SPOTLIGHT ON ALLAN RINDE!

Here is the story of how I met my longtime friend, Allan Rinde, former publicist, the west coast editor of Cashbox magazine, head of West Coast A&R at Columbia Records, (who was behind Billy Joel’s first hit “Piano Man”), the man who helped to break “Jesus Christ Superstar”, and owner of “Genghis Cohen”, one of Hollywood’s top restaurants, which I named and hosted for many years.

” It’s the winter of 1968 , and I just finished writing  a special press release for my new album as “Shadow” Mann on the label my partner Kelli Ross and I co – own with the nefarious Morris Levy! I walk up Broadway to 57^th street  to Cashbox magazine. I give my three page release to the new guy who’s just started to work there, a former publicist, Allan Rinde. He glances at it as I hype him on all the excitement going on at my company and how Morris Levy is going to make me the new Tommy James! When he hands it back to me it has a C- at the top with a few grammatical errors circled, I realize this asshole has actually graded my paper! I hold my tongue and tell him I’ll bring it back “corrected” before his deadline.

The next morning I bring in the revised press release. Allan finds it acceptable and puts it in the magazine. Through gritted teeth I thank him for his suggestions and invite him to have dinner that night with my producer Ronnie Haffkine and me at the Roundtable, a hot night club that Morris Levy owns. On our way downstairs to be seated, a belligerent drunk sees me in my Black Suede Shadow outfit with a giant red eagle on the back, then pushes me out of the way! When he makes a nasty comment. Two tough guys suddenly appear, throw him down the stairs, and ask, “Are you all right, Mr. Shadow?”

I brush myself off,  pick up my black floppy Shadow hat from the floor; compose myself as the tough guys ask what should they do with him? I benevolently say, “Let ‘em go…this time,”.  As soon as they eject him from the club, a somewhat impressed Allan and I join Ronnie at my usual table.”

top photo l to R – Allan Rinde, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Williams, Tim Rice, and Artie Wayne

bottom  L – R  “Shadow” Mann in winter attire and “Cookie”

Special thanks to Carol Tandy for the bottom photo

From my forthcoming book, “I Did It For A Song” Copyright 2010 by Artie Wayne https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/celebrating-a-million-and-a-half-visitors-today/

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