Customer Reviews

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

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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).

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!

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!

With "Follow the Music", Jac Holzman and Gavan Daws provide an inside look at the music industry that most of us have never been privy to before. Not only did they do that, but they also allow us to see what it takes to build a business from the ground up. The book is filled with obvious careful attention to detail. The roots of folk music and the stories behind all the troubadours that made up the music scene in Greenwich Village and L.A. in the fifties, sixties, and seventies are captivating and right on the money. Substantive comments and interviews with music legends and record label entrepeneurs abound. Anecdotes, hard-luck stories, and successful musical ventures are sometimes inspirational and oft-times motivational. The authors show us what real determination and absolute dedication and hard work are all about. Jac Holzman gives new meaning to the independent man, the independent thinker, the independent innovator. This world hasn't seen many men like him. He was hi-tech when the only chip anyone ever heard of came from a potato and was packaged in a bag with a wise old owl on the label. Indeed, a wise young man was he, and if you've ever had the pleasure of conversing with Jac you will find that Jac also adds new meaning to the saying "you're only as old as you feel". As he approches what most men consider to be retirement age, Jac makes most young turks look like mousekateers. While reading the book, you get to see how he sometimes appears to be light years ahead of all the rest. It appears to be his nature, his mental make-up, his lust for new ideas, and his love for family and friends that keep him younger than those who dictate today's trends and visions. You can easily see, by reading "Follow the Music", how Jac proved that honesty, integrity and sheer class are the true characteristics that go into the making of the prototypical "real man". He and Gavan Daws show all who read this literary work of art that values do count and they do matter and they are rewarded in the long-run. The key words here are "long-run". Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was Elektra. It took time, foresight, intuition, confident decision-making, and guts. Jac Holzman had a vision and he followed his well intentioned instincts to achieve what no other music industry executive has accomplished. And after all his hard work, Jac's reputation as a gentleman and a man of his word is even stronger today than it ever was. This is a must-read book. In the second half of this fast-fading millenium there are very few people that a person can admire. Jac Holzman has joined a very short list of twentieth century American heros, and I'm glad that his family pressured him into letting the story of Elektra Records be told. If you think about it, "Follow The Music" was almost fifty years in the making. I wish I had been a part of it. Jac Holzman...I tip my hat to you and I thank you for all the positive contributions that you've made to the world of music. I am extremely happy that back in 1950 the founder of Elektra Records made the decision to just follow the music.

One of the best books on the music industry I have ever read. When you read a book about a band or artist, or about an era in music or whatever, what you mostly want is to feel like you were there at the time these people were recording and gigging and just being bands. Follow the Music gives you a first-class seat in Elektra's offices, at its artists' concerts, in rehearsal spaces, in restaurants where biz wheeling and dealing is done . . . You come away knowing Jac Holzman underpaid his staffers and artists, but that he genuinely cared about the quality of music his label put out, and about artists' integrity. I wish there had been as much on Arthur Lee and Love as there is on the Doors, but then the Doors were Elektra's biggest-selling act, so I guess it makes sense that they get the most ink in the book. I also didn't like the way the sections on the MC5 and the Stooges - two of the most important bands in the history of rock - are so short, while the one on Carly Simon is so long. But that's because I like the MC5, love the Stooges and wish Carly Simon would go away. But these are quibbles. I loved the book. How much did I love the book? I don't even like the Doors, save for 5 or 6 of their songs, yet I drank in every word about them, and went back and listened to their debut and L.A. Woman because the chapters on those two albums were so moving.

Once, in the MUSIC business, there were men and women in charge of labels who, with a combination of passion about great music,
and just the right amount of business acumen, were able to nurture the explosion of musical creativity in the 60s. Jac Holzman is just such a person.

The exciting and interesting story of Elektra records is told using an oral history approach; illuminating the story with a fascile balance of viewpoint.

I had never heard the full story of how Love and then, The Doors,
became labelmates at Elektra. There were moments in the telling of that particular story where I felt that I could almost reach out and touch the participants.

FOLLOW THE MUSIC is an entertaining, engrossing, sometimes funny-sometimes tragic account of one of the titans of American music and his lovechild; whose ability to follow his dream to it's fruition has enriched us all. Oh, if we could all be so blessed.

The recent failure of the modern music industry shows what happens when people who aren't committed to music and creativity are in positions of authority. Everything suffers; most of all, the music.

I won't natter on about how great this book is: it is. The reminiscences are superb and the edition I purchased offered up a bonus CD with Elektra's pre-rock music on it that was absolutely first-rate! If there is a complaint here, it's that Holzman's left music fans high and dry by reissuing very little of Elektra's lustrous past onto CDs. I, for one, would love to hear the albums on display in Follow The Music. Cynthia Gooding, Fred Neil, Judy Henske, The Holy Modal Rounders, Ed McCurdy, Josh White, Don Nix & The Alabama State Troupers...all lovingly recalled yet without any CD reissues to enthrall a new generation. Please Mr. Holzman, if you ever read this, consider reissuing the albums that made Elektra a first rate innovator... That said, this book is a superb read and a joy to "get lost in".

A desire to find out more about Paul Siebel was my primary motivation in picking this up. Holzman recounts in great detail his first foray into recording and the early releases on Elektra. By the time we get to Siebel, however, the inevitable metamorphosis from MUSIC business to music BUSINESS is so advanced that individual artists and albums don't get the space that they had in the early part of the book. Although this was initially disappointing for me, Holzman's story, ideas and experiences make for a fascinating and very human tale that resonates beyond the Elektra saga. I have also read "Mansion On The Hill" (and recommend it, by the way) but I had no empathy with David Geffen or any of the corporate characters there. Holzman is the real, rare thing. It really did make me jealous of the lucky few who were in the right place at the right time and went on the journey with this inspired and ispiring guy. It's a buy!

Legendary music business figure Jac Holzman's historical account "Follow The Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records In The Great Years Of American Pop Culture," is newly released in paperback to coincide with Elektra's 50th anniversary. The new edition contains a CD featuring 26 pre-rock Elektra recording artists. Part social history, part secret diary, 'Follow The Music' is a marvelous history that chornicles popular culture from the folk era to The Doors, Carly Simon and Queen. Holzman founded the acclaimed record company at age 19 on $600 and turned it into one of the most important labels of all time. The stories of it's development are often wild and sometimes poingnant with insider anecdotes that are heartwarming, shocking and funny. It chronicles the modern recording industry when times were good and people had fun.

I have read my share of music industry books and this is by far the best one. And what is inspiring is that you do can make good business in this industry and still keep your integrity, just follow Jac Holzmann's example describe in this book. Awesome read!