Rock and Roll; Interview with Logan Westbrooks [Part 2 of 2]

Well you know Earth Wind Fire I shole it was it was an event and so the show is scheduled to start today at 8:00 PM. But if you're going to know when and fire show it really starts for you that morning because the enthusiasm when you weigh it says if it's a Friday night show that you're going to. So I'm at work but all day long I'm thinking about that when in fact I show something about what I'm going to wear. Then the ritual that I must go through and dressing in preparing for the for the series win because I must wear the right thing. I must have the right attitude because I'm going to you know when in fact I show so it was that kind of an experience and then to get to the arena and get caught up in the crowd and the enthusiasm and the things that were going on as you proceeded to go into the arena. You know they you would get caught up in that feeling. And then in the intense suppurating while you're there waiting for the show to start. And then when that curtain comes

open or when that announcer comes out and now ladies and gentlemen. Earth Wind and Fire. I mean the roof would just go off of. It was like a high. That's the way it was and you were standing up and you wouldn't sit down until the show was all over. And then then you're hoping for an encore every now and then you might be fortunate enough to have an encore. But it was it was an event and it was a kind of a thing that Maurice White he visualized this and it got to the place if you want this year every other year they came. I got to be there. That was the kind of enthusiasm the not only that from the stamp of the record company. If you didn't have that album you'd rush out and buy it. That's sort of what was on about to sell those albums. Yeah. Oh. Well proud to Earth Wind and Fire in Acme would come out on

stage any regiment of bases They'd march out on stage and they would do a show and march off. That was it. No theatrical anything. So Maurice White came of the idea to stage a show where we all kinds of props all kinds of unusual writings. What he is maybe big Pure me at on stage and all of a sudden the pyramid would just open up and then fire and smoke then would appear the group. And then they would perform. And then when it was all over again this loud explosion smoke everywhere and then it would just disappear and the crowd would just go wild. I mean it was it was an event it was a stage show. It was like the circus was all sorts of things are going on even the costuming. They were not all dressed alike. Again which was typical with a lot of black acts you know black suits our blue suits

or purple suits. Everybody was the same about doing the same steps but with Maurice White. Everybody was dressed differently. Everybody was stepping a different kind of a way. I mean you just it was something going on at every inch of that state. It was an event. Yeah. What. Well the Soul Train Show. And in terms of what it did for black music it it became a tree and set it. We found that youngsters in the community the black community they were looking at this show to find out what to dress and me how to dress. They were also looking at this show to see their very the very latest acts that had come out also to actually see a performance the performance

of their favorite act. Now this show went into all of the major markets that are at that particular time. And this was the only way that a lot of our acts were able to get exposure to American Bandstand was and it was in an existence but very few of our acts meaning the Al Black X were able to get on American Bandstand. So Don Cornelius opened his doors up to everybody any black I could get on done show. And once they got on the on that show and it's a national show which meant that they had immediate national identification they went into every major market plus record sales. Well. Yes. Well yeah. Well the group SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE Well

number one in my opinion. Sly Stone is like the bark of rhythm. I mean the things that goes on in his hear what he hears in his ear. And he was able to execute that on stage. Now just by virtue of the fact of the complection So the in the category of a blackout. But because of the music the play the kind of music they played they were able to sort of cross over both ways a Sly Stone audience would be black folks and white folks white folks groove to slash St. Just as same as as as black folks. He was that kind of an individual. And CBS Market in him in that way also now a service from Iran election worker here at the epic division at that particular time. Well he was able to bridge that gap he recognize you recognize the abilities are very sly stone and he knew that he would be able to pick up on a certain number

of white sails as a result of that. Also there was some top 40 airplay with a sly stone one of those unusual kind of acts that we see that kind of play that particular time. So Sly was one of those acts that was accepted by black radio and white radio no resistance at all. Yeah. Yeah. Yes what David. OK I would say that sure. Sly was unusually talented but as a plus to that there was his manager fellow named David capitally who was employed at CBS at one time and he left even prior to leaving CBS. He became sly as a manager and they even

had a relationship with some of the major Top 40 radio stations throughout the entire country. And when Parker his records were released they would pick up the telephone and would get that record played on those radio stations. So that aided and assisted those records in a number of instances. So fortunately for sly that they would know he had a manager with those kind of that kind of a juice. Oh. Yeah. Well in my opinion I never felt that CBS was there to take a black business over or to take the Philadelphia International over not in my opinion. Now again

following following the dictates of that Harvard study the idea the idea is to get that identification in the marketplace that we or a record company that's not one for bringing hit product. So we eventually will bring our own the scion to big red big red meaning the CBS label or signed a record to Epic Records. But I've never felt that that was their intentions to move managers to take these companies over. Now we you know we're mentioning Filepp International and of course there were other companies as well also there was a talented boys from Teaneck the Teaneck the Teaneck label the Isley Brothers. It was so talented. So they were considered a custom label. They were distracted by CBS Records. Also not only the Isar brothers we Clive Davis one of them all. Harlan how Lindows Invictus records. They became one of the custom labels there at CBS so Clavell one of them are now also from a civic standpoint. There was another little

small record company community based out of Buffalo New York which is called the de Ville record label. And the talent was rather short but the commitment was very very strong. And through Clive Davis and Bruce Lundvall that company was given a distribution deal as a custom label and we received product from them. But it was no question about it. Can it Gamble and Leon have they dominated it with the hits that they king with. Well there was a billion Paul of me and Mrs. Jones and Bill or Paul Me and Mrs. Jones the natch of the old days Harold Melvin The Blue Notes with Teddy Pendergrass which was a very very special act to me because I was just so fun of them and their music. But again it was all through the genius of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff the kinds of music. I would say the sweet music that they made I would say it had a certain sweetness about it which gave us a little bit of a softer edge for black music because it different it different from the Motown sound which is a

harsher or harsher cutting years. But filler definitely International. It had a sweetness about it and it just went spread throughout the entire country. Yeah. Not doing this which at the time Tom Bell certainly play an integral part of this entire scheme of things. The label itself was wholly on my can a Gamble and Leon Huff. But in terms of the writing. In terms of the arrangements a lot of the sweetness came from all the things you hear it in his head and also the that 70 orchestra from from Philadelphia that he would bring in to put that certain sweetness the strain the arrangements the search. So I would say that the sweetness primarily came from Tom Beal not only for the Philadelphia International label but for the for the Philadelphia sound itself because there were quite a few things that Tom Bell was

doing writings that he was doing with young Lehman accrete for other labels on other acts. So a lot of those acts coming out of for the def of Philadelphia Tom Bell had his hand in what they were doing. Oh. Right. What do in this era of early early 70s. We knew we knew black radio as that. That number on the far right hand of the dial was the weakest signal. But CNN along came a disc jockey that was completely different he went against the grain. He was a disc jockey that dared to play an album cut. He dared to play a record that was longer than three to four minutes long. This was a guy

named Frank a cracker. Franco Crockett was a kind of a disc jockey that brought in the soothing of his voice the style of music that he played and the way that he programmed his music. Even myself from a personal standpoint when when Frank Akaka came on the air in the evening I turned to his station simply because you could tell the difference. I mean the records that he played the way one would find of the other the flow. What he had to say in between the records the smoothness the silkiness of his voice and now this feeling this feeling or that sound spread throughout the entire East Coast. It spread from New York into Philadelphia and then it spread down as far as a station then Washington D.C. on the Howard universe's Kapell campus W H U R E F E M. Now these also were f stations which could afford to be a little bit more

different go a little bit further out on the edge. Well Frankie perfected that Earth Wind and Fire I took advantage of that. Maurice White saw the value of that he personally visited that station in DC w d e s f m in Philadelphia. Maurice Wright personally visited that station with his entire group and also in New York. There were Frankie Crocker So that played a big part in establishing certain acts especially on these calls and it made good business sense too because the bulk of the people lives on these calls. So you break it you spread on the East Coast then you spread it to the west coast. But primarily Let's break it on these calls first. Yes yes that the Quiet Storm the quiet storm that was the beginning of the of the 70s and basically you know that's the

song off music you may or may not hear it in a doctor's office or elevator music but it was quiet store music. Yeah I would say if it was a little it was about two or three notches above our doctors office music or what they call it we call that particular time a good music easy listening station. It was several notches above that and there are a lot of album cuts that you could not place say on a traditional R&B radio station because in most instances a black jockey wanted his station to be up he wanted to be lively. He wanted his listeners to state to stay tuned in to a station. But with quiet storm it was somewhat different. You didn't exactly do that you know you were with with the quiet soms storm sound. You're able to go a little bit further look at more innovative with quiet storm and then immediately record companies zeroed in on at this site start supplying those quad storm stations with

that type of music because then they knew that those disc jockeys such as a franc a cracker would explore that music and the idea. The idea is to get your records get your music played on the radio. So we the consumer will hear it in once we hear it thinking years we will rush out and buy it. And that's another seal because the bottom line is we want to sail records. You know. Yes yes. Well even Dusty the Quiet Storm. Was over into the night. Usually you get home with your lady you're sipping wine and you're kickin back you know. It put you in a romantic mood. So it was very very good for that. And Frank your crack to me is somewhat of a romantic himself you know. So it was just natural for him to follow that line. And this is what you would do. Now not only that even in terms of

the Quiet Storm music there were certain degrees of it because early evening there was a certain phase in you as you were on over into the later part of the evening as you were settling down with your lady and you listen to the Quiet Storm station with your champagne or your wine. It puts both of you in that mood. And terms of making music. And in terms of one recognizing or feeling the pulse of society I would say it was Curtis Mayfield the things that he was writing the kinds of music the things that he was hearing hearing in his hear. I think it was with the Curtis Mayfield and then he was dealing they were with that group out of Chicago primarily I guess the things he had experienced there in Chicago but then the foresight that he had the predictions that he was

making in his music. And even today you can go back and listen to some of our Curtis Mayfield writing some of his songs. They are just as timely now as they were then. So I think that in terms of his writings and then what that night lead right into that black exploitation film industry. I think that it tied hand in hand because of the worst of it he was saying the things that was happening in the in the black community and what he was putting everybody on alert as to what was happening. And then through the vehicle of these films in those soundtracks he was able to expound and expand upon that. And he did it very very well through his writings. One of them in particular was that that was super fun. I mean he did it very well. You can take each one of those songs that sound that soundtrack and each one is a different kind of a story. But it was written but the class was going on here right now. He had that foresight. And unfortunately there were a

lot of black black buyers that didn't even recognize his abilities at that particular time. You know I think of there was a young white from I used to work with a country called America Rex Denny Rosencrantz. All right is to be you know you're Caucasian but still he was into Curtis Mayfield. He was in the Curtis Mayfield as much as I was and that was typical of a lot of whites throughout the entire country you know. But then there were a lot of blacks that were really not into CURTIS You had to really sit down and listen to what he was saying because it was a message of what he was saying. Well. I would say you listen to a you listen to a Sly Stone that's fuck some of the things some of the things that the Isar brothers will do and say that's fuck but I would say leading that leading that pack the hole would be would be Sly Stone.

Because our the way that he would go against the rain the grain in mixing and putting his music together and it's something that he would feel thing that he was listening to. But I would say that's fun SLAs known that's fun. Some of the things with with but with eyes are brothers that's fuck some of the things Sly Stone. Everything that he did was fuck. I would we think in terms of the word rock n roll music. Well I look at rock n roll music as being white folks music. I look at rock n roll music as being music that the Rolling Stones and me that's what I call rock n roll music. I see rock n roll roll music to me is it me that you don't necessarily dance about it you don't groove or move a certain way. You listen to it it's rock n roll music you know. There are certain movements you can't do with rock n roll music. White Folks me that's

where I look at rock n roll music. Right. Yeah. This is really a tone for him to you know with Logan Westbrook.