Long time since I've seen you.
This piece you have written here is right on. It is indeed incredible how there're posters and/or pictures & of course his music in almost every part of the world....some in countries (Nepal for one of many examples) where I wonder how did they 'connect' with him.
A year or so after his death, I went down to visit, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the Havasupi tribe , with Bob's
Mum to show her how her son was virtually worshipped by the 300 or so that were still left. She was so elated to see how they loved her son. She was his anchor.
I think this is the first time that you have written about him &
it's a great piece.
One love. Chris Blackwell
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Hi Bob,
Wicked review.
When Irv Azoff's camp asked me to help with Who Shot the Sherrif, I knew it would be great, since he was involved in the amazing 'History of the Eagles'.
Who Shot delves deep into the politics of the era and shows that Bob was way more than a musician, but a powerful political force that the Jamaican government, the CIA and the Cubans were afraid of.
Something not mentioned in the film is that Fidel Castro offered for Bob to come to Cuba after he was shot at his home in Kingston. Bob knew he would be safe in Cuba, but only decided to go to London instead when his wife Rita insisted that the entire family would be blacklisted in the USA for the rest of time.
Bob saw himself as an evangelist sent here to uplift the downtrodden and underprivileged with equal rights and justice. He said the music was just a means to get the message to the people. He helped us to see the world a little clearer.
Long live the Mighty Marley.
Native Wayne Jobson
St. Ann
Jamaica
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Subject: L and K" Zero.L.C" 0LC
We Loving Called the Union; The Leper and The Krab.
But Hector Morales was so well worth the effort..
But that was '69: Early Days
Chip Monck
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Thanks for writing about Nate and the Night Sweats. Very deserving of your kind and appropriate words.
I think you made a mistake not mentioning their great producer, Richard Swift—the late Richard Swift, who lost a battle with addiction this past summer. Look up Swift and all the great artists he's worked with. Certainly apropos given the piece on Todd Rundgren.
For those interested, Swift's family has set up the FUG YEP Soundation, to preserve his memory and artistic legacy (www.fugyep.org).
Swift was also a member of The Shins and The Black Keys, to say nothing of his most recent solo record, The Hex (his first solo record in years), which garnered a lot of critical praise.
Be well,
Matt Arnett
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Subject: Re: The Azoff Tape
I flew out to Champaign to see REO Speedwagon in 1970 and Irving met me at the airport.
He was managing REO and Dan Fogelberg at the time, and as we walked to
the Red Lion, he told me all the ambitious things he was going to achieve for himself and his acts in the next 6 months.
I thought to myself "Who does this guy think he is? Superman?" I signed REO to Epic, and after 6 months had passed, Irving
had accomplished everything he said he would -- and much, much more. I had to conclude that apparently he was indeed
Superman.
Tom Werman
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Subject: Re: Bohemian Chanukah
Well, the group started ~15 years ago when our director Mike and a few of his friends graduated from Binghamton University and moved to the Big Apple. The new-grads were looking for high-quality Jewish A Cappella, but the NY scene was flooded with "improv" Jewish groups who would find themselves at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs making up arrangements on the spot. That didn't cut it for them musically, so they decided to make their own group which was designed to be a cut above the standard NYC scene and to become more of a performance-based high-quality group. Over the years, members have come and gone to pursue medical, law, or other professional careers. Others "aged out" to spend more time with the growing families. Our director, Mike Boxer, though has been the rock of the group writing the vast majority of our original music and arrangements while raising 2 kids and holding a full time-job at J.P. Morgan.
As for the current group, we have a few full-time musicians teaching in various Jewish Day Schools, working at camps, running wedding bands and the like. Others have full-time jobs in sales, education, and finance. We all sang in various groups in college and were essentially recruited by Mike or other members in some capacity. I've personally been singing with some of the guys since early high-school, but only joined Six13 by invitation/audition after graduation from college in 2013. We like to unofficially call ourselves somewhat of a Jewish Post-Collegiate Super-group. Trust me, we know how little that means and how silly that sounds.
One of the most interesting things about the group, in my opinion, is that we have members who affiliate with pretty much every sect of Judaism: Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox. We have a member who's studying to be a Rabbi at a Modern Orthodox synagogue, one who worked Union for Reform Judaism, and others who have taught and teach in various schools and camps with ranging affiliation. To us, music has been a universal language that has helped soothe some intra-relgious rifts that have been plaguing American Jewry. We respect each other's interpretation of the religion and have become best friends with people whom we we may otherwise have avoided or even derided through a love of music.
We all make time to rehearse, travel, record, and perform because it's an important way for us to connect to our culture and religion. We all feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to make music with some of our best friends and to share that with communities across the world. We've traveled to little-known Jewish communities in Omaha, NE to massive ones in LA, Chicago, NY, and even internationally to Vienna, Winnipeg and Berlin just to name a few.
We can't wait to see what this new influx of attention will do to increase the opportunity to bring our live and recorded to even more Jewish (and non-Jewish) communities across the world in the face of rising antisemitism to show the world that that being Jewish is something that we can and should be proud of. I hope that the exposure to our Jewish music can help bridge the gaps that are being created by the "othering" rhetoric and sentiment that has been gripping both our country and the world.
As for the music - we're going to keep making music that we like while having fun and being our typical goofball selves. After all, that's why the group was started in the first place.
Yup - we're on Spotify. Here are some of my favorites:
Gam Ki Eilech (2017)
Lecha Dodi (2005)
Shema (2013)
Al Hanisim (2007)
Ki L'olam Chasdo (2008)
Thanks again for the write-up. It means a lot to us.
Be well,
Josh Sauer
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I think you'd be interested to know that bass player Joe Osborn passed away yesterday. He was mostly a behind-the-scenes figure, but you can see him on YouTube in clips from the Ozzie and Harriet show; he got his start with Ricky Nelson, played on "Travelin' Man", "Hello Mary Lou", et. al.
Joe's tone and his groove were always impeccable, and even when he played on a Pop record, like with The Carpenters, the 5th Dimension, et. al., Joe always played like a Rock and Roller. You could say the he was present at the creation of Rock and Roll: before he played bass he was a great Rockabilly lead guitarist, played on some classic Dale Hawkins records during the '50s.
I played a gig tonight with The Smithereens; before the show we were talking about Joe, name-checking our favorite performances by him:
"I Saw Her Again", "Words Of Love", Mamas and Papas (he's on all their records)
"Poor Side Of Town", Johnny Rivers
"Ventura Highway", America
"Superstar", The Carpenters
"Everything That Touches You", The Association
"Bridge Over Troubled Water", Simon and Garfunkel
"Stoned Soul Picnic", The 5th Dimension (he's on all their records)
Anyway, he's one of those who's energy and creativity and singularity helped create the soundtrack of our lives. R.I.P. Joe Osborn
Marshall Crenshaw
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From: Lenny Ibizarre
Subject: Re: Missing The Mania
Heya Bob, how's tricks?
Hope all good.
Couldn't help laughing at your post on video gaming.
Fun fact: I have 23 tracks on the latest release of Gran Turismo Sport, the racing game.
I did all the menus, Lewis Hamilton did the steering wheel calibration.
In the first quarter of 2018, we sold over 3,5 million copies, meaning, I've sold over 80,000,000 songs in the first quarter.
That's 4 times more songs than Bruno Mars sold all last year, in one quarter; I song 16 times faster than him, and some 25,000,000 songs more than Ed did all last year.
Heres the fun facts:
1. I am, track-for-track, the HIGHEST selling artist on the planet right now.
2. Due to the rush of Xmas sales, I am also the FASTEST selling artist in the world right now.
3. But because it is a flat fee (video games O.M.) I am also, track-for-track, the LOWEST paid artist in the world right now.
4. And the fact that I had to tell you that makes me the most UNKNOWN and obscured artist in the world right now.
Those chuckles will keep me warm this winter, as I fly WAY below the radar...
Well, thought you'd have a laugh as well, eh?
Love and light to Felice and your good self.
Rebel Hearts Forever
Lenny
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Subject: Re: Capturing The Zeitgeist
hi Bob,
Nail on the head yet again.
One of the most amazing things about the beatles was they broke up at the height of the creativity/fame/impact/social importance. As a result the 'people' have spent the resulting 50 odd years devouring what they created, acknowledging how they shifted the goalposts creatively and socially and generally continuing to put them on the highest musical pedestal of all.
It was an unintended masterstroke to break up at the time - just as to a lesser extent it was for the sex pistols when they disintegrated after just one long player. Re SNL; the law of diminishing returns reared it ugly head many, many years ago. Its been stale, self-adulatory, repetitive and, thus, truly conservative. It should have been 'broken up' a long time ago. Nowadays it serves only to damage the thrilling, edge of the seat, hair raising work done in its early years for which it was rightly lauded and feared in equal measure.
somebody please terrorise us with your newness
fachtna o ceallaigh
_____________________________________
Subject: Warner Music, copyright disputes, and my meager Instagram following
Dear Bob,
Thanks to your critiques of the dinosaurs of the music industry over the past few years I was bemused, but not completely shocked, when Warner Music requested the removal of my year-old instagram video of the NYC marathon because "Eye of the Tiger" is audibly blaring off the public speakers (see attached screenshot).
I don't care to dispute the removal with Warner Music or Instagram (I stopped practicing law precisely to avoid that type of brain damage). I just don't understand why any record company interested in making money or staying relevant would devote resources to engaging in legal disputes with individuals in order to systematically remove clips of their own content from the public consciousness.
Anyway, I had a laugh, and I thought you might too.
All the best,
Tim Pistell
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From: Chris Florio
Subject: Re: Missing The Mania
Hi Bob,
You really do have your finger on the pulse of a number of things that are very important.
For entertainment spending, this was the first year that gaming ($116B) surpassed TV ($105B), box office ($41B) and music ($17B) for entertainment dollars.
It is significant because this gaming revenue is just the tip of the iceberg, the very beginning. Go and join one of these big name games even for a few minutes. Go take a look at the leaderboard in Fortnight, MobileStrike (last year), GTA (new), or any other top 50 "free" game the top players have spent thousands of dollars on the free game. I am not suggesting everyone can spend thousands on a game. But any player can buy magic beans in game, tonight, while drinking, when stuck home because of snow, not have to wait for Friday in line for the movie to come out, or the new season of TV series and its closer than my casino. Instant spend, instant gratification, thats America, obviously not everyone spends thousands but all the premium, needed stuff cost beans. Its free money for Apple and Google they wont complain if you want to be the level 100 top gun, instant purchases are great for them, they make it as easy as humanly possibly to press buy. Maybe you cant spend thousands but you can drop $5, $10, $20 or $50 or X. Games are very addictive, very social, very fun, and while the per player percentage who spends (penetration) is low currently it will change, subscriptions to better stuff, micro purchases, BoGo, if you can convert a small percentage of 200M players thats printing money or beans.
You touched on some other good stuff but just wanted get back to you on this for now.
Best
Chris
_____________________________________
From: mark jacob
Subject: Re: E-Mail Of The Day
Hi Bob,
Giant thanks for posting this spectacular letter.
You are doing a great service for your subscribers.
I am going to read this letter to my 13 year old tech whiz son who
does not have my obsession with cars. Only one car brand exists for
him and that is Tesla. I often say the following describing the difference in us:
I have "gas in my veins" and my son has "volts in his veins"
Only one thing in the materialistic world captures him and that is the smart phones.
When I explained to him the details of car ownership: registration, insurance, oil changes,
car washing, angst over door dings...etc - He has no desire to following my path.
Times are a changing and it is really evident when you spend time with generation Z.
All my best and thanks again for your work.
Cheers,
Mark
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: Re-Kid Rock/Joy Behar
Hi Bob,
In reading some of these emails one thing is clear to me... none of these people have been to a Kid Rock show lately.... or maybe never.
I went out on a few dates this summer to study his live audience as I was also studying the habits of his fan base online.
1. This guy kills it live, everybody has a great time! 10-15k plus fans per night? Not many "Rockers" are doing that these days.
2. MOST of his fans have been to multiple shows
3. He's got Some of the most loyal fans I've ever studied. I saw their faces, I've watched their live-streams. From Bikers, nurses, students, teachers, rockers, KIDS yes teens! all races all ages are standing on their chairs during his shows. This is a movement now. It's clear when you really study his fans.
4. His brand is expanding faster then ever before, and his fan base is growing .... again... his brand extensions are all succeeding and more to come. This train ain't stopping anytime soon
All based on unadulterated American Badass Rock and Roll FUN. Couldn't be more simple. everything he does is authentic, and people love that. He's the real thing. He loves his fans. We need more artists like him.
Brian Nelson
Ps. My 16 year old son and his snobby rap loving friends LOVE Kid Rock. Have you seen the millions of "Party memes?" With Kid Rock's face / lyric on them? Trust me he's on their playlists.
_____________________________________
From: Dave Wakeman
Subject: Re: GM
Bob-
Nice one!
I recognized the government's beef with Elon Musk as a play out of fear. The truth is that the current government couldn't care less about stock manipulation and protecting the public, they've shown it in every action they take.
They are specifically worried about protecting their own interests.
The biggest threat is that Tesla is the future and that is scary to all of these people that have a vested interest in fossil fuels and the old economies.
I just got a Tesla about a month ago and there is really no going back. It isn't just the best car I've ever had, it is designed to make you fall in love with it. I took two trips from DC to NYS in the first month I had the car and the autopilot technology is going to be a world beater.
And, having just come back from London, again, you are right...the Europeans have already lapped us on making wise environmental policy good for business. If you drive an electric car, you don't pay congestion pricing fees in London, you find free parking where you can charge your electric car, you get incentives for driving electric everywhere.
I'm preaching to the choir, but that's right...GM is just being wise, they know that the future is coming and that if you aren't creating it, you are a victim.
Rock on!
Dave
_____________________________________
From: Bernice Lewis
Subject: Re: The Luck Of The Draw
"We've de-emphasized songwriting."
Boy, have you got that right! I've been teaching songwriting and performing at Williams and as a visiting artist at a few other colleges for about 25 years and the change is so obvious. The stuff kids bring to me these last few years is almost formless, lacks strong story line, has significantly less poetic device, and often there are little or no chord changes. I often wonder if the form that I love so deeply and that has served us so well for so long is becoming obsolete because of the emphasis on electronic beats and pads, spoken word, collaborative creative efforts in the name of publishing royalties, the castration of the major labels and the corporatization of music distribution, etc. I ask my kids what they think they will take with them into their dotage? Where are their "Beatles, Joni, CSN&Y, Jackson, Paul Simon, etc?"
That isn't to say that I don't have success in pushing the more talented ones forward into writing songs with depth…several former students of mine (Darlingside, Caitlin Canty, Molly Ventor,) are doing quite well out there, which leads me to have a glimmer of hope that the song will come back around again, once we have moved past our cultural infatuation with computers and once again sit down with a guitar or piano, a cheap spiral notebook, a pen, and the time to process our thoughts, emotions, and experiences.
I am currently being called in to another college as a consultant an instructor. They want to build an MFA in songwriting…something that doesn't seem to exist. Since it's become pretty much impossible to get "cuts" in Nashville, to get discovered as a songwriter in LA, to sell our work in a way that allows us to support ourselves, I think it's possible that a program like this might fly. In the very least, it can create artist educators and help the next generation of troubadours to think for themselves.
Sorry for going on and on Bob…you touched a nerve for me on this one.
And I've always loved Bonnie. Every single album she's put out into the world.
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: Missing The Mania
Hi Bob,
You're right about songs!
Tonight I had dinner with my 80 yr old father Johnny Trudell in Detroit. We were talking about the importance of songs. He said the entire music business was built on good songs.
He played trumpet, arranged, contracted every important Motown recording made in Detroit....hundreds of hit songs. The man and his friends made history. He said back at Motown...Detroit....Berry Gordy provided the musicians with a lot of time in the studio to be creative. He said it was the key to their success of the songs....time allowed to play and adjust the songs. Constantly arranging the songs.
Johnny said, around '73 when Motown left Detroit and moved to Los Angeles the sessions became about studio time clocks, business...schedules...and money. The magic of songs made in Detroit was left behind. 50 years later what remain most popular are the Detroit Motown songs. 24 hours a day in every city in every country you can find a Motown song playing.
Unknown to the public there is a Motown musician recording of 15 original songs that exists. It remains unheard and unreleased. These important recordings are the last historical documentation of the Motown sound and songs made in Detroit.
Tonight my father and I listened to the first mix of one of those original songs, first time he's heard the Motown sound since he help invent it. He was smilin' and groovin' for 3 minutes and he said, that's a hit song!
Best, Steve Trudell
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: GM - check out the CFO
Great note. Couldn't agree more.
Mary Barra is showing some cojones. Did you see who her partner in crime is? Dhivya Suryadevara, a 39 year old Harvard MBA immigrant from Chennai, India. First woman CFO in company's 110 year history and GM is only the second company in Fortune 500 with a woman in top two jobs (Hershey being the other). This woman grew up in a single parent household after her father died when she was young.
Such an impressive young woman, such a great story, and yet another example of how America really is already great.
For sure she has been key to this new GM strategy to save the company.
I love this story especially because it is such a perfect example of how this country is so richly rewarded by immigrants, especially ones who come here dirt poor like this woman.
Imagine when Trump finds out about her and sees her name, then he'll really start tweeting.
In the meantime, God Bless America.
www.cnbc.com/2018/06/14/meet-general-motors-new-39-year-old-cfo-dhivya-suryadevara.html
Edward Ryan
_____________________________________
From: amanda palmer
Subject: Re: Sideshow/Main Show
i've learned the span of peoples attention is now 3 days where it used to be 3 weeks. but i learned that a few years ago.
when you are a word-of-mouth sideshow artist in a social media world, you have to give people things they can share. real controversial or potentially upsetting art is hard for most average people to share: they don't want to offend aunt myra (or worse, their over-judgemental bitchy friend) on facebook.
speaking of facebook, the algorithms there have officially asphyxiated small artists and small businesses - we brought our fans, and then we trusted that the lines of communication would stay open. and we are getting disconnected unless we pay. every artist i know is confronting this right now and nobody knows what to do.
i don't do paid posts on moral grounds. (i am of the kurt cobain school). my posts now reach almost nobody where they used to reach hundreds of thousands of people.
i'm just working all the time and picking up my steady patreon check silently while the music industry cluelessly burns.
my album is out in march. i think it's fantastic. so will my fans. the mainstream media will probably ignore it. i won't care. i will expect nothing and keep working.
x
_____________________________________
Since you wrote about Matt Nathanson previously, thought you'd enjoy his homage to Def Leppard:
open.spotify.com/album/5OSOKMzAjzIs4PNwb1cqYK?si=zoublCiTSDaAX0o4423bpg
Rather than any commentary from me on its brilliance, here are some words from Joe Elliott:
twitter.com/DefLeppard/status/1005150854129897472
Much Peace,
Ayappa Biddanda
_____________________________________
Back in the days of Def Leppard's rise, I was an avid concert goer. Across many genres. All types of venues. When Def Leppard played in the round in Montreal... I don't think I've ever heard a louder audience to this day. Loudest crowd ever. In fact, if I recall correctly, a while later the band was interviewed in Metal Edge magazine, and had mentioned that Montreal show as one of the better crowds. For me? Loudest crowd I've ever heard to this day.
They deserve this. Let's celebrate. Then, let's get Iron Maiden into the RRHOF next.
Thanks for this great piece, Bob!
MITCH JOEL
Six Pixels Group
_____________________________________
Let the truth be told... the best Def Leppard album is "High N' Dry"! Ask any real fan like me.
At the time of the album's release Polygram Records was going through another reorganization. It was
ugly... lots of bands really got the shaft.... We were all lucky we still had jobs... at least I did..
The song that broke though and carried Def Leppard to "Pyromania" was the quintessential power ballad,
"Bringin' on the Heartache"... All the radio consultants claimed that the record was a smash... thank you Lee Abrams
and Jeff Pollack.. It spent months on the AOR airplay charts... It was like a cough you couldn't get rid of...
Kindest Cheers,
"Def" Laufer
_____________________________________
Interesting that any discussion about the Hall is more about who's still being snubbed and that's what makes it a worthless enterprise.
Def were made by Mutt but if you saw them live at their peak they delivered on every level. First act I ever saw who played in the round.
I went to Polygram to take the head of album promotion gig and doing my first stock taking of the new releases (thank you Brenda), there was the new Hysteria album. I thought if it was half as good as Pyromania, we still had a winner. It took barely a couple of needle drops to pinch myself at such an opportunity. To clarify, Hysteria was a blow out right out of the box at album radio, granted the singles did take a bit of time at Top40.
As for Todd, he has established his talent, versatility and genius over the years. The HofF needs him more than he needs them. He doesn't give a shit. I'll go see him anytime anyplace.
John Brodey
_____________________________________
I walked into the Sound Shop in Nashville, TN in the late Spring of 1983 and bought my first-ever cassette tapes - Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Def Leppard's "Pyromania." At that moment, the two most mind-blowing things in the world to me were MJ Moonwalking to "Billie Jean" on the Motown 25th Anniversary Special and the massive hook factory rock glory of "Photograph." Those two things were shaking culture at the time. Makes perfect sense to me that they'll share space in the Hall.
Cary Brothers
_____________________________________
I was a personality on a flamethrower CHR in 1980 something when I first played "Animal."
My God. The sound. And my station was the flagship for high end audio chain technology. We had invested something like $200,000 on a brand new audio chain. So when I dropped the laser on "Animal" it was like the threesome I always wanted.
I had heard "Pyromania" before and really liked "Photograph" but the album didn't hit me quite like "Hysteria" It was just bubbling with something I could never describe until today, after I read your post. Thanks Bob!
Keith Michaels
_____________________________________
great piece Bob....but for me, their first album On Through the Night is still the one I gravitate to. I was in a band in high school and we thought we were all that. but then here comes Def Leppard, these guys were my age at the time they released this album, and I so realized how far my own band had to go to sound like this....I mean seriously, think about these guys being 17-18 years old and delivering a sound and a record that explodes out of the speakers and punches you in the face like this does right from the first few chords of "Rock Brigade." This was Def Leppard before all the hits and slick production. this was a raw hard rock band with soaring harmonies that were doing this basically as kids
open.spotify.com/album/7AWItpp4bk6lA1wFtcfWRj
Mike Farley
_____________________________________
Amen Bob!
I've probably gone through 6 CD copies of Hysteria in my cars/suv's over the years. I crank it up everytime I wanna feel that Adrenaline again. That rush of youth that makes the hair on my arms stand up. EVERY TIME.
And yet I still had to tweet at my 24 hour news station yesterday for spelling their fucking name wrong.
Keep rockin brother.
Jay Michaels
The Rush with Ryan & Jay
Newstalk 1010 Toronto
_____________________________________
Yes Bob, Def Leppard do deserve it. 10 years ago, they were a strong theatre level band in the UK, now they are selling out arenas and doing the best business they have ever done - 130,000 tickets on the current tour and still counting, as well as headlining the 100,000 capacity Download Festival for the third time next year. Why? Because they never gave up and they give the audiences what they want.
Andy Copping
_____________________________________
There are two types of people: those that love Def Leppard and those that lie and say they do not.
The writing and production is unparalleled, unless of course it's from Mutt and another artist.
James Lucente
_____________________________________
Boy, did you hit the nail on the head with this one. My breakthrough band-and the track that launched me from Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Davis, Coltrane, and Muddy Waters into a musical world I would later know and appreciate more intimately.
"Photograph" was just scraping along under the radar in 1983 when I was a young music teacher at an all boys' prep school in the Midwest. Before and after rehearsals for our school musical, I let my freak flag fly and had the kids crank up "Photograph" on the big speakers in the massive auditorium Hallmark built. We stepped into sacrilegious and I loved it. That behavior should have cost me my job but I didn't care, the music was just too good on that sound system.
That spring, when Def Leppard came by our town opening for Billy Squire on the Pyromania Tour, in an act that would have maybe landed me in jail today, several of those boys scooped me up from my apartment one weekday night and took me to the show. We skipped Billy Squire, dashing to the Hyatt Regency so that we could meet the band in the lobby. I was their teacher but that night I was a 16 year old boy.
When the group came down to meet a few fans in the lobby, the kids threw me in front of the band and said "This is our music teacher." Joe Elliot stepped up and responded "Well, I'll bet you don't play music like ours." To which the kids responded, "Yes, she does and threw them the T shirt they had bought me which every band member signed, even the drummer who subsequently lost his arm in a motorcycle accident.
The next day we proudly wore our T shirts to school over our collared oxford shirts, the required uniform of the school. The headmaster ( who was paying me less than the men) couldn't prove I had been anywhere with anyone - and I flaunting my signed T shirt all over campus.
For years and years, I told the story about my breakthrough from the world of serious music to rock and roll because of "Photograph"..and how Def Leppard was my break through band, the band that convinced me that rock and roll was really not shit, it was as exuberant as any of the other genres I knew and taught. It offered a feeling of freedom, emotion and energy apart from the intellectual and more controlled emotions in classical music and jazz. It was well written, well executed and approached with a particular talent and exceptional skill. "Photograph" helped me to discover that ALL MUSIC was equally expressive, emotive, meaningful and artistic. I stopped looking in disdain at popular music and accepted that great music didn't only exist in the concert and recital halls.
And more importantly, from that point forward, I was able to listen in retrograde to popular music with an accepting and appreciate perspective, studying everything I had missed while in pursuit of "serious" music degrees.
When people from the "classical" music world ask me how I made the transition and how I could even accept working with popular music, I tell them that I learned to listen to music through the ears of a teenage boy and that is still how I listen to music. "Photograph" provided me an exit as a "musical snob." Several years later, I learned to appreciate that record even more with new professional ears when my record producer clients and colleagues pointed out how the intricacies in "Photograph" and other Mutt Lange tracks were masterful from a sonic perspective.
One afternoon, the story came full circle. When I was in meetings at Epic Records, I happened to be in the late, great Frankie La Rocka's office when Joe Elliot walked by. Frankie grabbed me and ran into the hall to say hello and to reintroduce me to him...and of course, I recounted the story of how I'd met him years earlier as a young teacher at that hotel in the Midwest during the Billy Squire tour with a bunch of boys who dragged me to the show.
How ironic and amazing life is!
To this day, I cannot resist it...even if it will blast out my ear drums in an enclosed car.....every time I hear "Photograph," I still crank the shit out of that song, roll down the window in blithering cold and pump my fist in the air. If I can do that with Beethoven's 7th, I can do that with "Photograph."
Congratulations, Def Leppard - you deserve it!!!
I wanna touch you...ooooh your photograph.
Patti Jones
_____________________________________
From: Ralph Simon
I sent Mutt Lange your Def Leppard piece. Here is his response FYI.
"Thanx Ralph , a true Mensch is Bob. Safe travels , luv Mutt"
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