Collect Howling At The Moon: The Odyssey Of A Monstrous Music Mogul In An Age Of Excess Articulated By Walter Yetnikoff Depicted In Physical Book
Down in the depths on theth floor I bought this for a dollar at a library book sale, though I'm sure I deliberated the value of its purchase.
It turns out that everything I've ever read about Walter Yetnikoff is true he's a drugfueled, egomaniacal, misogynistic, immature, corporate jerk, Of course, that makes for some lurid entertainment, though I couldn't quite get past the idea that I was spending my precious freetime with a man that actually approved the cover of this book.
Filled with crass humor and a reference on every page to either a Jap, a Jew, or a skirt, Occasionally he throws in a story about Michael Jackson that makes Michael seem, if you can believe it, even creepier, SPOILER ALERT
Ego maniac turned partially reformed ego maniac,
Entertaining and interesting read, especially for music fans of a certain age,
Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, Billy Joel,
If Yetnikoff calls and offers you a record deal, seek legal advice, In your face autobiography dealing with the record industry, Sometimes a little too in your face but the chapters on his girlfriend Boom Boom are priceless, Don't make an enemy of this guy he names names and gives all the details, This makes a good vacation read, This is a hard book to like, being the autobiography of someone whose shallow nature and monstrous ego create a fundamentally unlikeable character, In fact its hard to think of a single anecdote in this story that isnt about some form of power play or self pleasure that leaves you grimacing at the excess and prioritisation of the author over others.
To his credit, the author goes in hard on himself, but did he REALLY dislike or regret his actions Im notsure I believe he dislikes himself as much as he wants us to believe.
Did he stop his womanising in theyears between the publication and his death a couple of months ago I very much doubt it,
Yetnikoff talks of the catharsis he got from writing this book, Hes does indeed seem to be trying to oust his demons but in my view clearly still carried a lot with him throughout his later life,
Thats one of the problems I have with the book, He was a hugely influential figure in music for decades, but the details are scarce, going into much more detail on the decadence that the business side of his life.
Its a personal memoir of his decadent lifestyle that soon becomes tiresome and repetitive, and lacks the real juicy detail that might have made this book a mustread,
All in all,/for a work that, based on the source material could have gone double platinum, and instead barely makes the charts at all, The Don Simpson of the music business, One of those original assholes who gave the human race a bad name, Yetnikoff on drugs was just a monster, And he was on drugs almost fulltime,
This book is equivalent to the hair of the dog the morning after when you're still technically drunk Wow! What a life, Sad but wonderful all at the same time, This was a much better read than the Clive Davis book, If you've read anything about the music industry from the's's, you've no doubt had Walter Yetnikoff's name come
up, But to hear these legendary tales told straight from the source puts a whole other spin on them, Major industry shifts and huge decisions were made heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol, spite, revenge, and just because he could, The author playfully speaks of these times as if they are the everyday occurrences we all encounter, His fall from the top was mighty and it is quite a ride to hear how powerful an addiction egotism can be, Howling good read. The story of a nice Jewish boy who grew up into a raging poweraddicted "milk" monster, was called "Good Father" by Michael Jackson, was bested in an flash economics quiz by Mick Jagger, played a great practical joke with a bagel, and refused to bathe a festering wound for fear of "arm clap.
" If you like the genre youll like the book,
he music industrys most outspoken, outrageous, and phenomenally successful executive delivers a rollicking memoir of pop musics heyday,
During thes and 's the music business was dominated by a few major labels and artists such as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand and James Taylor.
They were all under contract to CBS Records, making it the most successful label of the era, And, as the companys president, Walter Yetnikoff was the ruling monarch, He was also the most flamboyant, volatile and controversial personality to emerge from an industry and era defined by sex, drugs and debauchery,
Having risen from workingclass Brooklyn and the legal department of CBS, Yetnikoff, who freely admitted to being tone deaf, was an unlikely label head, But he had an uncanny knack for fostering talent and intimidating rivals with his appalling behaviorusually fueled by an explosive combination of cocaine and alcohol, His tantrums, appetite for mindaltering substances and sexual exploits were legendary, In Japan to meet the Sony executives who acquired CBS during his tenure, Walter was assigned a minder who confined him to a hotel room, True to form, Walter raided the minibar, got blasted and, seeing no other means of escape, opened a hotel window and vented his rage by literally howling at the moon.
In Howling at the Moon, Yetnikoff traces his journey as he climbed the corporate mountain, danced on its summit and crashed and burned, We see how Walter became the fatherconfessor to Michael Jackson as the King of Pop reconstructed his face and agonized over his image while constructing Thriller and how, after it won seven Grammies, Jackson made the preposterous demand that Walter take producer Quincy Joness name off the album we see Walter, in maniacal pursuit of a contract, chase the Rolling Stones around the world and nearly come to blows with Mick Jagger in the process we get the tale of how Walter and Marvin Gayefresh from the success of “Sexual Healing”share the same woman, and of how Walter bonds with Bob Dylan because of their mutual Jewishness.
At the same time we witness Yetnikoffs clashes with Barry Diller, David Geffen, Tommy Mottola, Allen Grubman and a host of others, Seemingly, the more Yetnikoff feeds his cravings for power, sex, liquor and cocaine, the more profitable CBS becomesfrommillion to well overbillionuntil he finally succumbs, ironically, not to substances, but to a corporate coup.
Reflecting on the sinister cycle that left his career in tatters and CBS flush with cash, Yetnikoff emerges with a hunger for redemption and a new reverence for his workingclass Brooklyn roots.
Ruthlessly candid, uproariously hilarious and compulsively readable, Howling at the Moon is a blistering Youll Never Eat Lunch in this Town Again of the music industry.