Author(s): Don Silver (Author), Emily Heckman (Editor), Daniel J. Levitin (Foreword)
Publisher: Holloway Press
Publication Date: January 14, 2013
Language: English
Print length: 116 pages
ISBN-10: 0985767308
ISBN-13: 9780985767303
Book Description
At twenty-one, after years playing in a band, Don Silver filled his briefcase with overblown resumes and headed to New York City, where he landed a job every musician dreamed of: working as an A&R man for Clive Davis. The problem was, the year was 1981 and the charts were topped by disco records. And to Don’s horror, Clive seemed more interested in making hit singles that would make the cash register jingle than in finding great artists making important music. In two years, Don went from wanting nothing more than to please his temperamental boss to wanting nothing to do with the world this talented narcissist ruled. But is it that easy to give up the perks and power? Filled with the same love of language and lyricism that made his first novel, Backward-Facing Man, a critical success, this short literary memoir is not just a portrait of a great record man, but a riff on life, ambition and music that will touch readers hearts and souls, just like great rock n roll.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Totally compelling from the very start.” – Rosanne Cash, Songwriter, Author“I devoured it.” – Daniel J. Levitin, Author, This is Your Brain on Music
“In these pages, we get a rare insider’s view of Clive Davis, one of pop music’s greatest impressarios, and an intimate portrait of an even more fascinating character – Don Silver.”
– Jesse Kornbluth, HeadButler.com
“A great read. Interesting, sensitive, informative and fun.” –
Julie Gold, Grammy winning composer, From a Distance
“Don Silver’s plebeian relationship to the larger than life Clive Davis, is the A-side of this story. But it’s the B-side, a portrait of Silver’s personal life and his love of music, that completes the experience. And if Silver was a double-agent, his story is a reality check for artists of any discipline who spend more time marketing a product than making art. Lucky for us the artist in Don Silver was able to escape his undercover assignment with soul and voice intact.” –
Allan Wolf, Award-Winning Author of Watch That Ends the Night
From the Author
Clive was conceived at my friends’ house over Thanksgiving dinner, 2011. I was in the third year of the fourth rewrite of my second novel and to say I hated what I had would be an understatement. After a few drinks, I started riffing on trying to make it as a professional musician, moving to NYC and landing my first real job. Apparently, as I talked, I became more animated than I’d been in months because my friends were like, dude, you should write this. Eventually, I did finish that novel and today it lives somewhere on my hard drive. My fervent hope is that it never gets released. Happily, writing Clive was a blast!
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