Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture [Hardcover]

Jac Holzman (Author), Gavan Daws (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

Follow the Music tells the story of one of the finest and most respected record labels of the golden age of pop and rock music from the perspective of the man who founded the company and nurtured its stars. It follows Holzman on his journey from overseeing limited pressings of obscure folk artists to signing international stars such as Jim Morrison, right up to the sale of the company and beyond. Since its initial publication in 1998, the book has been described as "a must-read addition to the best chronicles of popular music in this over-stimulated century" by Timothy White, editor in chief at Billboard magazine, and an "extraordinary history ... funny, enlightening, and entertaining" by the All Music Guide. This edition includes a 26-track CD of recordings by Elektra's pre-rock artists.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Doors, Love, Judy Collins, Tim Buckley, and Phil Ochs were all products of the nurturing environment at the Elektra Records of the '60s and early '70s. With help from coauthor Gavan Daws, the label's then head, Jac Holzman, collects his reminiscences and those of many of his cohorts in the enlightening, often hilarious Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture. This oral history follows Holzman's exploits from his days as a producer of small pressings of obscure folk music to his signing of rockers like Jim Morrison and Arthur Lee and his eventual sale of the company and subsequent departure. Before he left, though, Holzman and friends had irrevocably altered, as he says, the "recording technique, packaging, marketing and the behavioral sciences of rock and roll." --Rickey Wright

From Library Journal

Holzman, founder of Elektra Records, shares his experiences with Elektra and the classical Nonesuch line, from their origins in the late Fifties through the golden age of the Sixties. Holzman lived a classic American success story?someone with new ideas who persevered in spite of initial discouragement and won. Along the way he met and records many of the most talented musicians of the era, including Judy Collins, Jim Morrison, Carly Simon, and Jackson Browne. Most of these artists, and other companions of the time, participated in the many thoughtful interviews (mostly new) contained here. The interviews provide inside information on the music and artists who made Elektra a success. A complete Elektra discography plus reproductions of many of the innovative Elektra and Nonesuch album covers are fine added touches. This book is the first in a projected series on the recording industry. If the succeeding volumes are as engrossing as this one, they will be valuable additions to most music collections.?James E. Ross, WLN, Seattle
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 441 pages
• Publisher: First Media Books; 1st edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966122119
• ISBN-13: 978-0966122114
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,538,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the price for the CD!, May 8, 2006

By 

jr_Tech (Portland OR. area) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture (Paperback)

This is a must read for music fans! There is something for nearly everyone here: The story of the founding and growth of Elektra Records (how an energetic young man, Jac Holzman, with a few hundred dollars, good musical taste and a ton of ideas could actually start a thriving record company). The history of many early folk music performers such as Theodore Bikel, Judy Collins, Jean Richie and many others. The story of the creation of Nonesuch Records (a low-cost Classical division). The history of many Rock performers (including Jim Morrison of the Doors). There is even enough technical info about early recording, studio design and Dolby units to satisfy a tech geek (such as myself)! The image conjured up of a young Holzman setting out with a Magnacord PT-6 recorder strapped to his Vespa scooter, to record folk music performances in NYC really conveys the "shoestring" attributes of Elektra Records in the early days. At the other end of the scale, the design of studio "B" was perhaps representative of the "excesses " of the rock era.

The copy of this book that I got from Amazon included a "bonus" CD that contains many tracks of early Ekektra performers that have not been re-released on CD. To me, this CD was worth the price & the book was essentially "free"!

It is sad that only a few recordings from the early Elektra "folk period" have been re-issued on CD. This situation is starting to improve, (see my other reviews for some early Elektra folk "gems" that I have found on CD).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You must read this book, May 5, 2001

By 

Bill Keenom (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture (Hardcover)

Jac Holzman has given us a gift with this book, right down to the paper he chose himeself to print it on. If you have any interest in the history of recorded music, the music business, and why we listen to the music we enjoy today, you absolutely must read this book. It's not only a fascinating account of how a major record label came to be, it's a fantastic insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the very quirky world of music business. If you love music and cherish the sounds of the fifties and sixties, from folk to blues, rock to psychedelia, and you haven't read this music giant's first hand account of making so much of it happen for you, you're doing yourself a major disservice. Thank you Jac and Gavan!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant look at art and commerce in the music business., August 8, 1998

By 

Georgia Bergman (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture (Hardcover)

I heard Jac Holzman on the radio, ordered his book and read 'Follow the Music' over one weekend. This is one of the best books ever written about how the music business actually became a business. It is also one of the most distinctive collective memoirs of the 50's, 60's and early 70's- the time when our music spoke to us and for us. If you lived through it, this book will bring everything to life again in crisp, technicolor images. If you didn't, believe me, this is how it was.

Jac started Elektra records when he was a teenager in New York in 1950. So, first of all, this is his story. He tells it candidly, with humor, passion and a cool objectivity about himself. Then there are the stories told by almost everyone who ever worked for, or recorded for, Elektra. Jac and co-author Gavan Daws have created an astonishingly rich tapestry of life experiences from their contributors- Judy Collins, Paul Rothchild, Jackson Browne, Carly Simon, among many others- as well as an ! honest look at how a tiny store-front record operation became a giant. It wasn't easy and there were many trade-offs along the way. Twenty-three years after he founded it, Jac finally gave up Elektra.

This book beautifully conveys the excitement and love that Jac always had for the music, and how great that music was/is. There was nothing for it- I had to put on all the albums he talks about- Tim Buckley, The Doors, Harry Chapin etc. as I was reading and have my own Jac Holzman/Elektra experience!