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And Party Every Day: The Inside Story Of Casablanca Records by Larry Harris
(Book). Now it can be told! The true, behind-the-scenes story of Casablanca Records, from an eyewitness to the excess and insanity. Casablanca was not a product of the 1970s, it was the 1970s. From 1974 to 1980, the landscape of American culture was a banquet of hedonism and self-indulgence, and no person or company in that era was more emblematic of the times than Casablanca Records and its magnetic founder, Neil Bogart. From his daring first signing of KISS, through the discovery and superstardom of Donna Summer, the Village People, and funk master George Clinton and his circus of freaks, Parliament Funkadelic, to the descent into the manic world of disco, this book charts Bogart's meteoric success and eventual collapse under the weight of uncontrolled ego and hype. It is a compelling tale of ambition, greed, excess, and some of the era's biggest music acts.
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First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 17, 2016
I enjoyed this book far more than I probably should have. While it's not perfectly written, it is very entertaining, especially for me, someone who remembers well the rise and fall of Casablanca Records, the Kiss era, the Donna Summer era, disco, Parliament/Funkadelic, and everything else that Neil Bogart, Larry Harris, et al., begat and bequeathed.
Not all of it was good, but when it was good, it was great, as much for the music as for the fantasy, glamour, and excess it created.
The focus in this book is perhaps more on Kiss than on the others. As more of a disco dolly, I would have preferred more about Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder. Nonetheless, Harris does a good job of conveying some of what was going on with them and their music at the time. He also touches upon the rise of gay culture in the disco era, not shying away from it, although again, I was left wanting more.
(That's not really a criticism. I'm just greedy.)
While not a Kiss fan and knowing only a little about George Clinton and Parliament, I was nonetheless enthralled to read about their personalities, work, and vision, and how Casablanca hustled to unleash them on a receptive, if unsuspecting, public.
I was a teenager during this era, a time in my mind's eye, when America was still on the move, when the angst and anger of the '60s had somewhat subsided and the conservatism and consumerism of the '80s had not taken over. So there's a special place in my heart for the people, places, and events described within. People often say the '70s were about nothing, but I think they were about a number of things: harmony, unity, diversity, fun, working out our past social kinks and moving on to a better, more liberated culture. An idealized take on the decade? Perhaps, but I'd match it any day to the accomplishments of the '80s.
Having said that, from some of the events described in these pages, I'm not sure I would have survived if I'd been on that '70s scene. In fact, many didn't. Drugs, decadence, and disease took their toll.
Thus it's great to have Harris's stories about Paul Jabara, Marc Paul Simon, Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo, Casablanca FilmWorks, Donna Summer, George Clinton, the four Kiss solo albums, radio promotion, marketing music, and all the rest. It's a great chronicle of a lost time and place and a loving but honest look at the genius and the folly that was Neil Bogart.
Not all of it was good, but when it was good, it was great, as much for the music as for the fantasy, glamour, and excess it created.
The focus in this book is perhaps more on Kiss than on the others. As more of a disco dolly, I would have preferred more about Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder. Nonetheless, Harris does a good job of conveying some of what was going on with them and their music at the time. He also touches upon the rise of gay culture in the disco era, not shying away from it, although again, I was left wanting more.
(That's not really a criticism. I'm just greedy.)
While not a Kiss fan and knowing only a little about George Clinton and Parliament, I was nonetheless enthralled to read about their personalities, work, and vision, and how Casablanca hustled to unleash them on a receptive, if unsuspecting, public.
I was a teenager during this era, a time in my mind's eye, when America was still on the move, when the angst and anger of the '60s had somewhat subsided and the conservatism and consumerism of the '80s had not taken over. So there's a special place in my heart for the people, places, and events described within. People often say the '70s were about nothing, but I think they were about a number of things: harmony, unity, diversity, fun, working out our past social kinks and moving on to a better, more liberated culture. An idealized take on the decade? Perhaps, but I'd match it any day to the accomplishments of the '80s.
Having said that, from some of the events described in these pages, I'm not sure I would have survived if I'd been on that '70s scene. In fact, many didn't. Drugs, decadence, and disease took their toll.
Thus it's great to have Harris's stories about Paul Jabara, Marc Paul Simon, Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo, Casablanca FilmWorks, Donna Summer, George Clinton, the four Kiss solo albums, radio promotion, marketing music, and all the rest. It's a great chronicle of a lost time and place and a loving but honest look at the genius and the folly that was Neil Bogart.
May 31, 2011
A peek behind the scenes, not only at Casablanca, but at the wheeling dealing, politics, and shady interactions of the 70's music industry as a whole. Mr. Harris does and excellent job of laying out the development and rise of Casablanca Records in great detail. He also sprinkles in a healthy dose of sensational and alarming anecdotes. The company's fall and aftermath were left to more of a quick run through, which could have benefited from more exploration. However, the book's singular flaw stood, not in what was missing, but what should have been left out. Mr. Harris reveals real names and identities for practically every individual who passed through his professional life; commendable, that he chose to be so candid and fact driven in his approach, but a bit confusing for the reader to follow. At times, the names are dropped in such volume one almost needs a roster or score card to keep track. In a case of "sometimes it's what's left out that's more important", the overly extensive listing of names diluted the story and took something away from the book's "big picture" focus.
January 24, 2015
This is written by a former top executive at Casablanca Records, which was an eccentrically operated medium sized record label in the 1970s. I had never heard of Casablanca when this book was recommended to me, but have come to learn they were a significant part of music history. The first 20 pages came across as too (minor) detail oriented, but the author offers a lot of insight into the music business in the 70s, unique music culture in the 70s, and gives an inside story on the birth and popularity of disco. I'm not a fan of disco, or KISS for that matter (the label's most prominent rock artist), and I only like maybe 5 songs of the thousands and thousands that Casablanca's artists released. Their artists were often 70s-flamboyant, or tinsel-artists. Some of their biggest artist's music was dependent on gimmicks (they were also responsible for the Village People) but that wasn't an obstacle to enjoying this book. Overall it was illuminating on many aspects in music history.
March 24, 2012
The liner notes found inside the cover of "And Party Every Day" boast that, "Casablanca Records was not a product of the 1970s -- it was the 1970s." That may seem like a rather bold, over-the-top claim, given the ever-changing fads, social climate, political turmoil, and excesses of the era. However, it is fairly accurate.
Author Larry Harris was Casablanca President, Neil Bogart's right hand man at the label a from its inception in 1973 until his timely exit in 1979 -- just as the "fat lady" was stepping up to the mic. Harris's mantra throughout the book's 300-plus pages is that "perception is reality." Along with Bogart, Harris helped create (and sell) the "perception" that Casablanca was the most successful label on the planet. And by the late 1970s it was.
Despite the allure of the sex, the drugs, the top-name acts, and Bogart's chutzpah, Harris is the nucleus of this bona fide page-turner. His first-person accounts of Casablanca's meteoric rise from obscurity into the industry's stratosphere, and its inevitable, yet heartbreaking, crash are riveting. In fact, Harris's insider stories are so compelling, and he, himself, such a fascinating character, the reader may truly be left wanting more.
Author Larry Harris was Casablanca President, Neil Bogart's right hand man at the label a from its inception in 1973 until his timely exit in 1979 -- just as the "fat lady" was stepping up to the mic. Harris's mantra throughout the book's 300-plus pages is that "perception is reality." Along with Bogart, Harris helped create (and sell) the "perception" that Casablanca was the most successful label on the planet. And by the late 1970s it was.
Despite the allure of the sex, the drugs, the top-name acts, and Bogart's chutzpah, Harris is the nucleus of this bona fide page-turner. His first-person accounts of Casablanca's meteoric rise from obscurity into the industry's stratosphere, and its inevitable, yet heartbreaking, crash are riveting. In fact, Harris's insider stories are so compelling, and he, himself, such a fascinating character, the reader may truly be left wanting more.
October 21, 2022
And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records, released in 2009, is a definitive account of this particular music industry powerhouse record label of the 1970's. It was written by the then senior vice president Larry Harris. The title is taken from the chorus of the KISS rock anthem "Rock and Roll All Nite".
This book traces the history of the label from its inception as a Warner Bros (WB). subsidiary label started by Neil Bogart. Before the label started signing acts, the label released a few one off records by artists such as Bill (now Barb) Amesbury and Peter Noone, but soon, signed other acts, such as KISS (the label's first signing) The Hudson Brothers, Donna Summer, Parliament, Buddy Miles, Greg Perry, Hugh Masekela and the Village People, to it becoming fully independent after Neil Bogart broke free from WB, because WB refused to promote KISS, even though they would become their top selling act during it's 1970's heyday.
At Casablanca Donna Summer, Parliament, Angel, Fanny (an all girl rock band that featured Suzi Quatro's sister Patti), Larry Santos (a much underrated blue eyed jazz and soul singer-songwriter who was actually a very good and talented artist in his own right), and The Village People, rounded out their stable of top sellers.
They also later signed established acts such as Mac Davis, Dr. Hook, Tony Orlando and the Captain and Tennille. Casablanca would also have three subsidiary labels, such as Chocolate City (which later became Atlanta Artists after the 1980 Polygram buyout) and the short lived Oasis (which was the label that Donna Summer's records were released on initially) and Parachute (later used as a short lived children's music subsidiary through Polygram).
The book shows how tough it was to run a record label. Casablanca became a haven for wild parties loaded with drugs and alcohol. Casablanca went to the extremes in promoting all of its acts during its 1970's heyday. They also engaged in risks that the other record labels were afraid to do, such as paying people at music trade publications, such as Billboard, to up the anty on their records on the charts to make it look like that their records were selling in large quantities.
The book also chronicles the mistakes of the label, such as the ill fated release of "Here's Johnny: Magical Moments from the Tonight Show" and the KISS solo album debacle of 1978. Other blunders were, passing on signing Canadian rock band Rush, who later became one of the dominant rock bands of the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's, and passing on signing Dire Straits and Peter Gabriel.
Casablanca had to contend with the decline of disco, where the label had an almost monopoly on the market because they had more disco acts on it than most of the other labels did. KISS and Angel were the only rock and roll acts on the label. Casablanca had to deal with the the fallout from the decline of disco, which led Polygram to buying out the label and dismissing Neil Bogart as CEO, and then terminating most of the staff who had been with the label since its inception.
The book also has a nearly complete discography of the label's album releases (with only Animotion's Strange Behavior missing as that was the label's final album release in 1986) that has nearly all of the label's releases from its inception and after the Polygram buyout in 1980. It also has where are they now pages on those who recorded and worked for the label during it's heyday in the 1970's. This book covers its entire history and nothing is left out.
Larry Harris, who was senior vice president, was also Neil Bogart's cousin and as a result of his smarts and business know how, was hired by Bogart to be senior vice president. He and Neil worked hard to get their artists' records out and tried almost anything to get the records out to the stores and also, hype them to the extremes to get the records sold. Harris writes with style and flair as he shares his entire career with the label from its inception until its end after the Polygram buyout.
Harris writes well in his book about his entire career and leaves nothing out. The book also features pictures of him, Neil and many other employees and many industry insiders on how they worked to promote the label and its established acts. The book is a definitive account of this 1970's powerhouse label and how hard it worked to make sure that the records got out to the shops, then promoting its acts and also, hyping to make sure that music buyers bought the records it released onto the public so the public could buy them.
Neil Bogart died in 1982 at the age of 39 of cancer. KISS paid tribute to him by dedicating their Creatures of the Night album to his memory as a way of thanking him for giving them a chance and believing in them, even though nobody else in the big time music industry didn't. The author would die 35 years later in 2017. May they both forever RIP.
Overall, And Party Every Day; The Inside Story of Casablanca Records is a great well written book and a definitive account of the label's history and the day to day business of the label from its inception until its end. No fan of any of its musical acts or music lovers should be without this book in their respective libraries of music and label biographies. I highly recommend this book as great reading and also very informative.
This book traces the history of the label from its inception as a Warner Bros (WB). subsidiary label started by Neil Bogart. Before the label started signing acts, the label released a few one off records by artists such as Bill (now Barb) Amesbury and Peter Noone, but soon, signed other acts, such as KISS (the label's first signing) The Hudson Brothers, Donna Summer, Parliament, Buddy Miles, Greg Perry, Hugh Masekela and the Village People, to it becoming fully independent after Neil Bogart broke free from WB, because WB refused to promote KISS, even though they would become their top selling act during it's 1970's heyday.
At Casablanca Donna Summer, Parliament, Angel, Fanny (an all girl rock band that featured Suzi Quatro's sister Patti), Larry Santos (a much underrated blue eyed jazz and soul singer-songwriter who was actually a very good and talented artist in his own right), and The Village People, rounded out their stable of top sellers.
They also later signed established acts such as Mac Davis, Dr. Hook, Tony Orlando and the Captain and Tennille. Casablanca would also have three subsidiary labels, such as Chocolate City (which later became Atlanta Artists after the 1980 Polygram buyout) and the short lived Oasis (which was the label that Donna Summer's records were released on initially) and Parachute (later used as a short lived children's music subsidiary through Polygram).
The book shows how tough it was to run a record label. Casablanca became a haven for wild parties loaded with drugs and alcohol. Casablanca went to the extremes in promoting all of its acts during its 1970's heyday. They also engaged in risks that the other record labels were afraid to do, such as paying people at music trade publications, such as Billboard, to up the anty on their records on the charts to make it look like that their records were selling in large quantities.
The book also chronicles the mistakes of the label, such as the ill fated release of "Here's Johnny: Magical Moments from the Tonight Show" and the KISS solo album debacle of 1978. Other blunders were, passing on signing Canadian rock band Rush, who later became one of the dominant rock bands of the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's, and passing on signing Dire Straits and Peter Gabriel.
Casablanca had to contend with the decline of disco, where the label had an almost monopoly on the market because they had more disco acts on it than most of the other labels did. KISS and Angel were the only rock and roll acts on the label. Casablanca had to deal with the the fallout from the decline of disco, which led Polygram to buying out the label and dismissing Neil Bogart as CEO, and then terminating most of the staff who had been with the label since its inception.
The book also has a nearly complete discography of the label's album releases (with only Animotion's Strange Behavior missing as that was the label's final album release in 1986) that has nearly all of the label's releases from its inception and after the Polygram buyout in 1980. It also has where are they now pages on those who recorded and worked for the label during it's heyday in the 1970's. This book covers its entire history and nothing is left out.
Larry Harris, who was senior vice president, was also Neil Bogart's cousin and as a result of his smarts and business know how, was hired by Bogart to be senior vice president. He and Neil worked hard to get their artists' records out and tried almost anything to get the records out to the stores and also, hype them to the extremes to get the records sold. Harris writes with style and flair as he shares his entire career with the label from its inception until its end after the Polygram buyout.
Harris writes well in his book about his entire career and leaves nothing out. The book also features pictures of him, Neil and many other employees and many industry insiders on how they worked to promote the label and its established acts. The book is a definitive account of this 1970's powerhouse label and how hard it worked to make sure that the records got out to the shops, then promoting its acts and also, hyping to make sure that music buyers bought the records it released onto the public so the public could buy them.
Neil Bogart died in 1982 at the age of 39 of cancer. KISS paid tribute to him by dedicating their Creatures of the Night album to his memory as a way of thanking him for giving them a chance and believing in them, even though nobody else in the big time music industry didn't. The author would die 35 years later in 2017. May they both forever RIP.
Overall, And Party Every Day; The Inside Story of Casablanca Records is a great well written book and a definitive account of the label's history and the day to day business of the label from its inception until its end. No fan of any of its musical acts or music lovers should be without this book in their respective libraries of music and label biographies. I highly recommend this book as great reading and also very informative.
May 23, 2016
I love reading memoirs about the music industry but most of them are told from the viewpoint of the artist, not the from the business side. I really didn't know a lot about the inner workings of a record company until reading this memoir. I knew that, from the musician's perspective, the record company shortchanges artists every chance they get and that the companies take advantage of the naivete of young musicians to write confusing contracts that hoodwink the artists into giving up money, power, and ownership of the music. Reading this account pretty much confirms all of that as being true.
What's great about this memoir is that is traces the beginning, middle & end of a company - Larry Harris was there until almost the very bitter end. He worked in a lot of different capacities so was able to write about many different sides of the company. In fact, he gives too much detailed information about the daily workings of the company so the reader gets bogged down in minutia. He just vomits out names and titles over & over again - it's very hard to keep everyone straight. I kept wishing there was some sort of flow chart or illustrations I could refer too. So many departments, so many employees! It's too much. It would have been better if he consolidated some of that information.
I also wished he'd gone into more details about the debauchery - yes, I'm shallow like that. Oh, Harris did sprinkle little asides throughout the book but he'd just write one or two sentences about an occasion and then boom - move onto the next topic. And with the amount of ludes & coke & booze everyone was doing, it was odd that he doesn't mention a single person having an addiction problem. It was just all light-hearted fun & games. Really? All that partying didn't cause any fall out for anyone? Huh.
The casual misogyny of the era was briefly touched on. Oh, the wacky high jinks of one of the secretaries hiding under Neil's desk when he'd have a new meeting with someone & then she'd crawl out from under the desk acting like she'd just finished giving him a blowjob. Hardy har har! Or the executives having sex in their offices to hide affairs from their wives & making their secretaries cover for them. Or the guy in the office who loved to regale everyone with stories of his orgies.
The overspending the company did was insane. INSANE. Larry would go on & on about how they just completely pissed money away and then in the next breath complain about the money problems Casablanca faced and how the artists, especially KISS, were so uptight demanding to be paid. Couldn't those pesky musicians see that the company "had" to spend all this money in order to be perceived as successful? I'd be pissed reading this memoir if I'd been one of their signed artists. But since I'm not I found it fascinating and engrossing. The offers they made when hiring someone! Give them a Mercedes, give them the down payment for a house in LA, double their current salary, give them an unlimited expense account, workers on business trips always flew first class, etc. DANG, give me a job!The unlimited expense account was really something. Harris talks about how they even managed to charge their ludes and coke on their expense accounts.
The book really captures a moment in time that won't come again. Very interesting read. Also, I sure hope the producers of the HBO show Vinyl have paid Harris a handsome sum for using so many of his stories in their scripts. I can easily think of a dozen stories from the book showing up slightly altered in the tv show. Oh, and recognizing events that later showed up in the movie Spinal Tap was entertaining too. It was a flashy, over-the-top time in the music world!
What's great about this memoir is that is traces the beginning, middle & end of a company - Larry Harris was there until almost the very bitter end. He worked in a lot of different capacities so was able to write about many different sides of the company. In fact, he gives too much detailed information about the daily workings of the company so the reader gets bogged down in minutia. He just vomits out names and titles over & over again - it's very hard to keep everyone straight. I kept wishing there was some sort of flow chart or illustrations I could refer too. So many departments, so many employees! It's too much. It would have been better if he consolidated some of that information.
I also wished he'd gone into more details about the debauchery - yes, I'm shallow like that. Oh, Harris did sprinkle little asides throughout the book but he'd just write one or two sentences about an occasion and then boom - move onto the next topic. And with the amount of ludes & coke & booze everyone was doing, it was odd that he doesn't mention a single person having an addiction problem. It was just all light-hearted fun & games. Really? All that partying didn't cause any fall out for anyone? Huh.
The casual misogyny of the era was briefly touched on. Oh, the wacky high jinks of one of the secretaries hiding under Neil's desk when he'd have a new meeting with someone & then she'd crawl out from under the desk acting like she'd just finished giving him a blowjob. Hardy har har! Or the executives having sex in their offices to hide affairs from their wives & making their secretaries cover for them. Or the guy in the office who loved to regale everyone with stories of his orgies.
The overspending the company did was insane. INSANE. Larry would go on & on about how they just completely pissed money away and then in the next breath complain about the money problems Casablanca faced and how the artists, especially KISS, were so uptight demanding to be paid. Couldn't those pesky musicians see that the company "had" to spend all this money in order to be perceived as successful? I'd be pissed reading this memoir if I'd been one of their signed artists. But since I'm not I found it fascinating and engrossing. The offers they made when hiring someone! Give them a Mercedes, give them the down payment for a house in LA, double their current salary, give them an unlimited expense account, workers on business trips always flew first class, etc. DANG, give me a job!The unlimited expense account was really something. Harris talks about how they even managed to charge their ludes and coke on their expense accounts.
The book really captures a moment in time that won't come again. Very interesting read. Also, I sure hope the producers of the HBO show Vinyl have paid Harris a handsome sum for using so many of his stories in their scripts. I can easily think of a dozen stories from the book showing up slightly altered in the tv show. Oh, and recognizing events that later showed up in the movie Spinal Tap was entertaining too. It was a flashy, over-the-top time in the music world!
June 29, 2011
The author, who was one of the founders of Casablanca Records, gives his spin on the company's meteoric rise and almost as quick downfall.
December 23, 2014
As someone who majored in Music Business in college, I love to read stories of the business in the 60s and 70s. This book takes you back to the founding and eventual dissolution of Buddah Records (Bubblegum pop) and Casablanca (Disco and KISS), as told by a company insider.
A large part of the story revolves around Neil Bogart, a fearless kid from Brooklyn with an uncanny ability to find artists with the potential for hits (most of the time). He is credited with inventing the long-play 12" single that became so prevalent in Disco clubs and bringing KISS to the masses. He also built an empire that included mutiple record labels and major film production companies. Not exactly easy, and he does all of it before he's in his late 30s.
As with most stories of the music business in those days, there are con-men, criminals, shady lawyers and accountants - and lots of parties to be had. It's a crazy ride, and one that would be difficult to recreate after that decade. A story of a certain place and time, the people who took risks, and took full advantage of living in the decadent moment.
A large part of the story revolves around Neil Bogart, a fearless kid from Brooklyn with an uncanny ability to find artists with the potential for hits (most of the time). He is credited with inventing the long-play 12" single that became so prevalent in Disco clubs and bringing KISS to the masses. He also built an empire that included mutiple record labels and major film production companies. Not exactly easy, and he does all of it before he's in his late 30s.
As with most stories of the music business in those days, there are con-men, criminals, shady lawyers and accountants - and lots of parties to be had. It's a crazy ride, and one that would be difficult to recreate after that decade. A story of a certain place and time, the people who took risks, and took full advantage of living in the decadent moment.
August 28, 2010
Harris really spells it out, naming names and exposing the good, bad and wildness of what it was like to work in the record industry in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Having worked on both sides in radio and for a couple of record companies (not Casablanca) during that time, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and remembered similar experiences. I relived so many moments from that time and recognized several of the names mentioned, including an old boss.
This book is an absolute must read for Kiss fans, disco fans, and anyone with an interest in reading about the inside story of 1970s and ‘80s music history. It was a really great time to be in the music industry.
Having worked on both sides in radio and for a couple of record companies (not Casablanca) during that time, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and remembered similar experiences. I relived so many moments from that time and recognized several of the names mentioned, including an old boss.
This book is an absolute must read for Kiss fans, disco fans, and anyone with an interest in reading about the inside story of 1970s and ‘80s music history. It was a really great time to be in the music industry.
April 9, 2018
I don't know, there was just something about this one I didn't like. Maybe after reading all 4 Kiss bios, I was just over all the stupid decadence and sex and drugs. Blah blah blah. So glad this was not my life in the music industry.
December 6, 2016
(Some) Sex, (lots of) drugs and Rock N Roll (and lots of disco too)...it's not that fascinating.
September 8, 2021
In the afterward, he says that Dannen’s portrayal of Casablanca Records in “Hit Men” has become the definitive one and that it’s mostly untrue, yet the examples he provides are negligible at best.
What I especially like about this book is that it feels unedited in the best way. He drops A TON of names, people most of us would never know: radio station programmers from the 1970s (and their call letters!), most notably. All the details are here: the struggle to build careers for KISS and Donna Summer, and the squabbles when they came to feel neglected by the label; the slow and then meteoric rise and then complete collapse of the label and the disco genre.
You get the sense that he’s withholding something significant at the end. After chapters and chapters describing success, drugs, unrelenting fun, from nowhere comes a statement like “I’d become frustrated and unhappy and I hated going to work, so I knew it was time to leave.” Uhmm… hwaah?! But in a way, it makes the overall telling all the more fun because the music business back then was notoriously shady (even as he described it), so of course there’s no reason to take any of this at face value.
What I especially like about this book is that it feels unedited in the best way. He drops A TON of names, people most of us would never know: radio station programmers from the 1970s (and their call letters!), most notably. All the details are here: the struggle to build careers for KISS and Donna Summer, and the squabbles when they came to feel neglected by the label; the slow and then meteoric rise and then complete collapse of the label and the disco genre.
You get the sense that he’s withholding something significant at the end. After chapters and chapters describing success, drugs, unrelenting fun, from nowhere comes a statement like “I’d become frustrated and unhappy and I hated going to work, so I knew it was time to leave.” Uhmm… hwaah?! But in a way, it makes the overall telling all the more fun because the music business back then was notoriously shady (even as he described it), so of course there’s no reason to take any of this at face value.
October 27, 2019
Larry Harris was the cousin of Casablanca’s founder, Neil Bogart, and was fresh out of college when he went to work for him at Buddah records in 1971. Bogart wasn’t much older — still in his 20s. He had a successful run at Buddah, but wanted to run his own show, and founded Casablanca at the end of 1973. They initially had only one artist, the hard rock band Kiss. Harris tells of a company always spending as much as it had, sometimes more, but continuing to grow and stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. The tales of drug excesses were largely true; it seems the whole company ran on cocaine. Harris times his exit perfectly, leaving in July 1979, after the company had been bought by PolyGram but before the bottom had totally fallen out of disco, the company’s core business. Bogart himself was gone seven months later, his departure released the labels two biggest acts — KISS and Donna Summer — to sign with other labels.
The book is a fascinating look at the music industry of the 1970s and a world that no longer exists.
The book is a fascinating look at the music industry of the 1970s and a world that no longer exists.
October 21, 2020
A fun snapshot of some of the wilder excesses of the record biz back in the 1970s straight from someone who lived it. It’s all here folks, the parties, the drugs, the artists, and the crazy things they did to get a record label up and running and then keep it running.
This is exactly the way I pictured the industry back then, filled with people who were part businessman and part flimflam artist.
I guess I feel a certain connection to it all because it was the era I grew up in.
I was never a fan of KISS. They seemed to be more about the image than the music and I never knew what to make of them. I guess their music was okay but none of it ever grabbed me. The Village People were always a complete mystery to me. Still, it was interesting to hear the back story.
This was entertaining enough if you take it for what it is.
This is exactly the way I pictured the industry back then, filled with people who were part businessman and part flimflam artist.
I guess I feel a certain connection to it all because it was the era I grew up in.
I was never a fan of KISS. They seemed to be more about the image than the music and I never knew what to make of them. I guess their music was okay but none of it ever grabbed me. The Village People were always a complete mystery to me. Still, it was interesting to hear the back story.
This was entertaining enough if you take it for what it is.
March 6, 2022
Billed as the inside story of Casablanca Records written and narrated by the Vice President of the label. I loved the references to the early NY music and radio scene from the 70’s and remembered many of the stations and DJ’s mentioned. Coming out of Buddha records company in NY Neil Bogart, the genius founder of Casablanca, first signed Kiss, Donna Summer, Village People, Funkadelic and 150 other bands before the label fell apart in the 80’s. Lot’s of interesting information about how a label markets, promotes, and manage acts and how the actual “product” is made and sold. Also as you might expect there were many tales of sex, drugs, and various other excesses of the industry. Well written - well read - I enjoyed it. 4****
February 23, 2022
And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records by Larry Alan Harris is the incredible story of the fabled record company and its founder. I have mixed feelings about the author's performance. I liked the story and I enjoyed hearing the author tell it. However, a trained actor could have probably elevated this work and made the story even more vivid and relatable. I would recommend this book to fans of the 1970's music scene. I would also recommend this to everyone who wants to remember or learn about the young entrepreneurs and business executives of that time and the ways that they innovated and impacted their industries.
March 30, 2022
Though I was 13 in 1979 when Disco crashed and burned, I have vivid memories growing up being enthralled by KISS, watching Donna Summer sing and witnessing the Pop Culture phenomena of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER years before I saw the film. Because this tells Casablanca's story from an executive's point of view, you are given so much more back story than any of the recording artists could see. As a document of the Disco Era, it's hard to see anything that can top this. Anyone who lived this, or wants a definitive picture of what happened, will find this indespensable.
June 28, 2018
Not great literature but a great look into one of America's most famous record labels during its peak popularity. What do KISS, George Clinton, Donna Summer, The Deep, Flashdance, and Giorgio Moroder have in c0mmon? Yep, Casablanca. Who turned down Rush, Bob Dylan, and Aerosmith? Yep, Casablanca. I do not like disco, not at all, but I did really enjoy following the journey of disco's biggest label in the 1970s. Thanks, Larry Alan Harris, for telling the story.
January 5, 2021
This book is about the 1970's label Casablanca records. Payola was around before them and it's it always will be, it's just a fact if you want successful. Buddah records was successful, which led to Casablanca, through distribution through WB. You read about successful acts like Donna Summer, Kiss and others. And acts that just couldn't break through like Angel. One of the other things I like about this book is that it has facts from the decade to go along with the times. Great read.
February 13, 2021
Interesting story of Casablanca Records viewed through one of the founders. It's detailed. VERY detailed. But not always in the right way. Lots of names and people that come and go in the proceedings. Surprisingly, not much about some of the label's stars. The author essentially discovered KISS, so there is a bunch of information regarding that band, which is pretty humorous at times. But it does go on a bit much.
Only for music business hardcore fans.
Only for music business hardcore fans.
February 20, 2021
I enjoyed reading about the party animal record company that gave us KISS, disco, and Parliament - George Clinton- Flash Light- these kings of promotion took the in-office partying to a new high. A very interesting insight to the guys who also made bubblegum rock .
Imagine hitting Studio 54 with this crew in tow. These guys built and image but not a company. A rock industry book worth reading.
Imagine hitting Studio 54 with this crew in tow. These guys built and image but not a company. A rock industry book worth reading.
August 16, 2021
The history of Casablanca Records as told by co-founder Larry Harris. Casablanca was famous for signing legendary acts as KISS, Donna Summer, and the Village People and others. The excess and craziness of the music industry is highlighted in this great memoir. Enjoyable.
September 5, 2018
Being a child of the seventies, and a huge KISS fan for most of my life, this book is great. A lot of background, behind the scenes stuff that we fans didn't know, told by a guy who lived it.
November 5, 2018
Fascinating. Harris doesn't necessarily always come across as the most self-aware or reliable narrator but what a ride!
December 19, 2018
Super entertaining book about one of the least interesting labels of all time.
June 5, 2019
Fascinating.
August 8, 2022
Interesting but not the best one like this I've read
July 8, 2010
I was a teenager in the '70s so I remember this period of time well. KISS was one of my favorite bands back then, and I was a huge disco fan (still am, if truth be told). I loved reading about the ins and outs of what really happened with my favorite artists and music. The only gripe I have is the way Larry Harris constantly uses the word "product", as in "we moved ten thousand units of product". That makes it sound too clinical and detached, almost as if he's talking about drugs.
At any rate, I loved this book and I'd recommend it to anyone who has an interest in music, especially disco, from the '70s and the freewheeling lifestyle that accompanied it.
At any rate, I loved this book and I'd recommend it to anyone who has an interest in music, especially disco, from the '70s and the freewheeling lifestyle that accompanied it.
October 5, 2010
Larry's not the best writer out there, but it's nice when a story like this gets told in the voice of the "character". In this case, it's Larry Harris, Jewish record promotions guy at one of the most notorious record labels in the history of the music industry.
Lots of great stories here, and when I was done I actually went back and listened to a bunch of stuff I had written off like Donna Summer's "Bad Girls". Armed with this new perspective, the album I once dismissed as pabulum became totally brilliant. Giorgio Moroder went from opportunist to genius. It's true, if Neil Bogart was still here the music industry might not be as screwed as it is today.
Lots of great stories here, and when I was done I actually went back and listened to a bunch of stuff I had written off like Donna Summer's "Bad Girls". Armed with this new perspective, the album I once dismissed as pabulum became totally brilliant. Giorgio Moroder went from opportunist to genius. It's true, if Neil Bogart was still here the music industry might not be as screwed as it is today.
May 12, 2014
If you read Fred Dannen's Hit Men you'll eventually make your way to this book as some of this was covered in a chapter of that book. But Larry Harris sets the record straight. Sure they did a lot of drugs at Casablanca in the 70s, but, hey, everybody was and, if you're to believe Harris, most of the stories were apocryphal. There was no coke girl walking around Casablanca with a platter of the stuff, etc.
I worked at a disco during these years so I was well aware of Casablanca Records and the acts on the label, but I learned history and background of Neil Bogart and his crew that I never knew before.
I worked at a disco during these years so I was well aware of Casablanca Records and the acts on the label, but I learned history and background of Neil Bogart and his crew that I never knew before.
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