From: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org (basia-digest) To: basia-digest@smoe.org Subject: basia-digest V5 #52 Reply-To: basia@smoe.org Sender: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "basia-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. basia-digest Friday, March 31 2000 Volume 05 : Number 052 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Dee Anthony Pt 1 [Larry Lipman ] Dee Anthony, Pt II [Larry Lipman ] Re: Intiating rollcall sequence... [Pamela ] Re: Dee Anthony Pt 1 [DBabyGrand88@aol.com] nothing ["tom, kelly & jordan" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 07:41:50 -0600 From: Larry Lipman Subject: Dee Anthony Pt 1 Hello Fellow Basians: Tom asked about Dee Anthony March 9 and I've been trying to post this ever since. For some reason, the original simply would not go. I've split it into two posts in the hope that it might make it onto the list. Enjoy! LL Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 18:39:37 -0600 From: "tom, kelly & jordan" Subject: dense Larry, Can you tell us a little more about Basia's Legendary Manager Dee Antony? It is written that he is legendary, but I am dense, and have never heard of him. Can you expand on this? Thanks, Tom My pleasure! My last contact with Dee was probably November 1996. I believe he would now be about 74. I do not know whether he is still managing Basia, or whether he has retired. He sent a very nice note: "Thank you for thinking about us. Maybe we can do something in the future. Here is the story you requested. Have a nice day. Dee" And...here is the story he enclosed that ran in the Nashville Banner August 1, 1996: Music City: Veteran Manager To Try Hand In The Heart Of Country Jay Orr: Nashville Banner Thursday, August 1, 1996 During the recent boom years, Nashville has had its share of big-name rock and pop operators coming here to live and work. Al Kooper, Steve Winwood, Felix Cavaliere, Peter Frampton, Adrian Belew, Michael McDonald, Donna Summer and Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons leap to mind as new arrivals who've joined the stellar guest list of local music glitterati. In recent months, another mover-and-shaker from the rock era has made regular visits from his home in Southport, Conn., testing the waters and making plans to bring his managerial experience to bear in Music City by opening an office here. Though less well-known to the general public, Dee Anthony ranks as a legend in rock's inner circle, one of the guys who, during a 45-year career, has made things happen for clients as famous and diverse as Tony Bennett, Humble Pie, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, the J. Geils Band, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and the late, New York-based cabaret star Peter Allen. His thick Bronx accent gives away his origins, but Anthony's droopy gaze and broad smile are as friendly as a Southern shopkeeper's. Making Legends Now 70, he first visited Nashville, Anthony recalls, in the '50's with Bennett, who would perform Hank Williams' Cold Cold Heart on the Grand Ole Opry. After 13 years as a manager for the cool crooner, Anthony made a trip to London at the dawn of the British rock era and it changed his professional direction. "I liked what I heard. I liked what I saw. I thought, that's for me," he recalls. "I started bring over (Winwood's) Spencer Davis Band, Traffic, Savoy, Brown, Ten Years After, Joe Cocker, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Humble Pie and Peter Frampton." "I brought what I thought was a new type of music into American. The English bands were very influenced by the blues and the country sound- the Southern sound." Soon, he was into management with the rock acts. Remembering Woodstock I had Alvin Lee and Ten Years After and Joe Cocker at Woodstock in 1969. I was there for more than three days. You don't know that this is history being made. You reflect back after the years go by and say, 'Dammit, was I there?'" "I sat in the wings with Joan Baez, who was pregnant at the time, and when Joe Cocker was on stage, she was singing the harmonies." "Probably one of the greatest thrills I remember was being 30 yards away from Jimi Hendrix when he did the Star Spangled Banner that morning. It's so embedded in my mind that I'll never forget it." By his count, Anthony has been associated with 108 platinum albums "and there's a story with every one." If he witnessed indiscretions, excesses, and outrageous hijinks among his charges–some of whom, like Cocker, were famous for their shenanigans–the good manager keeps those stories off the record or to himself. The accounts he'll share are mostly genteel memories of career milestones. For Cocker, for instance, he arranged a crucial Ed Sullivan Show appearance–as well as early dates at the Filmore East in New York–which helped move the singer beyond the FM/underground audience that first embraced him. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Larry Lipman - --------------------------------------------------------------- Division Coordinator; Recording Studio Manager Commercial Music degree programs in Recording Technology & Music Business - --------------------------------------------------------------- The University of Memphis Commercial Music Program Campus Box 526546 - 232 CFA Building Memphis, TN 38152-6546 (901) 678-2559 [w/voice mail] FAX: (901) 678-5118 E-Mail: Llipman@memphis.edu ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 07:40:33 -0600 From: Larry Lipman Subject: Dee Anthony, Pt II Part Two of the continuing saga.... "Joe came out and he was quite unusual," Anthony says of the Sullivan show, where Cocker sang Feelin' Alright. "His knees were this way, his hands were that way." "He damn near tore the house down. I remember one of the agents saying, 'I think the guy sings good, but tell him he's got to get rid of all that spastic stuff.' "I said, 'It's easier to get rid of you.' Before I go to my artist and tell him to change what he does...that's like me telling Tony Bennett to get his nose fixed. It don't work." In the early stages of their careers, Anthony counseled his acts to believe in themselves and their abilities. "I hoped that I brought them the courage of their own convictions, and to go beyond what they think their expectations are. I don't care who was on–the Faces, Johnny Winter–I knew when Humble Pie went on, they were going to kick...The same thing with Geils and ELP." His managerial experience, Anthony believes, has taught him certain universal truths about performance and artistry that can translate to the country field. "We knew the importance of the stage show, pacing, lighting, as opposed to just doing a song and that's it. We wanted to take the audience on a path, in a direction, so they follow you through your whole repertoire. We had rock bands doing that. We knew what the word 'encore' meant, 'reprise.' That made them a better band." His management strengths, Anthony says, emphasize the philosophical, the psychological, and the career-oriented aspects of management. "I remember, we were doing a show with Ten Years After, and (bassist) Leo Lyons and (guitarist) Alvin Lee were arguing about what song they were going to put in the number three spot. They were getting more obstinate, and I thought they were going to hit each other. I said, 'Hold it fellas. We'll put this song in the two spot tonight, and tomorrow we'll put it in the three spot.' We've got a whole career to get it right. That's what we did with Tony, we experimented. All of a sudden, the act comes to life." Finding New Talent First among his clients with local ties is aspiring singer-songwriter Rick Rose, who comes from a rural area of Ontario, Canada, and still lives near Niagara Falls, where he works bars and nightspots in the area. At the recommendation of Bobby Braddock, Sony/ATV Tree has signed Rose to a songwriting deal. He leans to the rock side of country–with similarities to John Mellencamp or Bryan Adams–and he hopes to have a record deal one day, says Anthony. "He's part of the change I feel coming here. Country's coming with more of an edge. That's what I hear, that's what I see." Rose has been working on his writing skills with Tree writers R.C. Bannon, Conley White, and Patsy Bruce. The veteran tinsmiths are helping "country-fy" some of Rose's creative efforts. He's got a song, The Greatest Train Ride, it's about him and his dad taking this ride from Buffalo to Yonkers," says Anthony. "It don't ring. You gotta be going from Memphis to Nashville. There are little subtleties, working with people down here." Anthony also has been doing some consulting with local pop/rock group One World, an all-star band that includes keyboardist Mark Harris (BeBe Winans), bassist Tommy Sims (sideman to Bruce Springsteen, producer for Michael McDonald and co-writer of Eric Clapton's current hit Change The World) and guitarist/vocalist Chris Rodriguez (sideman to Shania Twain, Amy Grant and many others) and drummer Danny Needham. "They are committed, and I told them, 'If you want to go in as a group, and you want to make this thing work, you've got to know you're committed to this group. You guys hold your hands and all for one and one for all' That's a question as a manager that I want to know." In addition to Rose, Anthony's BTB Management Group's clients include international pop star Basia, whom he hopes to bring to Nashville to record some tracks with producer Keith Thomas, writer-producer and emerging pop star Trey Lorenz and Tower of Power founder and horn man Greg Adams, who records for jazz label GRP. His daughter, Michelle Anthony, former attorney for Prince, Guns 'N Roses, and Pearl Jam, among others, is now executive vice president of Sony Music Entertainment International. Anthony likes the "creative juices" in Nashville, he says, comparing the current scene to Paris in the 30's or to New York's hit-cranking Brill Building in the '50's, btu he realizes that the city's creative community has its own unique character. "You don't just walk in here and become a club member," Anthony observes. "You've got to make a conscious effort to contribute to the music industry and help artists down here expand and diversify their careers." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Larry Lipman - --------------------------------------------------------------- Division Coordinator; Recording Studio Manager Commercial Music degree programs in Recording Technology & Music Business - --------------------------------------------------------------- The University of Memphis Commercial Music Program Campus Box 526546 - 232 CFA Building Memphis, TN 38152-6546 (901) 678-2559 [w/voice mail] FAX: (901) 678-5118 E-Mail: Llipman@memphis.edu ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 08:22:29 -0600 From: Pamela Subject: Re: Intiating rollcall sequence... This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------3205D49FDED344F81F0516DE Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hello Basia Fans! Guess I'll have my turn now. Name: Pamela Locke Home: A child of the earth, presently residing in the deep south, Louisiana. Time on List: Approximately 3 weeks First Basia Tune: T & T in the late 80's Favorite: More Fire Than Flame (every time I hear that one, makes me want to get up and dance. I think that's her best) Misc Personal Info: In the process of getting to know my future partner better, I do photo restoration for a living, also can enhance and rework photo's sent to me over the net. - --------------3205D49FDED344F81F0516DE Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="pamelasl.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Pamela Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="pamelasl.vcf" begin:vcard n:;Pamela x-mozilla-html:FALSE adr:;;;;;; version:2.1 email;internet:pamelasl@earthlink.net note;quoted-printable:Tolerate, Accept and Love.=0D=0A x-mozilla-cpt:;3 fn:Pamela end:vcard - --------------3205D49FDED344F81F0516DE-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 22:35:01 EST From: DBabyGrand88@aol.com Subject: Re: Dee Anthony Pt 1 Hi folks, Re: Dee Anthony. What a great guy. I met him inadvertently - at Basia's signing ceremony in NYC (J&R Music-back in the early 90s). While waiting outside, I casually struck up a conversation with Dee. After a couple of minutes, he invited me to "come visit" Basia during her upcoming performance at Jones Beach, NY. He gave me his card...I called his office a few days later, and true to his word, he arranged for me and a friend to visit back stage. It was a great evening. Basia was wonderful, as was Danny White...genuine people. And of course, Dee was fantastic, a gentleman all the way. Hope I didn't bore anyone, but I had to chime in when I saw Dee's name after all these years. ...Drew (new to this mail group) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 22:00:27 -0600 From: "tom, kelly & jordan" Subject: nothing Hi all, Have a nice day. Tom ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V5 #52 **************************