So far, at the CasparSongs blog, we have been looking at artists, their songs, maybe the studio where they recorded. But, we haven't looked at the the world behind the stage; the managers, record company executives, etcetera. Why not? Maybe because it is about the music, the creativity, the artists themselves. Maybe because there are not many people in that section of the industry that interesting to pay attention to. And hey, if these people were not around, there still would be music, but not the other way around!
These were more or less my thoughts when the documentary about legendary entertainment manager, and record label boss, David Geffen started last night. Again, I knew his name because I read it on albums like Aerosmith's Get a Grip, or Guns 'n Roses' Appetite for Destruction. Big selling albums, but not necessarily history changing. The bigger was my surprise when I kept on watching and was really entertained by the film.
The film starts with Geffen's upbringing from very humble background in Brooklyn, New York, when he sets himself out to be an artist manager, lies about his education, and gets a job at the mailroom of a company called William Morris Agency. He soon left to become the personal manager of a singer-songwriter called Laura Nyro. To be honest, CasparSongs never had heard from her before. But, Geffen made sure that after her debut album didn't sell too much, other artists recorded her songs and that way the two made a lot of money. Then Geffen started a company together with Elliot Roberts. This is the time when Geffen showed his great entrepreneurship talents. He managed to get David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash out of their respective record deals at three different companies, so that they could form their own new super group. The next big thing for them was to get a young, and promising new talent Jackson Browne started. After failing to get him into a mainstream record company, they decided to found their own label, called Asylum Records. The word Asylum was choosen to show that the label was a place for struggling artists to find shelter. And a good name it was: Geffen is still hailed for his unconditional support for his people!
As the artists were haning out smoking pot along with the staff of Asylum, Geffen is the only one that didn't. In stead, he was constantly on the phone making deals, and he never took no for an answer. His style is not a pleasant one, when you're against him, but you cannot think of a better manager on your side when he is with you. In that respect, he has got an amazing staminae, a 100% drive to succeed.
Until this moment in the film, it all seem to be positive, an ordinary, though good, story about how anyone can make it in the USA. But then a set-back occurs. His first protegee, Laura Nyro, decides to leave Asylum, and signs for another company. She didn't tell Geffen, she just did. For Geffen, whose style it was to, almost, parent his artists, it feels like he is stabbed in the back. He cries for days about Nyro's decision, and finally understands he has got to change things. He leaves Asylum, starts a relationship with Cher (while being gay), and moves into the movie business. He doesn't feel very at home there though, also because he gets a boss above him, and he is not used to that. Also, in his personal life some things happen concerning his health and the break up with Cher. So he returns to the music industry by starting a new label: Geffen Records in 1980. And, in 1990, Dreamworks, the blockbuster movie studio.
There is a lot more to tell about David Geffen and the documentary. For example his charity work, or his political affiliation with the Clintons, and Barack Obama. Again, he shows his ability to tell people straight in their face what he thinks. When Bill Clinton doens't live up to his promise to have gays accepted in the American armed forces, Geffen drops him and doesn't hesitate to attack him in public. Again we are shown a piece of his mind. And that is just what I found so very interesting about the portrait: the psychology of a succesful entertainment tycoon. On the one hand, he gives more than 100% for his artists, going through walls to get them their success. But on the other hand, he demands 100% loyalty of the people he works with. If the other person doesn't deliver, you'd better hide. In my opinion, one cannot continue like that. Even if the other person would be able to give 100%, I bet you it is not 100% the same thing you're talking about. Any normal person would not be able to survive this 'all or nothing' attitude. David Geffen has got this incredible and rare talent to rise again, starting new initiatives, and a radar for what will be succesful in entertainment.
The documentary David Geffen always wins (of which the American title is Inventing David Geffen, but I liked the Dutch title more) shows us an insight of a world we know it exists, but never saw it so personal, moving, and entertaining. Let alone the incredible amount of information any fan op popular music would love. A solid account of a survivor, a macher in the entertainment industry, that would have existed without him, but that wouldn't have been the same. *****
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