ira1942
Junior Member
I'm often asked how I got into the rock and roll business. Here's how.
In 1962, my first event at the Golden Slipper in Glen Cove, L.I., New York, drew over twelve hundred paying customers. For the first time, I saw that I could organize something on a scale people noticed. Even my father, who rarely approved of anything I did, stood in disbelief. That night changed how I saw my future.
I moved from promoting events to managing bands. One of my first moves was taking on The Emeralds after arranging their appearance at the Silver Knight in Hewlett, L.I., New York.
In 1964, the Silver Knight, where I promoted shows and bought talent, was suddenly padlocked, its assets seized. The operation was gone overnight. I could walk away or find a way to keep the band and myself working.
I told the musicians that if they had nowhere to play, I’d find them somewhere. I went club to club, selling the band, making deals, and learning to survive setbacks. There was no instruction manual, no one to explain the business. Sometimes I got my head handed to me.
The hustle was becoming a career. Making a deal mattered; keeping it alive when everything went wrong mattered just as much.
Walking into Associated Booking Corporation was like entering the major leagues without a helmet. Gone were the small local promotions. The players were seasoned, the money bigger, and the stakes real.
Established professionals, hustlers, and mob-connected players shared the same air. I found my footing fast. Within weeks, I’d become the agency’s most prominent agent, setting booking rates beyond those of the others. My first two signings were Rod Stewart and the Faces, and Savoy Brown.
Not every deal was straightforward. Knowing who sat across the table mattered as much as the terms. Sometimes the real message was what went unsaid. I learned to read people, gauge leverage, recognize shifting power, and know when to speak or keep my mouth shut. I wasn’t intimidated.
The mob figures and rock personalities were larger than life, but talent, records, concerts, and money were only part of the business. Relationships, timing, influence, and people with conflicting aims—and very different methods—could determine the outcome.
After three and a half years at ABC, I left with Rod Stewart and the Faces, Savoy Brown, and my other clients to found American Talent International. There I also represented Deep Purple, the Eagles, ZZ Top, and many other major rock acts.
People talk about sex, drugs, and rock and roll as if that explains the industry. It doesn’t. Behind the lights and famous faces, careers were shaped by negotiations, relationships, risks, and decisions audiences never saw. Some people were brilliant professionals, others sharks. A few were both.
Success wasn’t merely signing the right act or negotiating the biggest deal. It meant understanding motivations and knowing that the person with the grandest title didn’t necessarily hold the power.
Music brought everyone together. Business determined what happened next. While audiences watched the performers, I was in rooms where decisions were made, opportunities created, and fortunes changed in a single conversation.
Looking back, the extraordinary part wasn’t just the famous names. It was the people behind them, the unseen deals, and the characters who shaped rock and roll history. What still interests me most isn’t only who was onstage, but who made things happen behind it.
"I'm happy to answer any questions about what I've written here, or about my years in the rock and roll business."
In 1962, my first event at the Golden Slipper in Glen Cove, L.I., New York, drew over twelve hundred paying customers. For the first time, I saw that I could organize something on a scale people noticed. Even my father, who rarely approved of anything I did, stood in disbelief. That night changed how I saw my future.
I moved from promoting events to managing bands. One of my first moves was taking on The Emeralds after arranging their appearance at the Silver Knight in Hewlett, L.I., New York.
In 1964, the Silver Knight, where I promoted shows and bought talent, was suddenly padlocked, its assets seized. The operation was gone overnight. I could walk away or find a way to keep the band and myself working.
I told the musicians that if they had nowhere to play, I’d find them somewhere. I went club to club, selling the band, making deals, and learning to survive setbacks. There was no instruction manual, no one to explain the business. Sometimes I got my head handed to me.
The hustle was becoming a career. Making a deal mattered; keeping it alive when everything went wrong mattered just as much.
Walking into Associated Booking Corporation was like entering the major leagues without a helmet. Gone were the small local promotions. The players were seasoned, the money bigger, and the stakes real.
Established professionals, hustlers, and mob-connected players shared the same air. I found my footing fast. Within weeks, I’d become the agency’s most prominent agent, setting booking rates beyond those of the others. My first two signings were Rod Stewart and the Faces, and Savoy Brown.
Not every deal was straightforward. Knowing who sat across the table mattered as much as the terms. Sometimes the real message was what went unsaid. I learned to read people, gauge leverage, recognize shifting power, and know when to speak or keep my mouth shut. I wasn’t intimidated.
The mob figures and rock personalities were larger than life, but talent, records, concerts, and money were only part of the business. Relationships, timing, influence, and people with conflicting aims—and very different methods—could determine the outcome.
After three and a half years at ABC, I left with Rod Stewart and the Faces, Savoy Brown, and my other clients to found American Talent International. There I also represented Deep Purple, the Eagles, ZZ Top, and many other major rock acts.
People talk about sex, drugs, and rock and roll as if that explains the industry. It doesn’t. Behind the lights and famous faces, careers were shaped by negotiations, relationships, risks, and decisions audiences never saw. Some people were brilliant professionals, others sharks. A few were both.
Success wasn’t merely signing the right act or negotiating the biggest deal. It meant understanding motivations and knowing that the person with the grandest title didn’t necessarily hold the power.
Music brought everyone together. Business determined what happened next. While audiences watched the performers, I was in rooms where decisions were made, opportunities created, and fortunes changed in a single conversation.
Looking back, the extraordinary part wasn’t just the famous names. It was the people behind them, the unseen deals, and the characters who shaped rock and roll history. What still interests me most isn’t only who was onstage, but who made things happen behind it.
"I'm happy to answer any questions about what I've written here, or about my years in the rock and roll business."
