"Holwing At The Moon" |
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Wow, what a great life’s chronicle. Walter Yetnikoff controlled CBS Records from roughly 1975 to 1990. This book chronicles his rise to fame and fortune during those years and his subsequent rise to personal redemption. I have to confess that I originally bought this book for insight into the business mind, and yes, just plain good old-fashioned gossip. Yetnikoff’s story begins as many do, a frail Jewish kid from Brooklyn, a foul, cold father; a rather challenging mother, making ends meet in a working poor neighborhood. The redemption of his youth comes in two forms. He meets his future wife, an artist who introduces him to a new and different lifestyle, and a working friendship with a colleague who helps get him a different job. The co-worker was Clive Davis and the job was with Columbia Records, then a division of CBS. Yetnikoff a contract attorney, was instantly impressed by his new surroundings. The year was 1961 and music was experiencing historical changes. Davis was named President of Columbia Records in 1967, marking a meteoric rise in Yetnikoff’s career. Then in the seventies things really took off for Columbia. Davis couldn’t be satiated and soon Yetnikoff was moving in. Walter Yetnikoff would be in charge of CBS’s music for about the next twenty years. I really liked Yetnikoff’s straight talking personality. However, I found myself unable to get past the fact that he had been a driving force in the heyday of Disco. It has taken me almost 30 years to appreciate Disco, but at the time it took over popular music, I just couldn’t stand it. Yetnikoff’s stories of his drinking and drugging during these first decades are mostly fun and games. Yeah, he goes off the deep end a couple of times, but that was pretty much par for the course in the eighties. All this success during this time, of course took a toll on his marriage. Something Yetnikoff seems to genuinely regret. Throughout these years are the stories I initially bought the book for … great music stories. Mick Jagger makes appearances throughout these pages. Billy Joel, Barbara Streisand, and more than a few stories of Michael Jackson are all here. To his credit, Yetnikoff seems to pay attention to his artist’s vision and works to maintain their integrity. But it is business and product that still take front stage. Yetnikoff by the way says he is tone deaf, which makes these artist stories more powerful. When I got this book I had no idea how big it would be and didn’t realize it had just been published. Yetnikoff has been making the rounds all over the industry scene, doing interviews for the book, and as an ad hoc expert on Michael Jackson. In the end I don’t think it was the booze or drugs that did Yetnikoff in, but his big mouth. The music business hasn’t been the same since he left. But don’t count him out. Walter Yetnikoff still has a lot of innovative ideas ahead of him and doesn’t hesitate to share them. |
Book Review |