not only Disco but rock, radio, R&B...Merv Griffin stealing our set and doing Dance Fever on and on..

[remicks]

*****

And of course you are under no obligation to respond to me at all, Mr. Harris (but hey - a sales a sale !! ) and so I do appreciate your taking the time to do so -my welcome was sincere - and I think I can take liberty in expressing our gratitude here that you chose to drop by and comment at discomusic.com . :icon_cool:

I believe its fair to say that even more so than from Kiss , Casablanca's empire was built on the back of disco ... particularly the mega-successes of Donna Summer and The Village People and so its exciting that a book that reviews the Casablanca story in its entirely ...and for many of us who were buying and supporting Casablanca product back then , that means specifically all the great disco ... is about to come our way ... especially from someone like youself who was there center stage .

(I'm hoping there is some good detail about all that went on in the making of the movie THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY ...?? ..... I know , wait and read the book!)

As far as the promotional wording used by the publishers , we disco fanatics are used to the never ending kicks in the shins....disco will perhaps forever be the music industry's favorite whipping boy.....



thanks again
remicks


*****

[Cdnbob]

Adding a couple of things if I may...

One - Other than Kiss, I thought Casablanca was primarily a disco label? (But I suppose albums by Captain & Tennille and Tony Orlando don't count as disco either do they. )

Two - the dictionary definition of "manic" reads... "affected by mania", while "mania" reads "denoting extreme enthusiasm or admiration" and so the publisher did use this word correctly because disco did elicit extreme enthusiasm and admiration.

[remicks]

Adding a couple of things if I may...

One - Other than Kiss, I thought Casablanca was primarily a disco label? (But I suppose albums by Captain & Tennille and Tony Orlando don't count as disco either do they. )

Well they chased after the rock market too ....with acts like Angel and I think Stallion (?) but with abysmal success .

Two - the dictionary definition of "manic" reads... "affected by mania", while "mania" reads "denoting extreme enthusiasm or admiration" and so the publisher did use this word correctly because disco did elicit extreme enthusiasm and admiration.

OK fair enough for the word "manic" .... now how do we smooth out the accompanying word "descend" :icon_razz:


*****

[BrunoRepublic]

Adding a couple of things if I may...

One - Other than Kiss, I thought Casablanca was primarily a disco label?

That's what they came to be known for, but I don't think it was ever their aim. They just wanted to sell loads of records, period. They signed rock acts all along, and even put out a couple of comedy albums. Wasn't the very first Casablanca album a collection of bits from "The Tonight Show"?

[kdavid13]

That's what they came to be known for, but I don't think it was ever their aim. They just wanted to sell loads of records, period. They signed rock acts all along, and even put out a couple of comedy albums. Wasn't the very first Casablanca album a collection of bits from "The Tonight Show"?

Yes it was...the company almost went bankrupt over this one !! But the early success of Kiss changed that.

I'm curious to read (if indeed it is in the book) how the company managed to become synonymous with "disco".

[BrunoRepublic]

Yes it was...the company almost went bankrupt over this one !! But the early success of Kiss changed that.

I'm curious to read (if indeed it is in the book) how the company managed to become synonymous with "disco".

I think that has to do with the massive success of "Love To Love You Baby" (and as you know, side 2 of that album is essentially rock music). They were the first -- or at least, among the first -- of the labels to promote records through club DJs instead of radio, and that was key to the success of LTLYB. It was a winning formula, so it made sense to keep going with it. Obviously club DJs wanted records suited to clubs. :)

BTW, I thought LTLYB was the album that pulled them from the brink... didn't Kiss take another year or two to get huge?

[markydefad]

The Village people's trials and tibutlations and of course stories about Studio 54- The publisher writes those blubs you read not the author so they go for what they think will get the most people interested in the shortest amount of wording...

Can't wait to read about the "trials & tibutlations"...and those "blubs" too!