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

by Jac Holzman (Author), Gavan Daws (Author) "JAC HOLZMAN: I was not raised, I was lowered..." (more)
Key Phrases: interpretive singer, record company president, jug band, New York, Judy Collins, Mark Abramson (more...)

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: 11 x 7.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #710,853 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 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

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 P-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).

4 of 4 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

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!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for All Music Lovers, December 12, 1999

By	"jackbrolly" (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews

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.