SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (PART TWO)

January 26, 2013

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SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN (PART TWO)
By Joe Klein
The Oscar nominated documentary SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN is the work of Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul who first learned of the story of Sixto Rodriguez while traveling the world for a few years in search of a great story for a docupic. In 2007, he made a stop in Cape Town, South Africa and wandered into a record store called Mabu Vinyl, co-owned by Steven “Sugar” Segerman, one of the Rodriguez fans who had spent several years looking to confirm the rumors of the artist’s death or find him if he was still alive and well. Segerman told the Rodriguez story to the filmmaker, who quickly decided that this was to be the story he’d document on film. It took nearly four years to shoot all the footage and complete the film, which debuted at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. Audiences at Sundance raved and the documentary received to awards at the festival. Last November, 60 MINUTES broadcast a segment about the artist and movie, which was rebroadcast a few weeks ago.
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Happily, the rumors of Sixto’s death were greatly exaggerated, and Rodriguez lives on to this day, enjoying the fame that avoided him for so many years. He remains modest and humble about his elusive superstar status, even giving most of his recent earnings away to family, friends and others he feels worthy of the funds. His latest new-found fame resulting from all the acclaim for the Sugar Man movie resulted in several high profile media appearances since last summer. In addition to the 60 Minutes profile, Rodriguez has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman and, just last week, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He has made dozens of live concert and club appearances in the US, Canada, England and Ireland in recent months and, next month, makes his latest triumphal appearances in South Africa, with shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg that have been sold out for weeks. Concerts in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia follow in March.
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A jaw dropping moment occurred for me watching the movie, when Dennis Coffey mentioned working on the Cold Facts album at the legendary Detroit recording studio,TERA SHIRMA, owned by Ralph Terrana, the brother of one of my other lifelong close friends, engineer RUSS TERRANA. Russ left Motown Records, where he had become one of the labels top engineers, to work for his brother at Tera Shirma for a couple years in the late sixties before returning to Motown, where he worked for nearly twenty more years as chief engineer until the sale of the label late in 1988. Russ got such a great sound that he was one of the most sought-after engineers of the Detroit music scene when he worked at Tera Shirma, engineering scores of hits to come out of the studio. Surely, I thought, Russ recorded the first Rodriguez album.
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I called my old pal and asked if he had any recollections about the project. Russ told me, “Wow, Joe. I worked on so many albums at Tera Shirma that I just can’t remember if that Rodriguez album was one of them. But I do remember the name. So maybe I did work on it!” I had to laugh, because I’ve talked to Russ countless times about the days spent in Detroit, working at Motown and his brothers studio, and he couldn’t remember many of the number one hits he recorded or mixed (and there were 89 of those)! If that’s not the mark of a successful genius, I don’t know what is…..
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SM DEN MIKERuss suggested that I call his brother and ask what he remembered, if anything, about the Rodriguez sessions at the studio. I called Ralph Terrana and he was pretty excited that his studio had been mentioned by name in the Oscar-nominated docupic. But, like his brother, he could remember very little about the Rodriguez project. “Hell, Joe, ya’ gotta’ remember that this was over forty years ago,” Ralph told me. “There were so many artists coming in and out of the studio. Producers Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore (“SCORPIO”, “NICE TO BE WITH YOU”) were working at Tera Shirma constantly. I even gave them their own office in our building! But I do remember the name Rodriguez, probably from seeing it on a studio schedule.”
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I asked Ralph if Russ could have been the recording engineer. Ralph said, “You know, probably not. Dennis and Mike would often come in at night and work well past midnight on projects. Russ always preferred the day shift. Mike usually engineered the sessions himself at night.” I wondered if Russ might have mixed the tracks even if he didn’t record them. Ralph told me, “Russ was such a damn good mixer that everyone wanted him to mix their stuff if they could get him. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Russ mixed the album. 
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TO BE CONTINUED……

Rodriguez, the Detroit singer-songwriter at the center of the Oscar-nominated documentary Searching for Sugar Man, will perform at the Coachella, Glastonbury and Primavera festivals this year, Billboard reports.

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Special thanks to Joe Klein for putting this story together!
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Joe can be reached via email joe@newmediacreative.com
Joe’s production company’s website is www.newmediacreative.com
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For more about “super engineer” Russ Terrana and to see my MOTOWN VIDEO JUKEBOX of the incredible 89 number one hits he engineered and/or mixed, click here: https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/the-motown-video-jukebox/
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JOHN BRAHANEY R.I.P. ROCK IN PERPETUITY!

January 21, 2013

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I’VE BEEN IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS FOR OVER  50 YEARS AND I’VE NEVER KNOWN A GREATER CHAMPION OF THE SONGWRITER THAN JOHN BRAHANEY! (SEEN ABOVE WITH DIANE WARREN (“UNBREAK MY HEART”, “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU?”, “IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME”)

When I moved to LA in 1970, to work as a songplugger for VIVA Music, my new songwriter friend Alan O’Day (“Undercover Angel”, “Angie Baby”, “Rock and Roll Heaven”) who took me to a meeting of the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase (LASS), where I met Len Chandler, the late Mandy Martin, and John Braheny for the first time. I was impressed by the loving support system they built for new and seasoned songwriters to shield themselves from the harsh reality of the music business while they developed their craft.

Over the years I stayed in touch with John, helped me out whenever I needed it, from showcasing my staff writers at Warner Brothers and Irving/Almo music to finding me new writers when I went into business for myself.

HERE ARE A FEW RESPONSES TO JOHN BRAHANEY’S PASSING FROM VARIOUS WEBSITES…

To my dear friend John Brahaney, thank you for being there when no-one else was and believing in me when no one else did. Rest in Peace.

from Diane Warren

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REST IN PEACE, JOHN BRAHENY (ONE-OF-A-KIND SONGWRITER MENTOR, EDUCATOR, AND AUTHOR WHO LEFT US THIS (SATURDAY) AFTERNOON)

John said to me last Sunday, “It’s those of us left behind who feel the pain.”

I believe he is in a place of peace. But we have to endure, keep his spirit alive, and try to be as giving & generous as he was. And be as helpful as possible to JoAnn, without being intrusive. She has been brave and positive through John’s years of worsening illness. This is a terribly sad day. But there is a silver lining in the insights and heart he has shared with so many of us.

God bless you, John.

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Alan O’Day and Yuka

 

 

John and the LASS also presented performing  talent that was stellar. Here are a few of the super talents who showcased during that period: Jules Shear IRS Recording artist & hit writer who then had a day gig sewing sequins on shoes; Keith Green who in his short life brought inspiration to many as a Christian artist on Sparrow Records; Alan O’Day later was a staff writer for Warner Bros., had a hit as an artist/writer with “Undercover Angel”; Ed Sanford & John Townsend showcased their soon-to-be hit “Smoke From A Distant Fire”; Stephen Bishop showcased “On And On” and other great songs; Diane Warren began auditioning for the Showcase at the age of 15, and, shortly after, performed in her first public Showcase in April ’74. Len and John critiqued over 150 of her songs; Larry Groce showcased his novelty song “Junk Food Junkie” before it became a #1 hit on his independent label; Baker Knight later wrote the Mickey Gilley country hit “Don’t The Girls All Look Prettier At Closing Time;” Warren Zevon showcased “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” “Werewolves Of London” and other songs that later became hits for both Linda Ronstadt and himself. John Rhy’s saw his set at the showcase and produced the first LP of those songs before Warren signed with Warner Bros Records; David Clayton Thomas Blood, Sweat & Tears’ former lead singer; Rotunda featuring super guitarist/artist Steve Lukather; Franne Golde just arrived in Los Angeles from Chicago. Later a recording artist, co-wrote the Commodores smash “Night Shift” (see bio for further list of hits); R.C. Bannon has become a successful country hit writer/artist/producer. Other country hitmakers showcased then include Robert Byrne, Kerry Chater, Chick Rains, Kieran Kane and Sandy Pinkard. Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham turned in a powerhouse performance several months prior to joining Fleetwood Mac.

for additional comments and information about John Brahaney click onto http://johnbrahaney.com  and http://facebook.com/johnbrahaney

My condolences to Joann, John’s family and friends, and the thousands of people whose lives he enriched.

May you ROCK IN PERPETUITY …Your friend, Artie 

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HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY 2013!.

January 20, 2013

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HERE IS MY COLLECTION OF PATRIOTIC MUSIC VIDEOS, WHICH HAS BEEN ON THE #1 PAGE IN GOOGLE SEARCH TERMS FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS! INCLUDES ELVIS, RAY CHARLES, TOBY KEITH, JOHNNY HORTON, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, JAMES BROWN, WHITNEY HOUSTON, AND A DOZEN MORE!  https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/the-top-the-best-and-the-greatest-patriotic-music-videos/

Special thanks to Joe  Klein for finding the picture at the top  

To contact Joe Klein joe@newmediacreative.com
www.NewMediaCreative.com

THANKS AND HAPPY INAUGURATION WEEKEND! REGARDS, ARTIE WAYNE https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/celebrating-two-million-views-today-on-artie-wayne-on-the-web/

Copyright 2013 by Artie Wayne

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“SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN”!

January 17, 2013

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MY FRIEND, MUSIC AND COMMERCIAL PRODUCER, JOE KLEIN, JUST TOLD ME ABOUT A DOCUMENTARY THAT WAS NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD CALLED “SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN.” IT’S THE STORY OF THE LITTLE KNOWN ARTIST RODRIGUEZ, WHO, AFTER RECORDING A COUPLE OF ALBUMS IN 1969 AND 1971 THAT NEVER BECAME HITS IN THE US, WENT ON TO BECOME A STAR IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND AND A SUPERSTAR IN SOUTH AFRICA, BUT DIDN’T LEARN OF HIS FOREIGN FAME AND CULT FOLLOWING FOR ALMOST 15 YEARS!
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STILL UNABLE TO USE MY HANDS TO TYPE I ASKED JOE KLEIN TO SHARE THE REMARKABLE STORY OF RODRIGUEZ, THE FILM, THE MAN, AND THE MUSIC!
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SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN!
by Joe Klein
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Since last summer, I’ve heard quite a bit of buzz about SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, which was just nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar last week. Last November I saw a 60 MINUTES segment about the movie and the artist who is the subject of the film, SIXTO RODRIGUEZ. The documentary chronicles the amazing story of the seventies folk/rock artist, who was discovered in Detroit back in 1968 by producer/artist/musician DENNIS COFFEY (“Scorpio”) and his producing partner, MIKE THEODORE. The two produced Coffey’s instrumental hits and other artists, most notably GALLERY (“It’s So Nice To Be With You”) and were the production team for the first Rodriguez album, COLD FACT, in 1969
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In the documentary, Coffey, one of the original Motown FUNK BROTHERS guitarists (whose distinctive “wah-wah” guitar sound graced countless Motown hits), and Theodore appear in interview segments speaking about working with Rodriguez. Their admiration of the artist and passion for his music is clear, as both recall their regret about the failure of Rodriguez to achieve the success and recognition in the United States that they felt he so deserved at the time. Those feelings were echoed in the film in clips featuring STEVE ROWLAND, producer of the second Rodriguez album, COMING FROM REALITY, and others who knew or worked with the artist.
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As the story goes, Motown Records passed on Rodriguez, and he subsequently signed with Hollywood-based SUSSEX RECORDS, helmed by label president CLARENCE AVANT. Gallery and BILL WITHERS were on the Sussex label as well. Rodriguez never broke through in the United States, much to the surprise and dismay of those involved with him. Not heavily promoted by Sussex, his cutting edge Dylan-esque songs failed to garner any significant attention or radio airplay in the states, and he was dropped by the label just before Christmas 1971, less than two months after the release of the second album. Rodriguez continued to play club dates and record new music for several years but, sadly slipped into oblivion in America. Earlier this year at the Sundance Film festival where Searching For Sugar Man was honored, Sixto Rodriguez was described as “the greatest 70’s US icon who never was.” Here’s a video of Rodriguez performing the song “Sugar Man” at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
A virtual unknown in the U.S., his music magically found its way overseas, and Rodriguez ultimately became very popular in Australia and New Zealand. Then, incredibly, he became a huge superstar in South Africa, after his music surfaced there and struck a chord as tensions over apartheid were reaching the boiling point. Rodriguez was bigger then Elvis or The Beatles in the territory, but never played a single concert there in the seventies! Rumors of Rodriguez’s death (including one that he died on stage while performing) circulated for many years.
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Even more amazing than his foreign overseas, in a pre-cable, pre-internet world where news traveled infinitely slower than today, Sixto was totally unaware of the foreign fame he had achieved! Nor did he know at the time that Sussex Records had licensed his two albums to labels in the foreign territories and that over half a million albums were sold in the seventies! In the documentary, Clarence Avant is asked about what royalties, if any, were paid to Rodriguez from the sales of units outside of the United States, but the former label chief sidesteps the subjects of sales and royalties.
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Sixto Rodriguez would not learn of his notoriety down under and his status as a “South African Idol” for over fifteen years, and lived a modest, simple life as a day laborer in Detroit. He was finally tracked down by a couple of devoted fans from Cape Town, South Africa who went on a quest to see if the rumors of Sixto’s death were true or if Rodriguez was still alive and well, if not lost or in hiding. The Rodriguez zealots located the artist in the late nineties after an exhaustive search and, in 1998 convinced Rodriguez to finally perform in the now liberated South Africa. Rodriguez was welcomed there as a genuine superstar and performed to tens of thousands of devoted fans, many of whom had longed to see their lost musical hero for almost two decades!
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TO BE CONTINUED……..
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Watch the trailer for SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN below.
Special thanks to Joe Klein for putting this story together!
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Joe can be reached via email  joe@newmediacreative.com
Joe’s production company’s website is www.newmediacreative.com
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DO WE KNOW MORE ABOUT WEREWOLVES AND VAMPIRES THAN WE DO ABOUT BLACKS AND JEWS?

January 4, 2013

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Even though I’m half-Black and half-Jewish and allowed to use “Oy” and “Yo” in the same sentence, I’m the first to admit that I know very little about either culture. As a kid I knew that I could stop a vampire with a silver cross, or keep werewolves away with garlic, but I couldn’t stop the Jewish bullies in school from picking on me for insisting I was Jewish.

It seems that you’re considered a Jew only if you’re mother is, and since my father was the one to carry the blood of Abraham…I didn’t count!

The “colored” and Puerto Rican kids who were starting to dominate the formerly all-white Bronx neighborhood were more than happy to think of me as Jewish, since it gave them another reason to kick my ass. I relied upon the genes my father (who I never met) to outsmart them, and the genes of my strong African-American mother to give me the athletic prowess to outrun them.

As I grew up I never was allowed to become part of “Team David” which I name for the kid who slew Goliath in the Bible, or join “Team Martin”, I named for Martin Luther King who slew other kinds of monsters in the ‘60s. I was an only child, and stayed a loner as I examined each of the cultures I had roots in.

As a “Negro”, I was trying to assimilate into the White American culture and at first considered Jews and Blacks, who were militantly leading the fight for civil rights as troublemakers, until I realized they were fighting for me.

As their opponents were sharpening their wooden stakes, and melting down their silver and turning them into bullets, I said to myself, “Wait a second…it’s time to choose sides, and then I realized that the sides had already been chosen for me!”

I weighed fact against fiction, put fantasy aside and finally realized that I am related to all men genetically and spiritually, and I have to do whatever I can to promote a dialog between opposing factions whenever I could.

 After all Understanding begins with conversation.

SM LION

Copyright 2013 by Artie Wayne

WHILE FIGHTING LARGE CORPORATIONS WHO ARE TRYING TO KEEP ROYALTIES AWAY ME AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER ARTISTS, SONGWRITERS AND PUBLISHERS, MY ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME IS FROM THE SALE OF MY BOOK. ” I DID IT FOR A SONG”, WITH OVER 100 STORIES FROM THE MUSIC BUSINESS OF THE ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. I HOPE YOU’LL CONSIDER BUYING ONE DIRECTLY FROM ME THROUGH PAYPAL FOR ONLY $9.99 AT  artiewayne@gmail.com OR BY CHECK TO…ARTIE WAYNE  P.O. BOX 1105, DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA 92240

 THANKS AND REGARDS, ARTIE WAYNE https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/celebrating-two-million-views-today-on-artie-wayne-on-the-web/ 

Glow-in-the-Dark  “Werewolf” handpainted on a French leather jacket by Artie Wayne

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WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ARTIE WAYNE ON THE WEB!

January 4, 2013

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GOD BLESS THOSE WHO LEFT THE EARTH THIS YEAR …AND MAY GOD BLESS THOSE WHO MUST REMAIN!

Copyright 2013 by Artie Wayne

“Birth of an Angel” handpainted on the back of a denim jacket by Artie Wayne

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