Friday 16 August 2013

Howling At The Moon - Walter Yetnikoff with David Ritz

Brilliant biog of one of the great Record Men of the boom period of the 70s and 80s.  Yetnikoff took Columbia from the reshaped position left by Clive Davis to top of the market then led the sale of Columbia to Sony.  This is a great read - flawed genius meets the excesses of the age. The financial rewards in the business at the time drove the lifestyle and the outrageous behaviour reflected in stories of record industry legend.  Read this after or before hitting Stan Cronyn's "Exploding"  which is the story of arch rival label Warner Brothers.  During the early 80s Yetnikoff used the legend "Fuck the Bunny" to rally his troops at sales conferences to beat Warners to the top spot.  This reflects the era and the man.  Ritz is effective as ever bringing out the human side of a driven individual.  A fun and fascinating read.