A version of this response appeared on the Black Rock Coalition’s website.
When Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner made offensive comments in The New York Times about women and Black artists, the Black Rock Coalition, which has battled stereotypes and musical categorizations about what rock is “supposed to be” since 1985, felt obligated to speak out and condemn his misogynistic and racist statements. While we were among many organizations and individuals to call out Wenner, he also had a number of supporters, citing his contributions to popular culture and to the world of music journalism.
When Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner made offensive comments in The New York Times about women and Black artists, the Black Rock Coalition, which has battled stereotypes and musical categorizations about what rock is “supposed to be” since 1985, felt obligated to speak out and condemn his misogynistic and racist statements. While we were among many organizations and individuals to call out Wenner, he also had a number of supporters, citing his contributions to popular culture and to the world of music journalism.
- 10/23/2023
- by LaRonda Davis, Earl Douglas and Darrell M. McNeill
- Rollingstone.com
Clarence Avant, the veteran music and entertainment executive known as the “Black Godfather” who was hailed for his influence and guidance by Quincy Jones, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, Whitney Houston, and others, died at home in Los Angeles on Sunday. He was 92.
Avant’s death was announced Monday through a statement shared by his family. “It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing of Clarence Alexander Avant,” the statement read. “Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘The Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music,...
Avant’s death was announced Monday through a statement shared by his family. “It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing of Clarence Alexander Avant,” the statement read. “Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘The Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music,...
- 8/14/2023
- by Larisha Paul and Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Let’s take a trip back in time to the early 1980s at the height of David Bowie’s popularity.
MTV launched in 1981 with the words, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The first video played was The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Quite appropriate.
MTV stands for music television because that’s what it was. MTV played music videos all day, every day — 24 hours of videos.
The network brought artists into our homes for the first time. We no longer just listened to the music; we watched it. This helped launch some of the biggest names in music of the time. It turned artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Boy George, and Duran Duran into stars.
David Bowie had some of his biggest commercial successes during this time, partially because of MTV.
David Bowie’s career
Englishman Bowie burst onto the scene in the early 1970s during the...
MTV launched in 1981 with the words, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The first video played was The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Quite appropriate.
MTV stands for music television because that’s what it was. MTV played music videos all day, every day — 24 hours of videos.
The network brought artists into our homes for the first time. We no longer just listened to the music; we watched it. This helped launch some of the biggest names in music of the time. It turned artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Boy George, and Duran Duran into stars.
David Bowie had some of his biggest commercial successes during this time, partially because of MTV.
David Bowie’s career
Englishman Bowie burst onto the scene in the early 1970s during the...
- 3/15/2023
- by Stacy Feintuch
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
This review of “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song” first appeared when the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021.
Like the blind men of lore groping to understand an elephant by focusing on a tail or a tusk or an ear, filmmakers have tended to approach the late singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen in bits and pieces. Lian Lunson looked at his career through the lens of a 2005 tribute concert in “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man,” Tony Palmer’s “Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire” was a long-lost chronicle of a single European tour in 1972 and Nick Broomfield’s “Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love” is as much about Broomfield’s own relationship with one of Cohen’s muses, Marianne Ihlen.
And now there’s Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, a Song.” It purports to be about a single...
Like the blind men of lore groping to understand an elephant by focusing on a tail or a tusk or an ear, filmmakers have tended to approach the late singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen in bits and pieces. Lian Lunson looked at his career through the lens of a 2005 tribute concert in “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man,” Tony Palmer’s “Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire” was a long-lost chronicle of a single European tour in 1972 and Nick Broomfield’s “Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love” is as much about Broomfield’s own relationship with one of Cohen’s muses, Marianne Ihlen.
And now there’s Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, a Song.” It purports to be about a single...
- 6/30/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
One of the biggest all-star lineups ever will celebrate the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees this weekend. The ceremony filmed October 30 in Cleveland, Ohio, and now airs this Saturday, November 20, on HBO and HBO Max.
The event clocking in at 3 hour and16 minutes honors Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Jay-Z, Carole King, Todd Rundgren and Tina Turner in the performer category. Kraftwerk, Charley Patton and Gil Scott-Heron were chosen for early influence induction. LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads were honored in the musical excellence category. Clarence Avant received the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
King had been previously inducted as a songwriter. Turner is now a solo artist inductee after going in with Ike Turner the first time around.
SEEThe Go-Go’s, Foo Fighters, Tina Turner, Jay-Z among 16 artists eligible for 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
While the order of inductions was different during filming, here...
The event clocking in at 3 hour and16 minutes honors Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Jay-Z, Carole King, Todd Rundgren and Tina Turner in the performer category. Kraftwerk, Charley Patton and Gil Scott-Heron were chosen for early influence induction. LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads were honored in the musical excellence category. Clarence Avant received the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
King had been previously inducted as a songwriter. Turner is now a solo artist inductee after going in with Ike Turner the first time around.
SEEThe Go-Go’s, Foo Fighters, Tina Turner, Jay-Z among 16 artists eligible for 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
While the order of inductions was different during filming, here...
- 11/19/2021
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
In 1984, Columbia Records president Walter Yetnikoff called Leonard Cohen into his office in New York City and told him, “Look, Leonard, we know you’re great, but we don’t know if you’re any good.” The tireless musician had just presented his label with his seventh studio album, “Variations,” which was a collection of songs like any other except it wasn’t: this was something more special, more spiritual. This was the record on which Cohen placed “Hallelujah,” a song he wrote over 80 draft verses for, with an estimated 250 versions of every single line. Yetnikoff didn’t get it. The album was never released in the U.S.
“Hallelujah” might bring to mind that ironic, quite comical incident with Yetnikoff and Columbia considering just how far that one word traveled thanks to Cohen, but the song has taken on such a life of its own that it might have...
“Hallelujah” might bring to mind that ironic, quite comical incident with Yetnikoff and Columbia considering just how far that one word traveled thanks to Cohen, but the song has taken on such a life of its own that it might have...
- 9/2/2021
- by Ella Kemp
- Indiewire
Sic transit gloria means “thus passes worldly glory,” and is used to serve as a reminder of the transitory nature of life and earthly honors.
Former CBS Records/Sony Music head Walter Yetnikoff died earlier this week at age 87 as a symbol of that ancient saying. While his death didn’t go totally unnoticed, it wasn’t in proportion to the accomplishments of a man who played such a dominate role in the popular culture from 1975 to 1990..
For those unfamiliar, Yetnikoff was president/chief executive of CBS Records, which became Sony Music largely thanks to his initiatives. He worked with such artists as Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Public Enemy – the list goes on, all part of music’s explosive growth in the era as it rode the CD boom and MTV wave.
He was widely considered the most powerful executive in the...
Former CBS Records/Sony Music head Walter Yetnikoff died earlier this week at age 87 as a symbol of that ancient saying. While his death didn’t go totally unnoticed, it wasn’t in proportion to the accomplishments of a man who played such a dominate role in the popular culture from 1975 to 1990..
For those unfamiliar, Yetnikoff was president/chief executive of CBS Records, which became Sony Music largely thanks to his initiatives. He worked with such artists as Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Public Enemy – the list goes on, all part of music’s explosive growth in the era as it rode the CD boom and MTV wave.
He was widely considered the most powerful executive in the...
- 8/14/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Walter Yetnikoff, who rose from working-class Brooklyn to become the head of CBS Records and became a star as volatile, if not more so, than many of the million-selling artists he signed, died on Monday at age 87. The cause of death was cancer, according to The New York Times.
Yetnikoff came into power during the 1970s, as the modern music industry was becoming big business; he prided himself on a hard-charging, take-no-prisoners, booze-for-breakfast style that turned the industry into a series of gladiatorial contests — over artists, hits, headlines, women, and more.
Yetnikoff came into power during the 1970s, as the modern music industry was becoming big business; he prided himself on a hard-charging, take-no-prisoners, booze-for-breakfast style that turned the industry into a series of gladiatorial contests — over artists, hits, headlines, women, and more.
- 8/10/2021
- by Elias Leight
- Rollingstone.com
Walter Yetnikoff, CBS Records’ kingpin from 1975 to 1990, as famous for guiding the megastar careers of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel as for his profane, sometimes uproarious feuds with Paul Simon, David Geffen and the entirety of Warner Bros. Records, died on Sunday at age 87. He would have turned 88 on Aug. 11.
Yetnikoff’s passing was confirmed by multiple friends and colleagues, including former CBS Records Nashville executive Mary Ann McCready, who received the news from Yetnikoff’s wife Lynda. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
Brash, colorful and self-aggrandizing,...
Yetnikoff’s passing was confirmed by multiple friends and colleagues, including former CBS Records Nashville executive Mary Ann McCready, who received the news from Yetnikoff’s wife Lynda. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
Brash, colorful and self-aggrandizing,...
- 8/10/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Walter Yetnikoff, CBS Records’ kingpin from 1975 to 1990, as famous for guiding the megastar careers of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel as for his profane, sometimes uproarious feuds with Paul Simon, David Geffen and the entirety of Warner Bros. Records, died on Sunday at age 87. He would have turned 88 on Aug. 11.
Yetnikoff’s passing was confirmed by multiple friends and colleagues, including former CBS Records Nashville executive Mary Ann McCready, who received the news from Yetnikoff’s wife Lynda. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
Brash, colorful and self-aggrandizing,...
Yetnikoff’s passing was confirmed by multiple friends and colleagues, including former CBS Records Nashville executive Mary Ann McCready, who received the news from Yetnikoff’s wife Lynda. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
Brash, colorful and self-aggrandizing,...
- 8/10/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Graham Nash’s new career-spanning compilation album Over the Years … traces his long career as a songwriter, stretching all the way back to his days in the Hollies when he sketching out tunes like “Marrakesh Express” and “Teach Your Children” that would later be recorded by Csn and Csny. Earlier this year, he sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss five key songs that inspired him as a young songwriter.
Gene Vincent, “Be-Bop-a-Lula”
This is the first record I ever owned. I got it by trading two pieces of toast to my friend,...
Gene Vincent, “Be-Bop-a-Lula”
This is the first record I ever owned. I got it by trading two pieces of toast to my friend,...
- 11/19/2018
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
On Wednesday, Michael Jackson's estate issued a statement condemning ABC's special The Last Days of Michael Jackson. "We believe the special to be another crass and unauthorized attempt to exploit the life, music and image of Michael Jackson without respect for Michael’s legacy, intellectual property rights or his children," the statement noted.
The Last Days of Michael Jackson aired on Thursday, and it has other problems the singer's estate failed to identify. The special is rife with trite, clunky segues – "It seemed like the sky was the limit,...
The Last Days of Michael Jackson aired on Thursday, and it has other problems the singer's estate failed to identify. The special is rife with trite, clunky segues – "It seemed like the sky was the limit,...
- 5/25/2018
- Rollingstone.com
There's a moment about one-third of the way through Spike Lee's new documentary Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall in which the Jackson estate's archivist pulls out a yellowed, frayed letter and reads aloud. Written after Michael and his brothers, collectively known as the Jackson 5, had left Motown and were recording under the name the Jacksons, the future King of Pop is jotting down various aspirational goals: He wants to get into the movies, he wants to explore all musical styles and directions, he wants...
- 1/28/2016
- Rollingstone.com
MTV had a landmark year in 1983. The network broke into the mainstream following the airing of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" music video in heavy rotation, a decision that was forced upon the network by Walter Yetnikoff, the president of Jackson's record label. The network initially refused to air the video because it was made by a black artist. That criticism was not just from Jackson's label, however. Also in 1983, during an interview with Mark Goodman, David Bowie used his platform on MTV itself to criticize the network for its lack of videos by black artists. In the interview, Bowie points out, "There seem to be a lot of black artists making very good videos that I'm surprised aren't being used on MTV." Now we can forever remember 1983 as the year Bowie and Jackson made MTV get its act together.
- 1/11/2016
- by Ira Madison III
- Vulture
After the passing of Michael Jackson last week, Tom DeFeo aka "The Godfather of Fangoria" (our owner & president) asked me to post a copy of our Screamography episode featuring John Landis. With last night's news that Dimension might be remaking An American Werewolf In London, the episode certainly seems hauntingly timely.
Presented below is the full, 54-minute episode of Fangoria's Screamography: John Landis, along with a text transcript featuring Landis on Jackson.The segment on An American Werewolf begins around the 23 minute mark, with the segment on Thriller beginning around 37.
Fangoria Screamography - John Landis
Transcript: The Making Of Michael Jackson's Thriller (at 37:00 in the video):
Narrator: Landis' next project was for the small screen and starred The King of Pop...
John Landis: Thriller cost about $600,000 which at the time was huge because the average rock video cost between $50K and $100K, and we made one for $600K.
Presented below is the full, 54-minute episode of Fangoria's Screamography: John Landis, along with a text transcript featuring Landis on Jackson.The segment on An American Werewolf begins around the 23 minute mark, with the segment on Thriller beginning around 37.
Fangoria Screamography - John Landis
Transcript: The Making Of Michael Jackson's Thriller (at 37:00 in the video):
Narrator: Landis' next project was for the small screen and starred The King of Pop...
John Landis: Thriller cost about $600,000 which at the time was huge because the average rock video cost between $50K and $100K, and we made one for $600K.
- 6/29/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
- Fangoria
Yes, he was the punchline of approximately a quarter-million Tonight Show jokes. But Michael Jackson's stop-on-a-dime dance moves and sensual soprano have influenced generations of musicians, dancers and entertainers, and the man was so much more than what the tabloids made him out to be. One of entertainment's greatest icons, he was incredibly gifted, and like most gifted individuals he was an equally troubled genius who kept us captivated at his most dazzling, and at his most appalling moments. The New York Times once described him as one of the six most famous people on the planet. I'd like to up the ante: he was the most famous person on the planet. He influenced artists ranging from Justin Timberlake to Madonna, and genres from rock to pop to R&B to even rap. No other artist has been as unifying. Jackson also helped elevate the music video, turning it...
- 6/28/2009
- by Kyle Reese
- SoundOnSight
Billie Jean is considered the video that brought MTV [1], into mainstream attention. In fact It was the first video by a black artist to be aired by the channel, which at the time played only rock music. Walter Yetnikoff [2], the president of Jackson's record label, CBS [3], approached MTV to play the "Billie Jean" video. Yetnikoff was furious when MTV refused to play the video, and threatened to go public with MTV's stance on black musicians and remove any other videos from the CBS record label from the TV channel. The video was directed by Steve Barron [4], the short film went on to win Jackson the Billboard Video Award for Best Overall Video and he was inducted into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame in 1992. Jackson's look, a black leather suit with a pink shirt and bow tie, was copied by children around the Us. Imitation became so severe that...
- 6/28/2009
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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