Fantastic start to the series. I'm already learning so much! I knew nothing about Neil Bogart, and only tangentially about Casablanca Records, so this is proving very educational.
I guess my first memory of bubblegum pop has got to be either Aqua or the Spice Girls 🤩
Now, talking about bubblegum or rather teen pop... this came out a bit later than Aqua and the SG. It was a megahit in Argentina and, I suspect, in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world as well. She might have been your neighbour. Can you hazard a guess before you click on the link? 😂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZyU6H3NcT8&list=RDeZyU6H3NcT8&start_radio=1
Of course: Belle Perez 😂 She really tapped into our love for Latin rhythms and, very cleverly, turned it into a business. In Friday’s episode I talk about how Belgian artists sometimes claimed success in far-off places, without anyone really knowing if it was true or not. I didn’t know Belle had success in Latin America, but it makes sense, she’s half Belgian, half Spanish. Bubblegum has become more of a label than a genre these days 😁 But you’re right: Aqua and the Spice Girls do share some elements with the Bogaert-created sound of the late sixties. Thanks for reading and sharing, Andy!
Yes indeed! I remember when she came out, this song was huge in Argentina, and she cleverly did a Spanish version (Hola Mundo), which got quite some heavy rotation too.
One thing I vividly remember is telling my Belgian friend at the time how impressed I was by the fact that Belle Perez could speak so many languages: Dutch, Spanish, English, French and German. My friend is very blunt (she was born in Utrecht, actually, and all her family is Dutch, but they moved to Antwerp when she was around 9 or 10). My friend immediately said: "ANYONE who's been to school in Belgium will have at least some working knowledge of Dutch, French and German. English is widely spoken, and she learned Spanish, well, from her parents, so there really isn't that much merit" 🤣🤣🤣 In Argentina, Belle Perez was seen as some sort of child prodigy or language genius, speaking all these languages... but my friend swiftly debunked the myth 😅😅
It’s true, Belgium already has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. You’re expected to know at least two of them. Having parents who can teach you an extra language is a real bonus. I would’ve loved that
Taking time on these history articles. Of course I met and interviewed FD re: Hit Men and got a signed copy.
It was for an article entitled "RICO IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS" I wrote while in Law School for the NY Law Journal's ENTERTAINMENT LAW & FINANCE. I interned there and was a stringer after I became a lawyer. Cited in LA's Loyola Law School Law Review one of my first legit published articles.
The crux is that the music business is particularly corrupt top to bottom but we like it, like it, yes we dooooo...
Writing about it is a good deed doing something about it... impossible. The Spotify expose Mood Machine by Liz Pelly is the latest attempt but always self-interest drives America. The biz is more consolidated than ever and a fair structure more elusive. My take is that rogue elements are better than corp criminals. But once you're dangling over the balcony you'll agree to play ball or you'll become a lawyer. At least now I still have a career. Singing like a bird I still get gigs. We are the meat that gets dangled in front of the lions who still run the show as the apex predators. Just look at how many climbed all the way up the hill and crashed landed including Neil Bogart.
"We are the meat that gets dangled in front of the lions who still run the show as the apex predators" : Yep absolutely! When I started my first job at Universal in the ’90s, Hit Men was the first book I read, and I loved it. But while researching for this Substack, I’ve noticed a number of factual issues in it. Dannen played a big part in shaping the outsized image we still have of Casablanca today. With these articles (especially parts 3 and 4, where I tackle the big questions), I’m trying to offer a more nuanced version of the story. Thanks for reading and reacting, Steve, much appreciated!
Most recently formerly notorious music business demons have undergone a re-evaluation. In my research for the Lost in Austin book I find that Don Robey of Houston's Duke Records is more seen as a great A&R man forgiven for stealing publishing etc. who understood how to make great records and get airplay. Without that what happens? Nothing. It's easy to throw stones but making a hit? Nuance is good. Nuance is right.
bsolutely, Steve. My goal is always to understand them in the context of what was happening at the time. We shouldn’t ignore the negatives or focus only on the positives, we need to aim for a balanced view.
Aware of the Hitmen book, but somehow never got round to reading it. Doesn't sound pleasant, but after reding this I feel I feel I ought to check it out
It’s definitely a fun read, Paul, just not a factual one. On Casablanca, for example, Dannen relied on an ex-Motown employee who called his wife on day one to say he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. Hardly someone likely to remember Casablanca fondly, or fairly. There are also flat-out factual errors, like the scene he opens the chapter with: the parking lot full of Mercedes. Larry Harris later explained that the lot wasn’t even visible from the street. That’s sloppy, and it makes you wonder how many other ‘facts’ were embellished to fit the story Dannen wanted to tell.
The book was one of the first big takes on the music business and hugely successful, it still shapes how people think about Casablanca and disco today. If it had been properly researched, I wouldn’t mind. But it wasn’t, and that’s my problem with Hit Men
With a mom and grandma like those, of course Neil became a hustler and said do whatever it takes to be a success. And of course as a psychologist it's that stuff catching my attention!
Your insider experience with Superclub is so interesting.
Haha, I agree, Ellen. Parents can have a huge impact, pushing their dreams and expectations into their children’s lives. In Neil Bogart’s case, it was extreme. I left out the worst details, but one example: his mother would punish the kids by forcing them into the hallway naked, with the only possible “escape” being to run up four floors to their aunt and uncle’s apartment. Neil never had a normal relationship with her afterward. Even when he moved to California and bought his parents a house once Casablanca Records took off, he made sure it was on the other side of LA, far from where he lived. Pretty heavy stuff.
Great job, Pe! I knew dribs and drabs about his early years.....man, he moved fast, all the way to his Buddah gig by mid-20s! I'd always pictured him as a sort of P.T. Barnum-cum-carnival barker character (as you said, a "hustler"), willing to do whatever it takes (as I think you mentioned, too) to break an artist, and get a record played!
As for his late-'60s Buddah-era bubblegum, I was less aware of those (although a lot of it made it to AM radio that I heard!) than I was the more "trad" major-label pop that filled out the late-'60s charts. I know I was particularly taken by The Monkees around '67 and '68 (I was 13 that year), as I was transitioning from early-Beatles era that I loved, and cooling to them as they moved into the more psychedelic meanderings of "Sgt. Pepper's" and The White Album. The Monkees picked up the poppy sound I was digging!
I think, at the time, I was less attracted to the almost nursery-rhyme simplicity of The Fruitgum Company and "1,2,3, Red Light"...Even that early in my listening life, I was ferreting out the simplistic yet melodic, and leaning happily into the more sophisticated pop of the "Sunflower," "Holland," and "Surf's Up"-era Beach Boys.
It was only when he formed Casablanca (and reading about it in the rock mags of the day), that I became fully aware of Bogart, as rock writers gave his bio (Buddah, etc) up to that point. So, your next article will pick up where, pretty much, I did in real time...their distribution deal with The Label of The Bunny!
Thanks Brad. Great point there with the Monkees. Bubblegum pop is a bit out of my scope but come to think about it. The Monkees are not part of the bubblegum genre. They are a bit earlier if I'm not mistaken and the song craft is on a different scale but the fact that it was a TV (made) band must have been a major inspiration for Neil Bogaert and Kasenetz/Katz. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and tracing those lines of influence is exactly what I’m trying to do with this newsletter. I think you just uncovered another one 😁
No question where The Monkees sat, Pe....while squarely teen pop/Top 40 (with carefully-crafted outside pro songwriters providing material), the bubblegum machine was far more calculated and antiseptic (which, at the time, turned me off), and along with being aware of the bubblegummers' childish/nonsense choruses, even then, I was able to discern (and love!) the high quality of The Monkees, their playing (along with The Wrecking Crew), and songs from the decidedly crass and commercial cash-grab that was so obvious with bubblegum!
In 1968, I was 13, and sat behind Jan Castleberry in 8th grade junior high home room. She just happened to be a (the?) Houston prez of The Monkees Official Fan Club, and it's from her that I bought my Micky Dolenz Lock-of-Hair pinback button!👇It looked EXACTLY like this: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/button-pinback-pin-monkees-micky-520323819
From a distance, the mechanical bubblegum machine can still be lauded for what it was: Bogart, Super K Productions, Paul Leka (who ended up being involved in far more "respectable" and mainstream productions in the '70s), Joey Levine, et al, all knew what they wanted, and employed the songwriting and production pros that put it all together, pretty craftily, actually, and, for a small window, was hugely popular....just not with me!😎🎵
Fantastic start to the series. I'm already learning so much! I knew nothing about Neil Bogart, and only tangentially about Casablanca Records, so this is proving very educational.
I guess my first memory of bubblegum pop has got to be either Aqua or the Spice Girls 🤩
Now, talking about bubblegum or rather teen pop... this came out a bit later than Aqua and the SG. It was a megahit in Argentina and, I suspect, in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world as well. She might have been your neighbour. Can you hazard a guess before you click on the link? 😂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZyU6H3NcT8&list=RDeZyU6H3NcT8&start_radio=1
Of course: Belle Perez 😂 She really tapped into our love for Latin rhythms and, very cleverly, turned it into a business. In Friday’s episode I talk about how Belgian artists sometimes claimed success in far-off places, without anyone really knowing if it was true or not. I didn’t know Belle had success in Latin America, but it makes sense, she’s half Belgian, half Spanish. Bubblegum has become more of a label than a genre these days 😁 But you’re right: Aqua and the Spice Girls do share some elements with the Bogaert-created sound of the late sixties. Thanks for reading and sharing, Andy!
Yes indeed! I remember when she came out, this song was huge in Argentina, and she cleverly did a Spanish version (Hola Mundo), which got quite some heavy rotation too.
One thing I vividly remember is telling my Belgian friend at the time how impressed I was by the fact that Belle Perez could speak so many languages: Dutch, Spanish, English, French and German. My friend is very blunt (she was born in Utrecht, actually, and all her family is Dutch, but they moved to Antwerp when she was around 9 or 10). My friend immediately said: "ANYONE who's been to school in Belgium will have at least some working knowledge of Dutch, French and German. English is widely spoken, and she learned Spanish, well, from her parents, so there really isn't that much merit" 🤣🤣🤣 In Argentina, Belle Perez was seen as some sort of child prodigy or language genius, speaking all these languages... but my friend swiftly debunked the myth 😅😅
It’s true, Belgium already has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. You’re expected to know at least two of them. Having parents who can teach you an extra language is a real bonus. I would’ve loved that
Taking time on these history articles. Of course I met and interviewed FD re: Hit Men and got a signed copy.
It was for an article entitled "RICO IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS" I wrote while in Law School for the NY Law Journal's ENTERTAINMENT LAW & FINANCE. I interned there and was a stringer after I became a lawyer. Cited in LA's Loyola Law School Law Review one of my first legit published articles.
The crux is that the music business is particularly corrupt top to bottom but we like it, like it, yes we dooooo...
Writing about it is a good deed doing something about it... impossible. The Spotify expose Mood Machine by Liz Pelly is the latest attempt but always self-interest drives America. The biz is more consolidated than ever and a fair structure more elusive. My take is that rogue elements are better than corp criminals. But once you're dangling over the balcony you'll agree to play ball or you'll become a lawyer. At least now I still have a career. Singing like a bird I still get gigs. We are the meat that gets dangled in front of the lions who still run the show as the apex predators. Just look at how many climbed all the way up the hill and crashed landed including Neil Bogart.
Always a provoking disco-tion!
"We are the meat that gets dangled in front of the lions who still run the show as the apex predators" : Yep absolutely! When I started my first job at Universal in the ’90s, Hit Men was the first book I read, and I loved it. But while researching for this Substack, I’ve noticed a number of factual issues in it. Dannen played a big part in shaping the outsized image we still have of Casablanca today. With these articles (especially parts 3 and 4, where I tackle the big questions), I’m trying to offer a more nuanced version of the story. Thanks for reading and reacting, Steve, much appreciated!
Most recently formerly notorious music business demons have undergone a re-evaluation. In my research for the Lost in Austin book I find that Don Robey of Houston's Duke Records is more seen as a great A&R man forgiven for stealing publishing etc. who understood how to make great records and get airplay. Without that what happens? Nothing. It's easy to throw stones but making a hit? Nuance is good. Nuance is right.
bsolutely, Steve. My goal is always to understand them in the context of what was happening at the time. We shouldn’t ignore the negatives or focus only on the positives, we need to aim for a balanced view.
This is a great start, looking forward to the rest of the series!
Thanks for reading & reacting Mark!
Aware of the Hitmen book, but somehow never got round to reading it. Doesn't sound pleasant, but after reding this I feel I feel I ought to check it out
It’s definitely a fun read, Paul, just not a factual one. On Casablanca, for example, Dannen relied on an ex-Motown employee who called his wife on day one to say he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. Hardly someone likely to remember Casablanca fondly, or fairly. There are also flat-out factual errors, like the scene he opens the chapter with: the parking lot full of Mercedes. Larry Harris later explained that the lot wasn’t even visible from the street. That’s sloppy, and it makes you wonder how many other ‘facts’ were embellished to fit the story Dannen wanted to tell.
The book was one of the first big takes on the music business and hugely successful, it still shapes how people think about Casablanca and disco today. If it had been properly researched, I wouldn’t mind. But it wasn’t, and that’s my problem with Hit Men
With a mom and grandma like those, of course Neil became a hustler and said do whatever it takes to be a success. And of course as a psychologist it's that stuff catching my attention!
Your insider experience with Superclub is so interesting.
Looking forward to your upcoming posts.
Haha, I agree, Ellen. Parents can have a huge impact, pushing their dreams and expectations into their children’s lives. In Neil Bogart’s case, it was extreme. I left out the worst details, but one example: his mother would punish the kids by forcing them into the hallway naked, with the only possible “escape” being to run up four floors to their aunt and uncle’s apartment. Neil never had a normal relationship with her afterward. Even when he moved to California and bought his parents a house once Casablanca Records took off, he made sure it was on the other side of LA, far from where he lived. Pretty heavy stuff.
Poor Neil. With a mom like that... He could've ended up in prison, so we should be thankful he focused on bubblegum pop!
That was a great read!
Thanks for reading & reacting Mark.
Great history!
Thanks for reading & reacting Joe!
I see I’m not the only person with this answer to your question at the end but: Spice Girls! Excited for this series
Thanks Max! 😁
Great job, Pe! I knew dribs and drabs about his early years.....man, he moved fast, all the way to his Buddah gig by mid-20s! I'd always pictured him as a sort of P.T. Barnum-cum-carnival barker character (as you said, a "hustler"), willing to do whatever it takes (as I think you mentioned, too) to break an artist, and get a record played!
As for his late-'60s Buddah-era bubblegum, I was less aware of those (although a lot of it made it to AM radio that I heard!) than I was the more "trad" major-label pop that filled out the late-'60s charts. I know I was particularly taken by The Monkees around '67 and '68 (I was 13 that year), as I was transitioning from early-Beatles era that I loved, and cooling to them as they moved into the more psychedelic meanderings of "Sgt. Pepper's" and The White Album. The Monkees picked up the poppy sound I was digging!
I think, at the time, I was less attracted to the almost nursery-rhyme simplicity of The Fruitgum Company and "1,2,3, Red Light"...Even that early in my listening life, I was ferreting out the simplistic yet melodic, and leaning happily into the more sophisticated pop of the "Sunflower," "Holland," and "Surf's Up"-era Beach Boys.
It was only when he formed Casablanca (and reading about it in the rock mags of the day), that I became fully aware of Bogart, as rock writers gave his bio (Buddah, etc) up to that point. So, your next article will pick up where, pretty much, I did in real time...their distribution deal with The Label of The Bunny!
Thanks Brad. Great point there with the Monkees. Bubblegum pop is a bit out of my scope but come to think about it. The Monkees are not part of the bubblegum genre. They are a bit earlier if I'm not mistaken and the song craft is on a different scale but the fact that it was a TV (made) band must have been a major inspiration for Neil Bogaert and Kasenetz/Katz. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and tracing those lines of influence is exactly what I’m trying to do with this newsletter. I think you just uncovered another one 😁
No question where The Monkees sat, Pe....while squarely teen pop/Top 40 (with carefully-crafted outside pro songwriters providing material), the bubblegum machine was far more calculated and antiseptic (which, at the time, turned me off), and along with being aware of the bubblegummers' childish/nonsense choruses, even then, I was able to discern (and love!) the high quality of The Monkees, their playing (along with The Wrecking Crew), and songs from the decidedly crass and commercial cash-grab that was so obvious with bubblegum!
In 1968, I was 13, and sat behind Jan Castleberry in 8th grade junior high home room. She just happened to be a (the?) Houston prez of The Monkees Official Fan Club, and it's from her that I bought my Micky Dolenz Lock-of-Hair pinback button!👇It looked EXACTLY like this: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/button-pinback-pin-monkees-micky-520323819
From a distance, the mechanical bubblegum machine can still be lauded for what it was: Bogart, Super K Productions, Paul Leka (who ended up being involved in far more "respectable" and mainstream productions in the '70s), Joey Levine, et al, all knew what they wanted, and employed the songwriting and production pros that put it all together, pretty craftily, actually, and, for a small window, was hugely popular....just not with me!😎🎵
Interesting early details on Bogart! I'm looking forward to the rest of this series!
Thanks Dan!