Jerry Greenberg

question to answer. I will say that probably the most creative and visionary person that I work with is Michael Jackson. Really, oh yeah, I'm forget about it. I mean this guy. I remember when he called me to interview me to he was starting his own record label, and I came home and I said to my wife, I just met Walt Disney, and she said, what are you talking about? I said, this guy is such a visionary, such a visionary. He wants to build theme parks, he wants to do Broadway,

he wants to be David Geffen. I mean, all rolled into one and um, that's my was my first impression of him. I mean I never never met him before, but we spent two hours together. Uh, he did his homework about Jerry Greenberg. And of course I've been listening to Michael Jackson since I was a baby, but um, it was I would have to put him at pretty much at the top of the list. In answer to your question, Okay, so you had that meeting. Did he live up to that meeting? Yes, there's no question. Okay,

So what year did you get involved. I got involved with Michael in So what's the first project you worked on with him? Free Willy Soundtrack? Uh. They wanted they wanted a song from Michael Jackson. I called Michael and he said to me, I saw the movie, I saw the track, everything, but I can't write it. I don't have any time. And I went into his uh last album and I found a song called will You Be There? And I sent it up to the producers and I said,

does this work? And they said yes. And so that was the launch of m j J Records, having the first soundtrack being Free Willy, one of michael songs, and then we put Michael's nephews in three t Then we got UH Girls Group to do a remake. So our first record for our record company ended up platinum out of the box. And what did you think when he died? Did you see that coming? Oh no, not not not at all. And I don't want to give it away, but there's a whole there's a major story about what

happened that the day after Michael died. I will just say that. Let me say that I was rushed to the hospital wait for your own medical and my own, my own medical condition, the day after he died, Okay, And therefore you attribute that to the news of his death.

I attributed to, yes, the news of his death, the fact that I was up doing interviews for almost fifteen hours, the stress of everything, and um, but here I am so, now, did you have a cardiac event or anything or was just stress and you went to the hospital and you chilled out? Well? Uh, I went to the hospital because I had back pain and pain in my arms and everything. And what happened is, believe it or not, a flat line for seventeen seconds, wow, in the hospital or at home,

you know, in the hospital, thank god. But I had the doctors around me and they got me back. And the bottom line is I had a torn iord to and but I had great doctors and they fixed it and uh, and I'm here. Okay, let's go back to the beginning. You're from the Haven, Connecticut, right, correct? Okay, all of the world's best pizza. That's the big decision. We ask everybody. Was it Peppi's or is it Sally's.

So you went to Peppi's for the clam pizza, but you went to Sally's maybe more for the sauce and this and that. But both of them were pretty pretty, pretty pretty good. Well, the funniest thing is it's one of the few things in life that live up to the legend. I remember going to Peppi's being all hyped and go, damn, this is really this. Every time I go back to Connecticut, I have to get the pizza. Correct. Okay, So you're there and you're growing up, and what does

your father do for a living. My father was in the jewelry business, thirty nine years in the jewelry business. Everybody loved them. I mean, if you're going to go buy a watch or a piece of jewelry, oh, go down and see Bill Greenberg. It's Specters in New Haven. He's the guy. It's just the way. Wait, just for one second, Specters was that connected to the same Specters and Bridgeport. Do you know I'm not just because my closest friend from high school. I'm gonna see it another month.

His father, his mother was specter and his father ran Specters, and I knew they were like three or four stories. I'll ask him when he's out here. I bet it was. Okay, So, now was your father first generation American? Yeah? Okay, and okay, So he's working at Specters. And what's it like growing up? What's it like growing up? Mother and father just great parents. My mother very hard worker. She held three jobs. She was a bookkeeper, she was a cashier. He had the

one job at Specters. But growing up in Connecticut, I grew up on an area called City Point, and it was near the water. So I grew up loving boating. I was painting boats when I was like nine years old and ten years old. You know, you know, I mean you can't see his handwave. He doesn't mean paint artistically, means literally painting boats. Yeah, literally the bottoms of boats, etcetera, etcetera. So I uh, you know, I grew up one around the water. I grew up with great parents, and I

was very lucky, very very lucky. Now you had your brother. It was just the two of you. It was just me and my brother, and you were who was the older brother? Do you? He was the older brother eight year eight years older than you. I didn't realize. Okay, So when did you become interested in music? Okay? So I'm at a bar mitzvah and the band takes a break and there's music coming playing like you know, through speakers,

records or whatever. And I go over to the drums and sit behind the drum set and I'm tapping, okay, And I see the drummer talk to my mother and I say, oh god, I guess he's mad. Next thing I know, my mother comes over and she said, the drummer told me you have natural rhythm. I have to get you drum lessons. Wow. So within thirty seconds, I'm now a drummer. I mean, I'm taking drum lessons. So parents buy you a kid a whole bit. Oh yeah, listen.

I I loved it. And what happened is there was a guy in New Haven who booked all the bar Mitz's and weddings and this and that. He calls my mother up. I'm fifteen years old. He calls my mother up and oh god, I have to back up in somebody in the fifties, you know. So I'm fifteen years old. My mother says his name was Arnold Moost. He should arnelmos called and he said everybody, every musician he can find, works on New Year's Eve. Which can I book a job for your son to play? So she said sure.

But my father had a shlip me down to I remember it was called the One Eagle restaurant, like on Chapel Street in New Haven. I walk in and the there was a base player and a piano player, and they took a look at me. I mean, I'm fifteen years old, babe, and he said, they go, okay. So I play all night with brushes, uh, and get through it. Ten to two was was the gig. And I remember I came home and I had something like thirty or thirty five rich. It was like what my father made

all week, you know. So first of all, I always wanted a rowboat, and I went to my father once I asked him some money for a rowbot. He as, you work for you can buy anything you want. So of course I took the money, went right out and I bought me a robot and that was the beginning of Jerry getting into the music business. Really okay, well, you played with these other pickup musicians, when was your next gig? My next gig was realizing that, wait a minute,

there's money in being a musician. I found the guitar player and I said, let's form a band. So we formed the band and we started. Uh. There was a group from the Haven, Connecticut called the Five Satin's which had probably the biggest do wop record in your in history. And I became from the name of that record from my audience who may not know. Second, what was the name of the record for the audience that may not know?

In the Stole of the Night? Oh yeah? And the Still in the Night should have been should be do the big biggest record during the older days? Okay at that point in time, was W A v Z still the top four as Okay? I remember trying to pull that in from Fairfield and whatever. When I went to summer camp, we played W A v Z. So, in any event, that's the biggest do wop hit, biggest hit, and you have that guitars friend, and now all of a sudden we put a band together, and we're backing

them up. We're going to New York and we're backing up the Yeah, we're backing up this five cents. How did you get that gig? They we were a good band, and you know, and they liked this. But but let me just say this. My band turned out to be the number one college fraternity band in the area. If you watched Animal House and you saw Belushi at that fraternity seen my band was that band. Okay. We used to play Yale and Wesleyan and Trinity and we even got gigs up in Boston. So we were we were,

we were rocking. I was like, okay, so how old were you when this was happening? And how often would you work every weekend? Okay? And did you graduate from high school? Yes? Okay, you graded from high school. No thought of college. You're a musician. I was thinking about music school, maybe Julius Heart School of Music. But past. Okay, So you're playing every weekend with your band. What kind of money you're making? Uh? We were getting paid anywhere

from to three hundred dollars a night. I was making anywhere from fifty dollars. I was booking, so I would take ten percent off the top. I was the booker, and I got so many calls for our band. Did I remember I said once to the fraternity guy, well listen, we're a book, but I think I could get you a band, and he said, okay, great, I trust you. So now all of a sudden, at eighteen years old,

I'm booking bands. I'm playing all these different colleges. And you know, I went from a rowboat to a seventeen foot speedboat. Wow. And he's still living at home. Uh, still living at home? Correct? Okay, So the name of the band is was the Passengers? Okay? And do you think are you the kind of person you're gonna find a way your survivor you're gonna find a way to make money. If it wasn't, the music business would have been something else. I don't know. I never thought of

of ever. Oh God, you gotta gotta make money to live. I just well, it's just kind of came natural. Well, I guess it's one thing to be a member of the band. It's also another thing to book the band. But the story always is is the drummer is the business guy. So this proves the point. Really, Oh yeah, you get into it. I give you example after example where the drummer is the business guy. Wow. So okay, so you're doing this. How long do you do this for?

How long I do this for? I do it? Uh because well we're starting to cut records, and we the guy who's uh actually the producer of these different records. He's got a deal with a big publishing company in New York. So we would go to New York with back up bands, back up the Satin's or a couple of other groups make some records. We were on Amy Malabel as King Author and the nights were on Atlantic

Is Jerry and the Passengers. Uh. You know, we just cut a lot of a lot of different stuff and one record that we can't I couldn't get a deal for. So what I did was, uh, I pressed up the record on my own. I sent the tape to r C A pressed up the record on my own. My guitar player was named c strand I'm Greenberg green C Records. Press it up, take the record. Because I'm getting very friendly with all the radio. This shock eys guys from a vz D, E, W D r C and hard

dr C. Absolutely, I'm gonna mention that. We'll talk about that in a minute. So the bottom line is I pressed up the record and I put it into Cutler's and I'm the famous record shop in New Haven, Connecticut. Yeah, it's the biggest. And uh so I'm up in Hartford collecting my money at a distributor. I over hear the guy say, oh, my promotion man's leaving. I'm looking for somebody. I say to the guy, wait a minute, how about me, I'd love that job. So he gives me the job.

I am now a record promotion man working for Seaboard Distributors out of Hartford. Going is far down to Bridgeport to w I c C. That is correct, too far uh north as Springfield, w Y something in Springfield. And of course the big station in Connecticut was w d R C and Harford, and that was run by birtha porter who everyone knew at that time. If Bertha picked the record, it could break nationally. So, okay, a couple of questions. This is a pre Beatles, Yeah, so what

kind of records were you working? Oh? No, you know, it's funny, funny. I had VJ as one of my labels. Had I had a Beatles record was introducing the Beatles on j one of the capital passed. Okay, so, uh this is in uh Nino and you know we had Atlantic and Chess and Checker and basically when almost all the labels were independent. Okay, Now did you were you continuing to play in your band on the weekends? Now? Did you you were making good money? We're buying a speedboat.

Did you have a dream of stardom? No? Okay, so you're just doing it? So okay. You you took the job as a radio record promotion being thinking I've got nothing to do Monday to Friday, or this will be a career or I just want to have, you know, a job. Well, I didn't know. You know, it was a job, and I felt it could be a career because I love music. I was when you love music, man, you just want to be around music. So I'm a guy who loves music and I'm a musician. So what's

been an than that? Okay? So how long do you work for cboard? How? Probably three or four years. But I became, you know, very close with everybody at Atlantic Records. And why was that? Uh? I think they liked me. I was breaking records in Connecticut for Atlantic, and I think they realized all of a sudden, Jerry had good ears and Jerry Wexler. Henry Allen was ahead of promotion at the time. Henry calls me and he goes, listen, Jerry Wexler just bought a record. I just bought a record.

He wants you to hear it and tell him what and tell you what he what you think and were I'm sending it up a man getting it up to you special delivery. The record was Percy Sledge When a Man Loves So I hear the record and I'm very close with the DJ in New Haven at w d E daytime station. I go to w d at two o'clock in the afternoon and I said, listen, put this on. Plays it at two, plays it again at three thirty, plays it again at like five. The phones are going

crazy crazy. Cutler's record job calls the station, what's this man loves the woman record you're playing on? We got people coming in want to buy it. So I called Jerry Wexlet the next day and I go, Jerry, You're gonna have the biggest crossover pop record you've ever seen. Watch And it was the truth. I mean, come on, we'll take a quick break and come back with more of my conversation with legendary record label executive Jerry Greenberg,

recorded live at the tune In Studios in Venice, California. Hi, it's Bob left Sex. Over the last couple of months, I've interviewed the lead singer of Garbage, Shirley Manson, and legendary drummer Kenny arn Off. But I really love getting the stories and the executives in and around the music industry, like Jerry. Whether you come for the music, the tech, or otherwise, be the first here next week's episode by subscribing to the podcast on tune In, Apple Podcasts or

your podcast player of choice. While you're there, please rate and review. Okay, let's get back to my conversation with Jerry Greenberg. What was the key to promoting a record tour? I mean, that's an obvious one, but when records not that obvious? What was the key to getting in on the radio? Um? Just too tenacity? Keep keep pounding the guy and going, hey, look it just happened in Texas, or it's doing this somewhere else, or what do they call it? The key to being a good promotion man?

I think there's one being honest to having a good track record, because you remember, you're trying to talk this guy into taking air time and play a record. You don't want to play a stiff. He wants to play a hit. He wants to be the first to play a hit. And I had that relationship, I think with a lot of guys and um and girls, and but I was very close with Bertha and she loved me. So, uh, let me just say this. A job opens up at

the other distributorship. Okay, there's two big distributorships in Harvard. Job opens up. My brother is doing radio promotion and I'm that radio selling time at a radio station. So I say to Bertha, Bertha, do me a favor. I'd like my brother to get that job. She said, well, I got to meet him. I said fine, So I set up a lunch. She falls in love with my brother. She calls the distributor. Hey, you know, Jerry's got a brother, Bob Greenberger. Boom, Bob gets the job. So now we

got Bob at one distributor, me at the other. But here's the best story yet, you're ready. I have to go in the army to do Army Reserve you know, none of us want to get drafted at that time. Uh, you could be out if you had a baby that postpone you're getting drafted. That none of us wanted to go to Vietnam. Anyways, I signed up a Army reserve. Army reserve, you got to go away for six months and then you have to serve for four more years,

going to meetings, etcetera. And I signed up. So Jerry Water calls me up ahead of Atlantic, says Jerry, after the thing with the happened with the Percy Sledge record, I want to hire you. I want you to come to New York and work for me, I said Jerry. I can't right now because I have to serve six months in the Army. I don't want to come there, and then I have to go, I said, But as soon as I get out, is the job still open the day you're out of the Army, you're coming to

work for Atlantic Records? I go, okay, great, So now I get the call to go and serve. So I say to my brother, let me ask you a question. What do you think if we put Dad into the record business? He says, I said that this is this job is perfect for him. Everybody loves him. It's personality. I said. He grew up listening to me with the band downstairs. He loves music. She he says, let's take a shot. So we go to Bertha and we go Bertha, I gotta go in the army for six months, but

I want my dad to fill in for me. Is that cool? I gotta meet him. Fine, you'll love him. So we bring that up to Harvard as lunch with birth reporter. I go to Marvin, my boss, and I say, listen, I gotta go now for six months. But I got the replacement for me for six months. I said, you know who's eye said, my father? Your father? Yeah, trust me. Bertha loves him. He calls up Bertha. She said, oh yeah, Bill Greenberg, he's great. Blah blah blah. So bingo. My

father's now took my job. He's in doing record promotion. So he gives up his jewelry salesman's job, gives up to Julia. Now he died and went to heaven. He got a car, he got an expense account. He's taking these DJs. I love golf, so I said, then take the guy from a VZ out to play golf. He did. Now he's getting records on after I'm in the army. Two months I get a note from Marvin, don't come back. Your father's better than you. So we had the Greenberg dynasty.

There was an article came out in cash Box, the Greenberg dynasty. Father's son brother. But it's a reverse kind of trip, if you know, it's usually the kid gets into father's business. This was the kid put the father in in my business. But just a uh been up one little uh hole here, your brother, how do you get into selling radio time? Um, that's interesting. I don't know. He just he knew somebody at a radio station and

a job came. He did a It could have might have been NAVEZ, New Haven, one of the radio stations in New Haven. So that was I utilized that with Bertha, like, Hey, this guy, you know, he's not a cook or or salesman or something. He's in radio already. Let's get him out of selling time and let's get him into promotion. So in any event, you're in the army for six months, you get out and you go to work for Atlantic

Correct and you have to move to New York City. No, I'm living in New Haven and I'm commuting every day, every day from the Raven every day from New Haven. That's almost because I grew up, as I say, in fear Field. When I grew up in fear Field in the sixties, that was just one step too far. People commute now, but the Heathen that's like an hour and a half each way on the train. Yeah. I took the train a couple of times, but it didn't work out.

So I'm driving and they give your parking because parking in New York City could eat up your whole salary. Uh. Now they as it happened after about two years. I remember I went into armed and I said, listen, you know you guys got me out late at night. I'm driving home at eleven o'clock. I said, we we gotta

fix this. So they gave me a car and a driver. Yeah, and then they kept on saying, why don't you move to the city, And I said, my wife ex wife, Uh, it's not like living in the city with the kids. I said, but I you know, if you help me out, I will move closer. And I did. I moved to Greenwich. So I was in Greenwich. Now we're on a forty five minute ride and h I'm commuting. Okay, So you go to work for Atlantic. Do you remember what year that is? Sixty seven? Sixty seven, sixty eight? Okay, so

they're still doing the rascals over there in Atlantic. Oh yeah, okay, what's your gig at Atlantic? I come in and that's what I thought. I show up the first day and I said, what am I promotion? Man? What I know? You're Jerry Wexler assistant. And I'll never forget. We walk into a meeting Jerry Wexler and probably fifteen Atlantic people's staff people, and he goes, I want to introduce Jerry Greenberg. Here's my new assistant. So I expect you to treat

him with respect. And I will remember I knew a lot of those guys because they would be calling me to promote different records. They all knew who I was. So I came in as as Jerry's assistant, where I will tell you that's the man that taught me the record business. Okay, so tell us more about Jerry. Well, Jerry. Somebody asked me something about Jerry, and I said, working for Jerry Watson was like joining the Marines. You either came out a drill sergeant, or they found you in

a swamp. And I mean, Jerry would think nothing on the Jewish holiday, young k PORI he called my house. He says, I got to speak to Jerry, and my wife said, he's in the temple. Give me the temple number. I want to talk to him. Jerry would call me at three in the morning and say, did you listen to the oldest reading test pressing? I'm hearing ticks and pops. I mean, he was just a maniac in a good way.

Uh taught me, always returned phone calls. Taught me people said, how did you become president at thirty two years old? I said, I called everybody back, and I knew how to see yes and no. And that was Jerry Wexler teaching me that. Okay, so, but Jerry was also a producer. Jerry is the guy that signed the Wretha Franklin. Jerry would produce the first job I had an Atlantic. Jerry calls me and is, obviously, listen, the first thing we're

gonna do. I'm producing Dusty Springfield. I love her from England. He said, I need songs. So it gives me a list of people to call, like Carol King and Jerry Goffin and Ellie Greenwich and all these different people. So my first job at Atlantic Records was finding songs for Jerry Wexler to produce Dusty Springfield. I found a couple myself, believe it or not, that made the album, and that

was the Dusty and Memphis album. Legendary, legendary them. But Jerry, Jerry's gig was running Atlantic during the day and making records at night with Dr John Or. His biggest artist was basically a Wretha Franklin, and he discovered Wretha. I mean, he took her from Columbia, made her a big week star, and that was his biggest claim to fame. But what happened is basically they sold a company right to Kenny to Warner Brothers. Yeah, there was called Kenny at the time.

Then they changed to Warner Brothers. And once the company was sold, I think Jerry made the decision probably seventy that he wanted to spend more time recording. He also loved the water, so he ended up buying a place in Florida, had a boat in Florida, UH connected with Criteria's studios, and he would record all of his acts at Criteria and be on the phone with me. But he wasn't running the company anymore. Now we'll cut to the beginning of Jerry's rise in Atlantic. Okay, let's just

go back for one session. At the time, her Babyson was out, but his wife was still there being the account. No, she wasn't there when I came. What was am It's role when you were there? Amage role was a guy who he was the president of the company or co founder of the company. When I first came. I never saw him, really, yeah, never saw him. Uh, he was either in England or he was in California. Almas claimed

to fame. Once I joined the company, was finding a lot of the English acts from England, getting a relationship with Chris Brockwell. So now all of a sudden we got Mark to Hoopo, and we got King Crimson, so m and Robert Stigwood, and he heard Clapton in the club. So Alman spent most of his time in Europe, in England, and in California. Ahmed signed The Iron Butterfly and all of those acts. So you had Almed more of an A and R source, Jerry more of a guy who

ran day to day but also record producer. That was before they sold the company or just as they sold the company. Okay, so really Jerry was Jerry Wexen was the day to day guy. Now, oh yeah, no question. Okay. So Jerry Wexler moves to Florida, and when that leaves you where that leaves me. Even while Jerry was there, I kind of moved was moving up. I was the

head of promotion. I was the national promotion director. I had a great team, Dickey Klein and uh Danny Marcus and all the all these all these great great promotion people.

Then they promoted me. I started signing acts. The first act I signed, believe it or not in nineties sixty seven or sixty eight was Archie Bell in the Drills Tighten Up right, So that that was on Atlantic, right, Yeah, I think you know that's funny that that record didn't sound like anything else, and that my sister bought the single, huge hit, huge hit. How did you find that? I got in the mail from Hue Mo you know who you producer in Texas well, M E A U X

right exactly. So, So then I moved up as head of A and R. Because I'm signing all of these acts. Then they promoted me to general manager. So now I'm the second in command right under under Wax. Now you're moving up so quickly? Aren't other people jealous? It was a family there, family. The older guys had a lot of respect for me, George for Ness, Juggie Gale, you know that right right. For those of you who don't know, I started getting Bob's sheet in Atlantic records probably the

early seventies. Is not a blue piece of paper used to come into mail. I used to open it up and read it. You had the Bob left this tip of the week and this isn't that Shaw. I'm probably one of his podcasts guys here who go back longer with Bob than anybody. Absolutely, and so, uh, continue your journey up the Atlantic food chain. Well, so my my journey. The biggest thing that happened. So they sell the company Jerry's in Florida. Almond comes into my office and he goes,

I'm signing the Rolling Stones. You're the only person in Atlantic I trust talking to make ja. He says, So you're gonna come with me. We had a signing party in France and I flew to answer with Ahmed and we signed the Rolling Stones. That was the beginning of my relationship now with Ahmed, and I'll never forget. Mick came into New York with the first album, which was Sticky Fingers. It was just Sticky Fingers, and um, it calls me, he says, mix here with the first record.

He wants to play it for me, but I want you there. And we walked down to the mastering room and Me, Mick, Jagger and Ahmed and he looks to to Jagger and he said, this guy picks all the singles here. He says, let him hear your record brown Sugar. Of course that's your single. And from that moment on, I became a hero with Mick. Wow. So now when do you become the president of the nineteen seventy four four? Correct? And is there a president before? That? Was the president? Was? Ahmed?

In said, I'm moving up to chair man. Uh you know, Steve Ross wants me as chairman of Atlantic. You're going to be president. Boom boom boom. So there I am man, you know, thirty two years old president of Atlantic. But um, you know Jerry wasn't there to answer the phones. M it's always traveling never came into the office until four o'clock in the afternoon, and so I was the guy. But I will tell you that I had the greatest

team at Atlantic Records. You know, I love football. I say we were the Green Bay Packers during that time. Call me, Vince Lombardi. I don't know if you want to call me. But it was that team there, that spirit. Nobody wants to go home. Everybody loved the artists, everybody loved the music. The music the musicians were It was like nothing you've ever seen, and unfortunately nothing that exists now, right of course. Okay, so they had a legendary run.

It's not only the Stones. They have led Zeppelin. So tell us about your work with led Zeppelin. Well, let me tell you. Led Zeppelin got signed. We're working on the Bud, Dusty and Springfield album. And Dusty says to Jerry Wexler, you know, John Paul Jones is going to form a new group with Jimmy Page. He's leaving the Yardbirds.

So Jerry goes I wanted and he finds out that Steve Wisse, who is a lawyer for the Rascals, manages Jimmy Page picked up the phone Jerry Wexler signed led Zeppelin just off of we never Helready note the music, just off of the legendary Jimmy Page John Paul Jones, who was the greatest session musician in London. There was no Bonzo, there was no Robert Plant and Jerry Wexler signed led Zeppelin. So now we get the first record, first record, that's okay. I become very friends, very good

friends with Peter Grahant, the manager. The manager, very big guy, used to be a wrestler. Everybody was afraid of him. Everybody said he managed the animals. I think also he was partners would make him most. He and I just hit it off. I mean, you know, if you go back and think about it, if managers don't get along with the head of promotion, how they're going to get the records? Right? Of course, so he was smart enough to know, Hey, god, I think I should treat this

Jerry Greenberg with respect. But it was better than that, because remember, I'm a drummer, I'm a musician. I'm one of them. I'm not I didn't come from being an accountant or a lawyer. One Hey man, I'm one of you guys. So Peter Grant and I were very very close. But this is the great led Zeppelin. Jerry Greenberg's worry. So the second record comes out. A whole Lot of Love is blowing up on the FM stations, blowing up, but it's five minutes and some odd seconds. You're not

going to get that on w a BC. You're not gonna get it on a BC. I call up Peter Grin. I go, Peter, do me a favorite, talk to Jimmy, asked them to go in the studio and making edit for me. A whole lot of Love. We're not as saying as man, So I said, please, please comes back. I spoke to Jimmy's not doing it. Click. So now this record is getting bigger and bigger. Call him back. You gotta give it to me. I'm telling you I can. We can break the group in America. You got it.

Pulls be back. We're not doing it. So I say, what if I did it? Let me let me make an edit and I'll send it to you for your approval. Go ahead, I take record. I put it down by my desk. I watched the clock at two. They're in the hook. What's the hook? A hold lot of love? I need a whole lot of love. I faded out. I faded at three oh five. I sent it to Peter. Peter says to me, Jimmy wants to know what are

you gonna do with this exactly? I said, Oh, I'm just gonna cut a couple of doves and send it and a couple of doves and send it to a couple of radio stations. Jimmy said, okay. I pressed up two thousand records, two thousand long version, one side, short version the other. We know what happened, right, we know what happened. It was first and fore most. I remember because I was a fan of the first album, and

it was an inside thing. That album came out, leads up into within a week, everybody in my high school had it. A whole lot of love was everywhere. I played it every day for a week and then couldn't play it for like months, just because every where you went you heard that record. Correct, so the band, So the record blows up? Right? You love this. I get a call from Peter. Jimmy wants to know when the records coming on the jar. Peter record can't come on the chart. It's not out of as a signal oh,

calls back. Jimmy said, put it out as so we put it on. In America, they wouldn't put it out and it wouldn't allow it in England. I believe we put it out, and I think the record one top ten for sure. That broke the band. But you know that was something that Jerry is proud of, and he had the tenacity to keep calling the Jutzpah to you know, get that record on the radio. Blew right up. I mean, w A d C in New York's playing led Zeppelin.

Come on, that's a legendary top forty station. Correct. For those people who don't know, you're listening to Mike conversation with legendary record label executive Jerry Greenberg, recorded live to the Tune In studios in Venice, California. I hope you're enjoying this episode of the Bob Left Sets podcast. If you want to see videos, photos, and soundbites from Jerry and the rest of my guests as they joined me in the studio, visit at tune in on Twitter, Facebook,

and Instagram. Now more of my conversation with Jerry Greenberg on The Bob Left Sets Podcast. Okay, just stay with let's up one for a while. The next album leads up on the three is a complete left turn, doesn't do as well. But then they come out with the fourth album with Stairway to Heaven. Correct, Are you aware that that's going to become the most famous rock track

of all time? Then I and then I think it, you know, right at the beginning, not really, I knew it was something special though it was very very special. I mean English band are special, you know. I mean you think about you you listen to Genesis and Emerson Lake and Palmer and the musicianship from English bands, it's just incredible. And when you think about Stairway to Heaven with the guitar solo and and the shift in tempo

and it was, it was absolutely amazing. So now let's cut two number one FM cut in the in the country, eight minutes seven. We ain't cutting that, I don't think, But I call him up and I say, give me something, give me something that we could hang our hats on. And they ended up we I forget who did it. I know, I didn't go in and just faded out. We had to work on the guitar solo and everything, but we got it down to five minutes, and so we got a lot of top for these stations to

place their way to heaven. But it's the number one FM track in history. Of course it used to be. You know, the Memorial five was always number one. So let me let me just tell you my great leads up one story. So I would go to their concerts mostly they pay two or three nights at Madison Square Garden, always backstage, always sitting on the speakers. Took the kids one night at the garden. Richard Cole, who is their

road manager. I see they set up a conga's and on a Whole Lot of Love the encore Richard go out and play congas. So I say to Richard, let me do it. He goes, come on, I said, come on, you know I'm a drummer. Let me do it. He says, give me fifty dollars. I say, you got it. I whip into my pocket. I take out fifty dollars. I go out. I am playing conga's on the led Zeppelin Whole Lot of Love Encore at Madison Square Garden, and Jimmy and Robert turn around the see me. They get hysterical.

The song ends. I go to walk off stage. Bonzo grabs me by my shirt drags me to the front of the stage. I'm in the middle of led Zeppelin. Jerry Greenberg is in the middle of led Zeppelin taking about at Madison Square Garden. I can tell you that's a memory, buddy, that's for sure. Now let's go through some of your other greatest hits in Atlantic. You sign Apple correct? How did that happen? It happened because Ness,

we are it again? Who was Ahmed's brother who was one of the founders of Atlantic, who when the company got sold, became head of Wea International, called me up and he said, listen, the Eurovision Song of the Year is a song by a Swedish group called uh Songs called Waterloo and the goop's called Harbor, and um, I don't think they have a deal in America. I'm getting a copy of the record. I'm gonna give it to Phil Carson, who's the head of our international company, and

I'll have sent it to you. And I get the record in the mail and I listened to it and it kind of had like a Phil Specter beach Boy is kind of sound, and I knew it was great. So I want called the lawyer in New York. They said the records available and I signed. Well, it turned out to be the biggest selling group in the world. And who else did you work with in your tenure there in Atlantic? Who else did I sign or work with? I work with everybody. I mean, you know ROBERTA. Flack, Reata, Franklin,

Benny King. Uh, you know. I was the head of promotion, but then I became the head of the record company, so I worked with the whole roster. So who else did you sign? Yea, Oh, I signed a foreigner. That's probably my biggest rock signing. I remember hearing feels like the first time on the radio, and literally driving directly to the record store. Just had to own it, right, The sound of that feels like the first time. Yeah, you know, it's funny because I heard you on when

you did the Paul Rogers interview. You talked about hearing free on the mirrored Parkway. You gotta remember, I'm driving home every night to Greenwich. That's in the car, That's where I was picking the records. I didn't have time in the office to listen to music. I'm I'm getting a hundred and fifty phone calls a day. So when did Jerry get a chance to listen to music on the way home? Had a limo, had a tape deck, speakers, cassettes, and they sent me to Bad Company Record and I

picked UH Can't Dare Enough of You Love. I laugh when you're talking about that with Paul Rods is because I got on the mirror Parkway and I played that record all the way at the Greenwich. That's an instant here, that one one listen hit one? How do you sign for? How did I sign for it? But Prager called me who I knew? Who managed uh an act on Atlantic and managed Mountain, obviously managed Leslie West. The producer called me, says, I got a great band for you, Bapa, Papa. I

think they sent over a tape. I feel like the first time was on the demo tape. I said, I got to see them live. So I go to the recording UH studio that the rehearsing app. I had Jim Delahan who was the head of A and our guy and another guy and we go there and the audition for me and Mick says to me Rick Jones, Mick Jones, I'm sorry, Mick Jones. Lead in the guitar players. Says to me, well, you know, we're talking to A and M, which is a California based a record company, big record company.

We're talking to A stuff which is Clive Davis's new company. Three companies with A's and them. And I said, listen, First of all, you don't want to sign with A and M. They're a great company, but they're based in California. Number two, we're based here. We're based here in l A. And I always give the bands Jerry's pitch that he's a drummer, that he's one of them. So I said to him, I said to him, listen, man, you know I'm a drummer. In fact, let me sit in with

you guys now I want to play a song. I get up and I jam with the band. So like Mick Jones is like kind of shocked, and and they're all, you know, I'm pretty good too. And four a drummer, So they say to me. I I say to them, I say, listen, tell Bud you want to sign with Atlantic, but we got a deal. I promise you a gold record on the first record. But I gotta play Madison's were Garden. When you play the sure enough we didn't put it in the contract, but sure enough, their first

record comes out. There was only one other record that came out at the same time that blew up like that, Boston. Right. So the Boston was six months before, six months before, right. I remember Bug coming to my office every day. I'm glad you said that because he used to come to my office day. I want Boston. You gotta make this like Boston, and and we did. So now they're gonna play the Garden. And I know they're gonna play the Garden. I said, hey, you know, we gotta bet. They said, don't.

We're gonna take care of it. So I'm on the side of the stage. Sure enough, on the encore, uh hot Blood and I think it was a song whatever the encore was to take out a drum set. Jerry goes out, Jerry plays the encore. They say to me, you know, we're gonna take the drum set on the road, so wherever you show up, you can you can sit in. So they played the Forum. I flew to California, I did the Form, I did Miami, I did all the warm places Hawaii. But we're to this day. I'm still

very close with Mick Jones. You know they've changed members. I saw him what a year ago when they played out here, and you know, you go to a foreign Foreigner concerts like a jukebox, absolutely amazing, how many hits they have. And then when they worked with but Lange and they did that incredible album Foreigner four, it was just unreal. So okay, you tell us how you got Foreigner away from A and M and Arista. Did you ever lose a band? Oh yeah, oh yeah, I missed

a few. I was the first guy to see Billy Joel. I wanted to sign Billy Joel and it's a long story, but anyways, he ended up on Columbia. UM and uh, this is a great story. You love and this is a true story. So I get a call from Steve Lieber, who's the manager partner with with David Krebs, big manager in New York. He says, I want you to come and see a band we're gonna have at Maxis Kansas City. I said, okay, I show up with Almed. He said, but you gotta bring Almed, so I said, okay, So

it's Armed. Myself. Phil Carson was in town. My guy from Europe, Jim Delahan we go to Maxis Kansas City. Who's sitting next to me, Clive Davis, who's on the other side of me, the head of our c A. All the record companies are there. All of a sudden, band comes out. Who is it? Steve Tyler and he's got scarves and Ahmed leans over. After the second number, he says, we're out of here. I said, Ahmed, I can't leave, I said, Steve leaving is a friend of mine.

We're not getting up and leaving, just sit there having another drink. So after every song, I get up and I'm ap plority yo, Nick Babe. Steve Leever and Clive's next table is looking at me. All of a sudden, Leeba comes over. After the show, he goes, you love them right? I said, we hated him. She's your kidding, I said no. I said, Amna wanted to leave, but I kept them here. I said, Alma says to me, we had just signed the stones. He's imitating Mick Jagger,

bah bah bah bah bah. So he said, yeah, but I was watching you. I said, I did it for you. Go over and tell Clive Davis you just got a big offer from Atlantic. Double it. He'll double it guaranteed true story. That's what happened. So that's how Aerosmith ended up at That's how Aerosmith ended up in Columbia. So you work is the head of the president of Atlantic to what year until nine eighty? I decided after missing a couple of great opportunities. Uh about business opportunities, Yes,

label opportunities. Okay, Uh David Geffen gave to me, So you need your own label. You should have your own label. You signed Foreigner Genesis Alba you know, blah blah blah. Because I watched David, who offered me a piece of Asylum Records back in the early days, start a record company and make them a lot of money. So I necessarily decided, I'm going to start my own record label with my brother. And what's your brother doing at this point? Oh? My?

First of all, my well, my brother ends up back from Hartford, ends up going to work for Warner Brothers. From Warner Brothers New York, they moved them out to California. So while I'm working started working for Atlantic, Bob is now working for Warner Brothers in California. Once I took over at Atlantic, I needed a new general manager for Atlantic. So Bob now becomes the general manager of Atlantic in the yearly seventies. So you have the Greenberg team and

your father is still working for the record distributor. Yeah, that's still working for the distributor in Harford. You got Bob in l A, got Jerry running Atlantic in New York, and you know, we were the Greenberg's running Atlantic. But so in nine Geffen comes to me. He said, you know you need you should start your own record label, you know, And I said, fine. You know, he said, I go to Alma and my contracts up, and I said, I want to start my my own label. They don't

want you to have it. They want the wall for you. Anything to stay at Atlantic, anything you want, I said. I was kind of like I just wanted something new. You know, you reach a certain point. I mean I had it down. Hey, let me start something new fresh. Boom boom. Okay, they wouldn't do it. So Geffen calls me a we all know that our friend David with his phone book and he said, Alan Hirshfield wants to meet with you. Alan Hirshfield just took all the twentieth

century Fox take a meeting with Alan Hirshfield. Alan Hurshield said we're gonna offer you half twenty century Fox Records. We'll start a new company. We'll call it Green Fox Records. And here's the deal. So I go back to Ahmed and everybody, I said, listen, I'm leaving. I'm going to start a new record company. You got it. That's when they gave me Mirage. Bob and I started Mirage in We were consultants to Atlantic Records and I stayed there

for five years. But Prayer called me when he started Mirage. What do you think was first record? I signed White Snake. That was our first record. And what else was Amurage? Oh? God? Southside Johnny Phoebe Snow had a big We were doing a lot of dance records. Shannon let the music play. Brenda Case start the system. You're in my system. I mean we were always on the charge. Five years. We were always on a charge. We were a small but profitable little label. It was just Bob and I and

two other people. I took Jim Delahan with me and a secretary. We were two people in l A, three of us or four of us in uh New York. But that's the way those you know, it's what's happening now with these little independent labels. Atlantic was doing all the marketing, the promotion, everything, and the next step is w t G. The next step was was Tommy Montola calling me. No. The next step actually after Mirage, was

Jerry Winthrump. Okay, Jerry Winthrump called me and said, I'm starting MGM U A. I want you to be my guy. I said, well, it's me and my brother, no problem. So I left. We only had like a couple of acts at that time. I'mage, so I left the acts there and I went to MGMU A. First project, I do a m G m G MGM you way as Jerry comes to me and he says, I'm doing a movie to the Karate Kid. You should do the music put together Peter Stara Brooks, author from the song and

we had Glory of Love. First record comes out with gold mgmuays in the record business. Jerry leaves after a year and a half. The guy comes in. He says, listen, I don't I don't like the record business. I don't want to record business. He said, I want you you to uh still do soundtracks on land on your contract. I said, gee, I don't know if that's for me. At the same time, am A walls me this seven ors. He goes, I'd love you to come back and and be part of Atlantic again. So I said, what are

we talking about? He said, how about you become president of ATCO, which was the other label. I said, I'll only do it if I could stay in California. And I said, and it makes sense. You got Doug Morris running it there in New York. Leave me in California. I'll find things in California. He says, Okay, you got it. So I'm now back in Atlantic, president of at CO. First couple of records I signed, I do the soundtrack to Eddie Murphy Coming to America. I do a deal

with Jerry Heller. First rap record on for Wheel was J J. Fatt, Supersonic and mische Le. So then I assigned an escape club from England. I signed like six things, had five goal records. All that happened like in a year and a half. But Atlantic just it wasn't the same. And Tommy kept on calling me the total and he calls, listen taking over Sony here the first guy I want higher. I said, I am not coming back to New York. Would you go back to New York? No? Never? Never.

I mean I keep reading I have nostalgia, and you go and you say, hey, I miss it, and then after like five or six days. Okay. The way I always put it is New York City, greatest city in the world. I'd rather live in Los Angeles. Correct. Yeah, it's just like it's just the other thing is for people like us who grew up in the suburbs. Even though the traffic is terrible, I like not being totally on top of each other in l A. And I also like that there's not the bs of who your

parents were. Everybody is so full of ship in Los Angeles, and I could be whoever I want to be. No one really cares exactly exactly. My big thing with Los Angeles was that I loved boating, and the first thing I did when I got out here was by a boat and kept in a Marina del Rey. Then I moved it up to Newport. I'm voting every weekend. Man, I'm I'm like going crazy. So I say to Tommy, I'm not coming back. So he says, uh, fine, We'll

give you your own label. In California. I said that makes sense, I said, you know, uh, California's still a very active talent situation. So they gave me my own label. But the interesting story is just before I went to take the job, I'm at the Atlantic fort anniversary show. Were led up in led Zeppelin Reunites and bonds. Bonzo's son, John Bonham's playing drums. I lean over and I said, my wife, I'm gonna sign that. Kid said what kid? I said the drummer, John Bonham's son. So I go stage.

I grabbed Jason. I said, listen, man, I want to what are you What are you doing after this? He said, well, I'm thinking about putting a band together. No, no, no, You're gonna put a band together, and you're gonna be my first signing for my new label. So he goes okay. So finds the lead singer and gets a guitar player. We get Bob Ezeran, the greatest producer in the world. My first record on w TG is Disregardful Time Keeping.

It's a platinum album. I'm in the rock business. So I look around at Atlanta, at at at Now I'm over at Sony Columbia, and I look around. I said, what are they missing that I could bring to the table. I said, they don't have any heavy metal. I signed Motorhead. Okay, we have the first Grammy nominated record for Motorhead. Look around again and I said, they're not putting out any soundtracks. I get friendly with Cameron Crow the your t G

signs say anything. Peter Gabriel put together the soundtrack. I had three gold records like Boom Boom Boom before you blinked so and then I got a call from Michael Jackson. This is like and they lawyer caused, Michael Jackson wants to meet with you. Cut to go. Take the meeting with Michael two hours, love you, love you, greatest guy in the world. And I take a position in an equity position too, by the way, in uh, Michael's m g J music and um, the first thing I do there,

I think I mentioned is the free Willie. And then we signed brown Stone. We signed Tatiana League, gave Rodney Jerkins's first record. So my first job on Earth, I guess, is making dreams come true, finding talent, loving the music, still to this day, loving the music. I'm trying to help some friends of mine. I got two young artists that I'm trying to help develop. One's like a real Bruce Springsteen kind of guy named Travis March, and the other is a black singer up in from San Francisco,

real great, great black singer. So I'm still out there today now trying to help some people get things organized. The big thing that I'm working on also right now is a tribute to Michael in conjunction with his birthday. Michael's will be sixty in August nine, and I came up with an idea to do a tribute. He's the king of pop, but he's also the king of dance. I came up with an idea to put together all the young, the young, new up and coming dance artists.

And I'm talking obviously Chris Brown, obviously Usher, obviously, you know all those groups that are out there that are inspired by Michael. So we came up. We're putting a song together called Shut Up and Dance, and we're gonna get all worldwide. You know, I'm I'm really very interested in this whole K pop thing. I think this K pop thing is going to explode here. So we're talking to be two s about being involved. We're talking to

an artist from China. So I'm working on this project that it's kind of I don't want to say it's like a we are the World thing, but it's it's a lot of great artists together paying tribute to Michael and his dance in the dance world. Okay, so it's one track, one track, and it's a cover of a previous Michael Jackson song. No, it's a brand new song, brand new song. But who wrote it? Uh? Jason Drill.

Oh right, that's really cool. So Okay, if this late day, you're still in the game, but on some level of the game is very similar to how it was when you started, but another level different because the difference would be, yeah, everything's independent. Everybody has individual power. But in the sixties, when there were fewer records, if you had to hit record, everybody in America knew it right, whereas today it is hard to get that mind share. So what do you

feel about the music and the record business today? First of all, I feel that it's an amazing time for young artists. I'd like to preach to the young artists to say, have the patience to make your dreams come true. I tell everybody the big word in our business right now is patients. And what I'm seeing is these young kids who grew up to our music, grew up to Led Zeppelin. I mean I gret A Van, I mean

I read about it in your column. The first thing I did was I went, I looked at the record and I said, God, if I had a record label, I'd signed him in a minute. And I called Jason.

When Jason made the deal, Jason Flam who was presently Universal, were a lot of three ex Atlantic people were his Lava Records, Isa, Hey, they was in Atlantic, right But my my point is these kids are growing up to our music, and they're growing up to Billy Joel, They're growing up the Arrowsmith and they have the tools now available in their room to record, to make a video, to give it to YouTube. And I just think there's so worldwide now, there's so much great talent being nurtured

that it's amazing. So how does this talent get exposed? Okay, a lot of it has to happen by touring, a lot of it has to happen by word of mouth. A lot of happen has to be lucky in getting signed to a record company. But there's an enormous opportunity right now for music companies, from publishing companies, for management companies. Major opportunity now in the music business. And do you think rock is dead or rock could come back? No, Rock's gonna come back. Really, why are you so convinced.

I'm just smell it. Okay, call it a gut all of a sudden, you'll you'll, you'll see it. It's gonna be. It's gonna be songs. I mean, no disrespect to rapp and into everything that is going on, but you know, the main thing is as songs. And you know what I mean, Billy is still out there making songs. Billy Joe a brew It's song song business. Imagine my granddaughters fourteen years old, calls me up. I said, who's your favorite band? Imagine Dragons. I mean, young kids are getting

into rock. Let me tell you, uh panic at the disco, etcetera. So I'm telling you rocks are gonna come back. Well, certainly people, but people don't realize, you know they because they give Greta Van Fleet a hard time sounding led Zeppelin. Well, this is fifty years after led Zeppelin and led Zeppelin was influenced by the American blues guys. And it wasn't even fifty years there exactly. No, it's it's it's funny because a lot of those English acts clapped in Zeppelin,

et cetera. They all grew up to the blues exactly, all American music, all American music, and that's where they got a lot of it from. Who did you work with, who you believed in but didn't break through? Oh? Boy, um, I don't know, And you know that's a hard question. I was. I guess I was lucky. Then most of the acts broke through. Here's here's a well, here's an example. I've read in the newspaper. John Prine is out touring, has a record oil. Well, Jerry Waxer signed John Prin.

But he didn't break through it Atlantic. I mean he didn't really you know what, he's never really broke it through. The times have caught up with him. So he's an established artist, but he never had a hit, right exactly. But you know, when I go back and I think, you know of some of the acts that Jerry found signed. Learning from Jerry, the diversity of Jerry signed De Laney and Bonnie, then he went to Dr John. Then he did the Alice Cooper deal. I mean, this is the

guy that was all over the place with music. And that's when I think, uh, you know, I am I learned about soundtracks. I mean the deal for the Muppets soundtrack. I picked Rainbow I heard Rainbow Connection. This is a great story. I come back and then Jerry Almetterre in their office. I said, listen, I just made a great deal. We got the soundtrack to the Muppets. There's dead silence, m it goes, oh the Muppets. I said, well, they their puppets. They got a TV shot. TV doesn't sell. No,

this is big. Trust me, this is gonna be big. He said, what's the soundtrack? I said, well, it's basically music. But they got a song I think could be a hit. They got a song. What's the song? Oh, it's called Rainbow Connection. Who's going to do it? Or the Frog? Wait a minute, the Frog is going to sing Rainbow Connection. I said, yeah, it's a Paul Williams song. I think it could be a hit single. They looked at me like I was smoking weed. Man, are you guys? Are

you crazy? And I remember Jerry. The quote from Jerry was ahmed the kids right, more than he's wrong. If he says is gonna be hit, it's gonna be hit. And it was. Well pause here for a brief moment and get right back to Jerry Greenberg. Check out my writing at left sets dot com. I cover all the topics of the podcast and more. Go to left sets dot com and sign up for the newsletter to read

all my rants and observations. Now more with legendary record label executive Jerry Greenberg, recorded live at the two In Studios in Venice, California. Okay, just covering up some other stuff, covering some other stuff. To what degree was Paola factor in your history? I don't talk about I'm not asking you your personal stories of paying people, but the business at large, I think it all got blown out of proportion. Hit Man got blown out of proportion. We to me,

I never hand that the shocky any money. Did I do certain promotions? I remember I took about twenty DJs to the Super Bowl, uh in Florida and Miami was playing or something. I forget who was playing. But those things you could kind of get away with those kind of promotional things. Um. But um, as far as cash being out there and are are are drugs. It wasn't as big as everybody's making it sound. Well. There was that era though, where there was cash paid to independent promoters. Correct, okay?

And how much how much drugs did you see and do in your heyday? I'm probably the only musician and the only one in the record business that could put my hand on a bible and say I never put anything up my nose. I never put anything in my mouth. The only thing I did, and I will tell you that I did it quite often with smoke. Weed. But think about the seventies and weed. You know, I said

something to somebody. They laughed. I said, you know, you could put a blindfold on me, walked me into the Madison Square garden and I could tell what band is playing by how much weed I smell. Is that is that good? That's very good? So you you want to know who like the bands where they can? Yes? Really? Oh yeah, yes, Genesis, Emerson, Lake and Palmer very big weed smokers. Uh and Zeppelin Stones not so much. I mean, yeah, but not not as much as those English psychedelic bands

or whatever. But um, I never smoked any weed in you in the office. Uh, never you know you're you're with the bands afterwards, and everybody's passing a joint. You know you'd smoke. Okay, Well, there were some heavy cocaine you're especially the late seventies early eighties. Uh, how did you decide not to take it? That's a very good question, and I can give you the answer. I was very good friends with the drummer and average White band, very good friends. And I got a call in my office, Um,

forgive me, I forgot his name. Guess what so and so had just died. I said, what, Yeah, he was at a party. He thought it was cocaine, It was heroin. He died right at that moment. I think the light bulb went off of my brain. Jerry, you'll never gonna put any white stuff up your nose, are in your mouth, never ever. And I would be backstage with a lot of groups and they'd be passing that shoot around. But Jerry passed. Okay. And then how did you make Roundabout

a hit? Because they had, yes, had three previous albums. The third one had some success. The Roundabout was a lengthy track that it sounded like nothing on the radio. So you know that I did the edit on Roundabout. If you might have told me in the past, but I forgot Yeah, no, same story. I went in the studio, worked with some engineers, got it down, got it played. And that's another example of like, Jerry, what can we

do for you? And so at Christmas, we're giving yes Gold Records, and they said, we got a present for you, and they show up. They gave me a brand new drum set. Again they knew I was drummers. Good friends with Alan White and well the boys. I say, take the drum set out to Nashville and Colosseum I want to sit in. I say it as a joke. We go out to National Colosseum. All of a sudden, bingo, they set up the drum set. Jerry is now laying Nassau Coliseum. You've played all the venues. I played all

the venues. So another story, famous lads upwards. Story three I believe it is. And the Houses of the Houses of the Holy Tour I think it was. They played Madison Square Garden for three nights. They're staying at the Drake Hotel. There's two hundred odd thousand in the safe. It gets stolen and they fly back to England, not worrying about the money. Hey do you think many people think they stole the money themselves. What do you think happened? No,

I don't think so. They don't need to steal the money, you know. Um, I think it was really stolen. I think they realized there wasn't no way they were going to get it back. And listen, Um, things happen on the road, as we all know. Okay, well, it sounds like there's a lot of stories there. And then to what degree? And you had all these acts, I mean people acts like Abba. They literally just made hits. They were hitting factory. But let's go back to Genesis. They

didn't have hits. You know. Peter Gabriel had a hit in seventies six or seventy seven, seventy seven with Soulsbury Hill at least an FM hit, but Genesis really didn't have a hit until the late seventies. Would you tell

these bands give me a hit? Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, if you could get something that gets the attention, the attention not not only radio, but you know, give me a hit video, give me a song that maybe could be a commercial, or give me a song that could be at the end track of a of a of a movie or something in in UH in TV UH.

But don't give up your creativity on doing it. I mean, don't say to yourself, oh, I'm going to copy, because what you want to do is really be honest to yourself and to the songs you're writing and to the band you're putting together. Um. I think it's very important. You know. I was in the studio the other day when I was talking to uh drummer that was Cheryl Crowe's drummer, and we were talking and I said about Damn m Carroll. Yeah, and I said that another drummer

is a business guy. And I said, you know, let me tell you something. We and the bass player of the foundation of a band. I mean, I can tell you that talking to the young guys out there that are guitar players or piano players or you know, if you're gonna especially if you're going into rock world, you better find yourself a great drummer and a great bass player because that's the foundation. Okay, since you're in it. Who were the great drummers? To me, the two greatest

rock drummers is uh, John Bonham and Keith Moon. Those are two great rock druve thing Chad from Chili Peppers is great, Matt Swarm is great. Um. But you know there's different kind of drummers. You know, Charlie Watts is just the goddamn jazz drummers playing two and four behind. He's a bar room drummer, you know. So there's a lot of drummers that just keep Dennis Elliott and Foreigner was it great, great drummer, um, But there's different styles.

I mean, for me, if you're talking about a rock drummer with a sound man, nobody's just better than Bonzo Well. You know, I've seen I certainly saw him in his hey day. But I will say seeing Keith Moon play Tommy with Who with Fillmore East, it was like there were two drummers that you just didn't even figure out how he could do it. It was amazing. You know, he looks great. You know, it's funny when you're a drummer. That's why I asked drummers. I'm not going to weigh in.

I'm certainly aware of the great drummers. Guitarists, I'll weigh in because I believe the best guitarist of the rock era is Jeff Beck. Okay, Hendricks did a lot of innovative things. But Beck is you know, and I remember when they hit the Arms tour and it was Paige Clapton and Beck on the same stage. Beck blew him off. So I'm not trum going to weigh in on who the best drummers. Those are all certainly great drummers. Absolutely. Okay, Jerry, this has been wonderful. We've only hit the tip of

the iceberg. But can we part two? We can certainly do it. Part two. We want to drill down into the AX and specific stories of the AX. This time we got your general history and which is get your father a job in the business, and uh, certainly the top line, but you get down the nitty guitty, you know, because we're here talking about the successes and it's a

lot of work. You talk about patients. You know. You can have led Zeppelin, which explodes on the second records, but a lot of things are really long work projects and they'll be more talk. So it's been wonderful. Thanks

so much for being here. Okay, and I will like to come back because I'd like everybody to know that I'm currently doing a book on Atlantic in the seventies through the eyes of Jerry Greenberg, So it could kind of cover everything just about Atlantic and I think, you know, we've been filming a documentary on my life, which is well that documentary but going on for like five plus years. What is that documentary ever gonna hit the Uh, it's it's getting close. But you know, I think I'm the

only guy that has Richard Branson. I got the last interview from Jerry Heller and the last one from Jerry Winthrop. It's going to be a very very interesting movie or documentary or TV series. Well time and know how to get my plug in. Man, this is a roots are coming out, and certainly we've been talking about the documentary forever and this is the heyday. People want to know about what was going on in the seventies. Oh yeah.

But but the great thing is you're gonna hear Richard called the Roady talk about Jerry taking the sticks and go, and it's not going to come from me. So that's what I'm very excited about it. Okay, Well, we'll look forward to that and when it's launching, we'll have you back. Okay, buddy, God bless thank you, thank you so much, Jerry. Till next time, it's Bob left Sets on the Bob Left Sets podcast. That wraps up this week's episode of the Bob Left Sets Podcast, recorded live at the tune In

Studios in Venice, California. I hope you enjoyed this conversation with legendary record label executive Jerry Greenberg. He had some great stories. Send me your feedback at Bob at left sets dot com. Until next time, I'm Bob left Sex. Can think of in me reason and I don't know me exactly. One must be so