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Review
'...Harris, our able author spares no blushes with his shock and titillation tales...but it's the musical stories...that pique the interest here.'
--MOJO, December 1, 2009
--MOJO, December 1, 2009
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 of narcissism and druggy gluttony was more emblematic of the times than Casablanca Records and its magnetic founder, Neil Bogart. "And Party Every Day" is a frontline look at the record label that exploded onto the 1970s music scene, rising faster, burning brighter, and crashing in a more spectacular fashion than any other label in history. From Bogart's daring first signing, the positively pyrotechnic "Kiss", through the discovery and superstardom of Donna Summer and the Village People - not to mention extraterrestrial funk master George Clinton and his circus of freaks, Parliament Funkadelic - to the descent into the manic world of disco and its attendant vices, this book charts Bogart's meteoric success and eventual collapse under the weight of uncontrolled ego and hype. A compelling tale of ambition, greed, excess, and some of the era's most biggest music acts. Written with great candour and humour by Larry Harris, Casablanca's co-founder and former senior vice president and managing director, "And Party Every Day" is the only definitive and firsthand look at Casablanca's remarkable story, and a breathtaking view of that great American era of extravagance. It includes dozens of never-before-seen photos and a complete discography.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book because I have long been a huge fan of GEORGE CLINTON and all the music that he gave us under the PARLIAMENT banner of his empire was released on the Casablanca label. I was therefore disappointed that, despite being the labels 2nd or 3rd best selling act, relatively little of the book is devoted to this madcap genius.
A very large proportion of the book is dedicated to the rock group KISS and much of the rest to disco queen, DONNA SUMMER. I am a fan of neither but that did not detract from making this a fascinating read. The fact that no one else would touch KISS with a bargepole when they started out and Neil Bogart, Casablanca's founder, took a chance on them when no one else would, speaks volumes of how bad at their job so many record executives and so called talent scouts are. And we are supposed to have sympathy with them now that their industry is in terminal decline!
The success of KISS in fact bankrolled virtually every other act on the Casablanca label with the exceptions of the aforementioned PARLIAMENT and DONNA SUMMER and the book details the corruption in how record labels fiddle sales figures and chart placings, the excesses of the executives who waste money that they have not got, the conning of the public with talentless acts like THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (only one of them could sing so when they appeared live the most important stage prop was the hidden reel to reel tape deck)
Inevitably it all went pear shaped, coincidentally at the same time that GEORGE CLINTON'S MOTHERSHIP crash landed, and the company slipped into oblivion. Think of the trouble at EMI now & how they gave talentless ROBBIE WILLIAMS (who wins BRIT awards for songwriting despite not being a songwriter) an £80 million contract. Reading this book you get a sense of deja vu. Haven't they learnt anything from history?
It is a fascinating read and typical of an industry that seems second only to the banks in extravagance
A very large proportion of the book is dedicated to the rock group KISS and much of the rest to disco queen, DONNA SUMMER. I am a fan of neither but that did not detract from making this a fascinating read. The fact that no one else would touch KISS with a bargepole when they started out and Neil Bogart, Casablanca's founder, took a chance on them when no one else would, speaks volumes of how bad at their job so many record executives and so called talent scouts are. And we are supposed to have sympathy with them now that their industry is in terminal decline!
The success of KISS in fact bankrolled virtually every other act on the Casablanca label with the exceptions of the aforementioned PARLIAMENT and DONNA SUMMER and the book details the corruption in how record labels fiddle sales figures and chart placings, the excesses of the executives who waste money that they have not got, the conning of the public with talentless acts like THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (only one of them could sing so when they appeared live the most important stage prop was the hidden reel to reel tape deck)
Inevitably it all went pear shaped, coincidentally at the same time that GEORGE CLINTON'S MOTHERSHIP crash landed, and the company slipped into oblivion. Think of the trouble at EMI now & how they gave talentless ROBBIE WILLIAMS (who wins BRIT awards for songwriting despite not being a songwriter) an £80 million contract. Reading this book you get a sense of deja vu. Haven't they learnt anything from history?
It is a fascinating read and typical of an industry that seems second only to the banks in extravagance
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Larry' Harris's account of the roller coaster that was Casablanca Records is certainly readable enough; I got through it in a couple of days on holiday.
However, I'm not sure who the author thinks will buy this book as there is far too much about KISS (and some other unsuccessful rockers he signed called Angel) and not enough about the disco music the label was more famous for. Ok Donna Summer and Village People are covered to a degree but there isn't much inside "wow, i didn't know that" information on either. Many other acts who had several lps out on Casablanca (Patti Brooks, Teri DeSario for example) literally don't feature at all. While their long running more r&b sub label Chocolate City (home to Cameo and other soul funk acts ) is mentioned once at the end of a sentence - there is no explanation of why it was started or who ran it etc. At the same time there is lots of detail on the hiring and firing of staff, sometimes not even major players, names that will i suspect be meaningless to 99% readers. In fact I wonder if it should be sub titled "a personal history", not only because of the coverage is lop sided but Larry left Casablanca in mid 79 and that's pretty much where the book ends, big hits from after this like Lipps Inc "Funkytown" arent covered at all.
I understand it must be hard to condense all the information and stories from years ago into a book but The Casablanca Story is a niche publication, which i suspect will only be read by diehard disco fans or people really interested in music business history and at 264 pages its pretty short - i couldnt help but feel the sort of person buying this book would prefer it was longer with much more detail (preferably about music....and not KISS).
However, I'm not sure who the author thinks will buy this book as there is far too much about KISS (and some other unsuccessful rockers he signed called Angel) and not enough about the disco music the label was more famous for. Ok Donna Summer and Village People are covered to a degree but there isn't much inside "wow, i didn't know that" information on either. Many other acts who had several lps out on Casablanca (Patti Brooks, Teri DeSario for example) literally don't feature at all. While their long running more r&b sub label Chocolate City (home to Cameo and other soul funk acts ) is mentioned once at the end of a sentence - there is no explanation of why it was started or who ran it etc. At the same time there is lots of detail on the hiring and firing of staff, sometimes not even major players, names that will i suspect be meaningless to 99% readers. In fact I wonder if it should be sub titled "a personal history", not only because of the coverage is lop sided but Larry left Casablanca in mid 79 and that's pretty much where the book ends, big hits from after this like Lipps Inc "Funkytown" arent covered at all.
I understand it must be hard to condense all the information and stories from years ago into a book but The Casablanca Story is a niche publication, which i suspect will only be read by diehard disco fans or people really interested in music business history and at 264 pages its pretty short - i couldnt help but feel the sort of person buying this book would prefer it was longer with much more detail (preferably about music....and not KISS).
Format:Hardcover
This is a great book for disco fans.
The images was good to look at and most importantly fans will know Casablanca's way of running their record company and the ups and downs of their business. An interesting read.
The images was good to look at and most importantly fans will know Casablanca's way of running their record company and the ups and downs of their business. An interesting read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hit the hooker with the frisbee.
So then , why the three-star review? Well, let's see? Somewhat dry style - even though ghosted. Also, too much attention is paid to the technical side of the record industry. Read more
Published on 5 May 2010 by Anthony Nesbitt
One of the best Kiss books ever!
Amazing.In truth this book is about the rise and fall of Casablanca records but if you are a Kiss fan you will love this!!
Published on 14 Mar 2010 by Bob Grell
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