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Rough Mix
A producer who has performed with Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin, and Little Richard and who revitalized the careers of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin shares his story of life in the music industry and includes anecdotes about many of music's other big names. 30,000 first printing.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 12, 2022
I devoured this book. It’s remarkable, really, that I waited this long; it covers my absolute favorite era of country music, from the mid-70s through the 1990s. You have to read the entire first half to get to the Nashville part, but even it is worth it: Morris Levy and payola, Reprise Records and the Rat Pack.
The book is from 1997, just two years after his retirement. The late 90s — the entire 90s actually — was a time when NYC book publishers scrambled to get country stars to write their autobiographies, so the timing makes sense, and to that end it’s clear (though nowhere is it documented) that he got this deal very likely ONLY because of his stormy relationship with Garth Brooks. The fact that it appears this title was never released in paperback ironically proves that the audience for all things Garth really does have a breaking point, one of the conclusions he makes in the book.
I think it was the publishers weekly review that suggested a third-party telling of this story would’ve been much better. It’s true. There comes a point where you’re like: did he *really* do all this? and yet facts are facts: either you produced a song or you didn’t. I guess it would be good to have other people go on record regarding his business acumen and provide some hindsight 20/20 perspective on the changes he made in Nashville regarding sound quality in recordings, granting the artists the power to influence their own material, and what it was like to see (or experience) the entire staff at 5 or 6 labels fired the moment he arrived with a vision to “fix” things there — and how those decisions reverberated throughout the community, the ways some of those characters (administrators and creatives, both) inevitably circled back to his orbit time.
A delicious read.
The book is from 1997, just two years after his retirement. The late 90s — the entire 90s actually — was a time when NYC book publishers scrambled to get country stars to write their autobiographies, so the timing makes sense, and to that end it’s clear (though nowhere is it documented) that he got this deal very likely ONLY because of his stormy relationship with Garth Brooks. The fact that it appears this title was never released in paperback ironically proves that the audience for all things Garth really does have a breaking point, one of the conclusions he makes in the book.
I think it was the publishers weekly review that suggested a third-party telling of this story would’ve been much better. It’s true. There comes a point where you’re like: did he *really* do all this? and yet facts are facts: either you produced a song or you didn’t. I guess it would be good to have other people go on record regarding his business acumen and provide some hindsight 20/20 perspective on the changes he made in Nashville regarding sound quality in recordings, granting the artists the power to influence their own material, and what it was like to see (or experience) the entire staff at 5 or 6 labels fired the moment he arrived with a vision to “fix” things there — and how those decisions reverberated throughout the community, the ways some of those characters (administrators and creatives, both) inevitably circled back to his orbit time.
A delicious read.
July 13, 2013
From a teenaged rock 'n' roll star in the 50's to a legendary Nashville producer in the 90's, Jimmy Bowen tells it all, and doesn't waste much time making himself appear 'well liked'. However, he never comes across as arrogant, but only as a perceptive man who has an instinctive and comprehensive knowledge of the Music Business.
ROUGH MIX documents the career of a musician and record producer who has played a part in nearly all facets of the music industry, and he offers his unique musical perspective in entertaining detail. It's not a 'tell all' book about personalities, but delivers only one man's unvarnished point of view. I find the music of Las Vegas almost unlistenable, and Country-Pop is not even close to my favorite genre, but I did enjoy ROUGH MIX. In the end, it's more about the man than the music, and well worth a look.
Bowen and some high school friends had a minor hit in the late fifties and toured with Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and many other early icons of rock. And, when a crooked record label ended this part of his musical career, he was able to get involved in the management side of the industry. Soon, he found himself guiding the musical professions of many entertainment superstars in glitzy Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. were all helped by Bowen to update their sound employing his extraordinary knowledge of America's pop market. Following many smash hits for these artists, he ran a series of record labels with varying degrees of success, until he found himself in Nashville, down but not out.
This is the part of the book that I enjoyed the most. When Jimmy Bowen arrived in Nashville in the early 70's, the country western scene was decades behind the pop market in quality of sound. Rock audiences enjoyed the benefit of top flight session musicians and state of the art recording studios, yet 'Old Guard' Nashville producers felt that because their management techniques worked in 1950, they would continue to be successful nearly twenty-five years later. Obviously they could not have been more wrong, and Bowen shows how he proved this seemingly obvious fact, and went on to become the 'Messiah of Music Row'.
Bowen wins and loses many fortunes, countless homes, and a handful of wives, and finally seems to have found peace with his Texan soul mate, Ginger, on the Hawaiian island of Maui. And, the game of golf plays is an important factor in Bowen's 'guide to happiness'.
ROUGH MIX documents the career of a musician and record producer who has played a part in nearly all facets of the music industry, and he offers his unique musical perspective in entertaining detail. It's not a 'tell all' book about personalities, but delivers only one man's unvarnished point of view. I find the music of Las Vegas almost unlistenable, and Country-Pop is not even close to my favorite genre, but I did enjoy ROUGH MIX. In the end, it's more about the man than the music, and well worth a look.
Bowen and some high school friends had a minor hit in the late fifties and toured with Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and many other early icons of rock. And, when a crooked record label ended this part of his musical career, he was able to get involved in the management side of the industry. Soon, he found himself guiding the musical professions of many entertainment superstars in glitzy Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. were all helped by Bowen to update their sound employing his extraordinary knowledge of America's pop market. Following many smash hits for these artists, he ran a series of record labels with varying degrees of success, until he found himself in Nashville, down but not out.
This is the part of the book that I enjoyed the most. When Jimmy Bowen arrived in Nashville in the early 70's, the country western scene was decades behind the pop market in quality of sound. Rock audiences enjoyed the benefit of top flight session musicians and state of the art recording studios, yet 'Old Guard' Nashville producers felt that because their management techniques worked in 1950, they would continue to be successful nearly twenty-five years later. Obviously they could not have been more wrong, and Bowen shows how he proved this seemingly obvious fact, and went on to become the 'Messiah of Music Row'.
Bowen wins and loses many fortunes, countless homes, and a handful of wives, and finally seems to have found peace with his Texan soul mate, Ginger, on the Hawaiian island of Maui. And, the game of golf plays is an important factor in Bowen's 'guide to happiness'.
June 16, 2009
If your interested in country music specially the late 70's to the mid 90's this is a book for you. This Jimmy Bowen helped to get Hank Williams Jr. out of the rut of recording his father's music and starting to find his own voice to launching the careers of Reba and George Strait. He was the head of Capitol Records when Garth Brooks started his amazing run. He has share his opinion of Garth and it is not always glowing. I would recommend reading "The Garth Factor" in addition to reading this book for the Garth Brooks handlers view of the Garth/Jimmy battles.
June 28, 2018
A really enjoyable insider's look at early rock (Bowen was part of a one hit band in the 1950s) and more recent country. He worked with Reba and Garth among others. He has a lot of interesting behind the scenes news. A fun read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews