Winston + Suzanne 2014-07-11 15.15

It’s Friday And I Need To Dance!

I’m at a place in my life where I very much wish to try new things. To enter into places not completely familiar. I’ve accomplished a lot utilizing my knowledge of popular music and negotiation skills. From college graduation until last September I’ve always worked at record companies. Is there somewhere else where I can use these attributes?

Figuring out the next step on one’s own can be challenging. Having a career coach is helpful. Better yet would be meeting someone who sees what you (or, in this case, I) have to offer and gives you (me) a job, or, optimally, collaborates with you (me) on a new venture.

I think about this fairly often. This morning it occurred to me that it came to be for me a couple of weeks ago, though not directly related to my record company jobs.

When I lived I New York I performed and-up comedy at night. I did well with it. I won contests, had an agent, and played to sold-out theaters. I understand comedy structure, know how to formulate a joke, and have good timing.

Two weeks ago a friend and I started working together on a TV sitcom pilot. I can write relatable characters and punchlines. My friend, who has a terrific sense of humor as well, can take what I do and add in his knowledge of script formatting and sitcom structure. I’m enthusiastic about our new venture.

Winston + Suzanne 2014-07-11 15.15
In 1987, singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega scored a huge hit with “Luka,” from her album Solitude Standing. Her biggest hit to date, the song went to #3 on the United States pop charts, and also hit the Top 40 in countries such as The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, New Zealand, Austria, and Ireland.

Vega can write great lyrics and catchy hooks. ”Luka” also performed well on the Rock chart. Vega is like me in this story, and the British production duo who called themselves D.N.A. are my friend with whom I am writing the television script.

D.N.A. took Suzanne’s skills, in particular the a capella track that opens the Solitude Standing album, and added a dance beat to it. The result was another top ten pop hit, this one credited to D.N.A. featuring Suzanne Vega. The song, “Tom’s Diner,” also brought Vega to the top 15 of the Dance Club chart, the Modern Rock chart, and the R&B chart.

Vega didn’t plan this success. By chance D.N.A. entered her life and together each reached new heights. Hopefully our sitcom pilot will have the same success.

Today Suzanne Vega turns 55. We’ll kick off our Friday dance party with the DNA mix of “Tom’s Diner.”

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In Which I Send Jack White A Copy Of “Muskrat Love”

Jack + me 1069915_10151751737788582_422945744_n

I met Jack White of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather at a barbecue a few years ago. He thought it was cool that I worked at Rhino Entertainment. He sold Rhino’s records at the store he had before his career as a musician took off. I told him I’d put together a care package of some Rhino releases for him. He told me he’d feel bad getting them for free. I told him it was fine and a few days later sent to him via his manager a package with a blues box set, the DVD of The Rutles’ made-for-television film All You Need Is Cash and a compilation entitled ‘70s Party Killers that included The Captain & Tennille, Starland Vocal Band and Dawn featuring Tony Orlando, among others. I don’t know if the package ever made it to him. Maybe the manager kept it for himself. Maybe the postal carrier stole it. Who wouldn’t want to own a compilation that featured “Muskrat Love,” “Afternoon Delight” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree?” Those are the songs I think of when I think of Jack White. I mean that as a high compliment.

Today the tenth child of Teresa and Gorman Gillis, born John Anthony Gillis, turns 39 years old. As was the case with Beck yesterday and Ringo Starr the day before, the White Stripes offerings on Spotify are pretty slim. Nonetheless, I was able to cobble together this playlist of ten fine Jack White performances. I only hope that someday he covers “Muskrat Love.”

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doggies + Beck 2014-07-08 14.43

Bonding Over Beck

I met Michael at Nobody Beats the Wiz, a CD/Electronics store in Union Square in Manhattan, in 1996. We bonded immediately over a love of music. A lot of people love music, but Michael was the only other person I’d met who, like me, maintained a weekly listing of his favorite current songs. Like me, Michael had an imaginary radio station. (Now is a good time to mention that neither of us were children when we met – Michael was 23 and I was 33.) Though both of us shared the same intense passion for music, the music for which we shared a passion differed.

I listened to a lot of what Michael dismissed as “college rock,” while Michael enjoyed much of what I called “cheesy dance pop.” There were a few acts we both liked – Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and Beck.

Beck’s Odelay album was only a couple of months old when we met. Its intelligence, originality, sense of melody, adventure and fun appealed the both of us.

doggies + Beck 2014-07-08 14.43
Much like Madonna, Beck has worn many personas within pop music – the funky white guy, the folkie, the faux-folkie, the somber singer-songwriter and the comic songster among them. Impressively, he has succeeded at each, with albums ranging from good to great.

Today, Tunes du Jour pays homage to the man born Bek Campbell on his 44th birthday. I’m severely limited by Spotify’s spotty Beck selections, so I’m going to focus on Odelay, because it’s great and it’s there.

Ringos 2014-07-07 11.01

Happy Birthday, Ringo!

Ringos 2014-07-07 11.01Ringo, Star

In December of 2010 I adopted two rescue dogs, whose photos appear in posts throughout this blog. Being rescues, I have no idea when their actual birthdays are, so I decided to celebrate their birthdays on the birthdays of their namesakes, Ringo Starr and John Winston Lennon.

Today, Ringo Starr turns 74 and Ringo Schwartz turns 7. Here are some interesting factoids about the former:

• Ringo was the first former Beatle to have back-to-back #1 singles, with “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen,” both released in 1973. The only other former Beatle to have back-to-back #1s was Paul McCartney, who did so in the 80s with “Coming Up” and “Ebony and Ivory.”
• Between 1971 and 1975 Ringo racked up seven top ten singles. John Lennon didn’t have his seventh top ten single until 1981’s “Woman,” released after his death. George Harrison scored a total of five top ten solo hits.
• 1971’s “It Don’t Come Easy,” Ringo’s first top ten solo hit, was written by Ringo and George, though only Starr was credited on the record. The track was produced by Harrison, who plays on the record, as does Stephen Stills.
• The b-side of the “It Don’t Come Easy” single, “Early 1970,” was written by Ringo about his fellow Beatles. Verse one is about Paul, verse two is about John, and verse three is about George, who plays on the record.
• Starr’s second top ten solo single, 1972’s “Back Of Boogaloo,” was written by Ringo and produced by George as well.
• “I’m the Greatest” was written by John, who plays and sings on it. Ringo also recorded songs written by Paul.
• “Photograph” was written by Ringo and George, with the latter receiving a writing credit this time. George had an affair with Ringo’s then-wife Maureen.
• 1975’s top three hit “No No Song” was written by David Jackson and Hoyt Axton, the latter of whom plays on Ringo’s version. The song is about a man being offered drugs and alcohol after eschewing such vices. Said Ringo to Time magazine: “We were doing ‘No No Song’ [in the studio] with the biggest spliff and a large bottle of Jack Daniel’s.”
• “Snookeroo,” the flip-side of the “No No Song” 45 and listed with that song on the charts, was written by Elton Jon and Bernie Taupin specifically for Ringo at Ringo’s request.
• Ringo’s most recent top 40 single, 1981’s “Wrack My Brain,” was written by Harrison about his frustrations trying to come up with a pop hit.

Tunes du Jour wishes Ringo the Beatle and Ringo the doggie very happy birthdays! As the majority of Starr’s hits are not on Spotify, I present to you a YouTube playlist of his best work.

doggies + James Brown 2014-07-04 10.41

It’s Friday The Fourth Of July And I Need To Dance!

On July 4, 1982, I went with my then-friend Robin to see Diana Ross in concert at Giants Stadium. I hadn’t been to the stadium before, but I figured on a typical day it was about a half hour drive from my home in New Jersey. As this was a holiday, I assumed there would be a lot of traffic, so I allowed for extra travel time. I didn’t want to be late.

We got to Giants Stadium five hours before show time. We parked right by the stadium entrance, went in, and found our seats. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we tanned as we waited for others to join us.

After a few hours other people showed up. The stadium was mostly full when the first opening act took to the stage. The band’s lead singer introduced them. “We’re Frankie Beverly and Maze for all you white people who don’t know who we are because you don’t listen to black music.” He sure knew how to charm an audience and win over new fans! I was momentarily ashamed that I spent my money to see and hear the white music of Diana Ross.

After Maze, Miles Davis performed. Would it have killed him to finish writing the songs before he came out? And hello, the audience is over here, not behind the curtain.

While Davis was playing, the couple sitting next to my then-friend Robin and me snorted cocaine. I’d never seen anyone do that before. They left after Davis finished, skipping the Diana Ross show altogether. That’s all I needed to see to keep me from ever doing coke. I don’t ever want to get to a point where I lose control over my thoughts and whereabouts and miss Miss Ross.

Finally, the main event. Diana Ross. Live. She performed all her big solo hits, except “Love Hangover,” and 30+ years later that still irks me. She did a medley of Supremes hits. She changed her clothes a few times. It was great!

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Friday is dance day at Tunes du Jour, and while I could open today’s playlist with “Love Hangover” (Why, Miss Ross, why didn’t you preform that song???), I’m going to go with a more traditional 4th of July choice, James Brown’s “Living in America,” one of the very few Brown hits that the man neither wrote nor produced. Happy holiday!

Ringo + Missy 2014-07-01 15.17

Now That’s What I Call Win Win! | Missy Elliott’s Birthday Post

In yesterday’s post I mentioned a negotiation class I took. The teacher gave us many different tactics and approaches, with the overriding goal being for each party to feel they got what they were seeking and were treated fairly. This is commonly referred to as a win-win.

In 2005, the joint venture that produces the Now That’s What I Call Music compilations requested from Warner Music, where I worked, a license to include Missy Elliott’s hit “Lose Control” for the next volume of the series. Until that point, Warner hadn’t licensed to any of the Now albums. Senior management was eager to change that.

Atlantic Records, the Warner label to whom Missy was signed, wanted the song on the album. Missy’s mother, Pat, who handles her daughter’s license requests, approved of its inclusion. However, the song features two guest artists, Ciara and Fatman Scoop, and also contains two samples. The royalty we were to receive from Now wouldn’t cover these expenses; Missy would end up losing money for each unit sold.

I set about to renegotiate everyone’s portion of the royalty pool. The argument I used to convince each party to agree was simple – we can’t afford to license the track at the present rates. If we don’t do the license, then nobody makes any money. However, if everyone agrees to reduce their share of the royalties, then we can proceed with the license. As Now albums routinely sold several million units each back then, the money everyone would receive was a nice chunk of change, especially as all one needed to do to get it was to sign the one-page agreement I sent over.

All parties saw the logic in this argument, and the song made the album. Warner became a part of every Now compilation going forward. Missy’s mom marveled at how I got this done. A couple of years later, a new deal for Missy hit the desk of Atlantic Records’ legal department. Pat Elliott told the attorney “Give this to Glenn Schwartz to handle. He’ll get it done.”

The goal of this post isn’t to brag about myself. Okay, maybe that’s part of it. The other part is to encourage you to look for win-win situations, or, as was in this case, win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win situations. The more happy people there are, the more happiness there is. Seems simple, no?

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Today Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott turns 43 years old. Here is some of her finest work.