Clive
Working for the Man in the Age of Vinyl
by Don Silver
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Pub Date Jan 08 2013 | Archive Date Feb 28 2013
Description
At twenty-one, after years playing in a band, Don Silver filled his briefcase with overblown resumes and headed to New York City, where he landed a job every musician dreamed of: working as an A&R man for Clive Davis. The problem was, the year was 1981 and the charts were topped by disco records. And to Don's horror, Clive seemed more interested in making hit singles that would make the cash register jingle than in finding great artists making important music.
In two years, Don went from wanting nothing more than to please his temperamental boss to wanting nothing to do with the world this talented narcissist ruled. But is it that easy to give up the perks and power? Filled with the same love of language and lyricism that made his first novel, Backward-Facing Man, a critical success, this short literary memoir is not just a portrait of a great record man, but a riff on life, ambition and music that will touch readers hearts and souls, just like great rock ‘n roll.
Advance Praise
"Totally compelling from the very start."
Rosanne Cash, Composer, Author
"I devoured this!"
Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, Author
"In these pages, we get a rare insider's view of Clive Davis, one of pop music's greatest impresarios, and an intimate portrait of an even more fascinating character --- Don Silver."
Jesse Kornbluth, HeadButler.com
"...a great read. Interesting, sensitive, informative and fun."
Julie Gold, Grammy Winning Composer, From A Distance
"The 1970s feel like some other world so far they are into the rear view mirror. No Internet and all the sources of entertainment sources and streams that emanate from that. Don Silver's book takes me back to a time when record companies really ruled the music world, when they knew how to market their acts, when their business model still worked. Heady times, and Don's book takes you right into the trenches with insight that could only come from one who was there in the trenches. Sometimes it is hard to believe his story isn't fiction. But as one who was there in FM radio's front lines and watched radio evolve/devolve from nervy young DJs making it up as they went along to computer generated playlist I can attest Don's observations are spot on."
Michael Tearson, FM Rock DJ since the 1960s
"For two turbo-charged years in the late 70’s, Don Silver worked as an unwitting double-agent in the music industry. On the outside he played the role of the crass business-minded A & R man of Arista records; on the inside he was an artist with a deep belief in the transformative powers of music. Silver’s resulting memoir is an intimate tale of how major producers like the legendary Clive Davis would treat songs and artists, variously as precious gems and disposable commodities, in an attempt to shape the musical landscape (while making bags of money). To risk the obvious analogy, Don Silver’s plebeian relationship to the larger than life Clive Davis, is the A-side of this story. But it’s the B-side, a portrait of Silver’s personal life and his love of music, that completes the experience. And if Silver was a double-agent, his story is a reality check for artists of any discipline who spend more time marketing a product than making art. Lucky for us the artist in Don Silver was able to escape his undercover assignment with soul and voice intact."
Allan Wolf, Award-Winning Author of Watch That Ends the Night
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780615630533 |
| PRICE | $0.00 (USD) |
