And Party Every Day: The Inside Story Of Casablanca Records (Hardcover)

~ Larry Harris (Author), Curt Gooch (Author), Jeff Suhs (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now it can be told! The true, behind-the-scenes story of Casablanca Records, from an eyewitness to the excess and insanity. Casablanca was not a product of the 1970s, it was the 1970s. From 1974 to 1980, the landscape of American culture was a banquet of hedonism and self-indulgence, and no person or company in that era was more emblematic of the times than Casablanca Records and its magnetic founder, Neil Bogart. From his daring first signing of KISS, through the discovery and superstardom of Donna Summer, the Village People, and funk master George Clinton and his circus of freaks, Parliament Funkadelic, to the descent into the manic world of disco, this book charts Bogart's meteoric success and eventual collapse under the weight of uncontrolled ego and hype. It is a compelling tale of ambition, greed, excess, and some of the era's biggest music acts.

About the Author

About the Author

Larry Harris began working for Buddah/Kama Sutra Records in the summer of 1971 as the local New York promotions man, and in 1973 joined his cousin Neil Bogart in founding Casablanca Records. He became senior vice president and managing director of the company in 1976 and left Casablanca in the fall of 1980. Larry was born in New York and now lives and works in Seattle.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879309822
• ISBN-13: 978-0879309824
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Party, October 30, 2009

By	Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

No one in this book gets out alive, or so it seems, for Larry Harris and his co-writers have the scoop on everyone whether high or low, and most of them were quite high during the Casablanca years.

From a business point of view, the revelations here are mainly about hos the company never was successful, despite a milliondollar promo campaign and a lot of money juggling on Harris' part. he was ordered to cook the sales figures for PolyGram to show many more sales of Casablanca products than actually occurred; this despite the fact that the returns would be coming in constantly to contradict his lies. Harris seems to think this is a standard business practice, but for his sake I hope the statute of limitations on fraud will prevent them from carting his butt to hail like Bernie Madoff! Neil Bogart characterized the Casablanca years as a time of "profitless prosperity," and that seems apt.

I enjoyed hearing how a group of Brooklyn-born salesmen with great ears for what would sell turned the industry on its ear by making a commitment to disco, or all things. The discovery of Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer is an amazing story, but even the flops of Casablanca have their charm. Take for example the signing of "Stallion." Ever heard of them? They were going to be Casablanca's answer to the Eagles, but when Harris asked their Svengali to make them sound more like the Eagles, he should have known right away it wasn't going to fly, since the producer genuinely puzzled, asked, "Who are the Eagles"?

The Village People and Kiss are the other big names here, but every page has a good story about someone, usually revolving around "blow." "Blow" allowed Larry Harris, one of the plainest men in show business, to live the Hugh Hefner lifestyle with a revolving cast of available and beautiful Hollywood starlets. Thus he was living every man's dream, and never had to look at a mirror throughout the entire 70s. Go, Larry, go!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, October 27, 2009

By	E. Dvorin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I heard about AND PARTY EVERY DAY earlier this year and have been waiting for it ever since. I got my copy the other day and was blown away. I had some high expectations and they were all surpassed ...by a mile.

The book is full of stories about Casablanca's wild parties (the money and drugs flying around the place were just amazing...how did these guys not get arrested?) and their very high profile acts like Donna Summer, The Village People, and Kiss. I thought I knew a lot about Casablanca Records, but I didn't. The book is very well written and even though it's full of details, it's very easy to read, and very hard to put down.

I enjoyed learning about the business side of the music industry, but I was just adddicted to the feeling it gives you of being right there when it was all happening. You feel transported into the 1970s and I was rooting for Neil Bogart the whole way through and found myself thrilled when the label broke through and cringing at all their mistakes.

I've always been a big fan of the 1970s and have read a ton of books and articles about it, but AND PARTY EVERY DAY is the first time I've felt like I was actually there. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative and fun snapshot of the legendary Casablanca Records, October 12, 2009

By	Tim McPhate "timstar78" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A must-have for the KISS book library, or any library heavy on music and entertainment books.

While KISS is frequently mentioned in the text, this is about Neil Bogart, a true record industry pioneer and legend, and the formation/evolution of Casablanca and its philosophy of "perception is reality" -- which funnily embodies a lot about KISS.

The book is essentially Larry Harris' take on things. Harris is the label's cofounder and rose to the ranks of senior vice president. The book is written very well and given his close proximity to Bogart, the book comes off as accurate, compelling and fun.

Alongside KISS are the tales of Donna Summer, George Clinton, Angel, the Village People; drugs and sex in the office; Studio 54; stories including a list of various label staff and industry professionals; paying off Billboard and 'fixing' the charts; and Casablanca ultimately becoming 'the disco' label -- all to a backdrop of 1970s excess and glamour. Also mixed in are fun pop culture factoids, which helps provide a nice snapshot of the times.

A couple of KISS points detailed nicely in the book....Harris cannot "overemphasize enough" the importance of "Beth" to Destroyer and KISS' career; KISS was dangerously close to leaving the label before Alive! broke -- Aucoin issued a formal letter of intent and Bogart caved; the solo albums are again painted as a commercial failure and a huge problem for the label. And a couple of fun early stories....Harris recounts driving to a Who show with the band, the "Kissin' Time" fiasco, the Century Plaza industry showcase, etc. It's written clearly early on that Casablanca believed in the band and in Bogart's words, "KISS is magic." Well-known KISS authors Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs collaborated with Harris on the book as well.

All this and much more. This book oozes 1970s and transports you to an industry before the dawn of the CD, Internet, smartphones and torrents. Fantastic read.

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