Dig it, Daddy-o

The Label: The Story of Columbia Records by Gary Marmorstein




I guess you really have to love the music business to read a 600 page book about a single label, but, if you do, you really should consider Gary Marmorstein's The Label.

How do you distill that many pages to a paragraph or two? The three most influential people at Columbia Records during the 20th century were actually the A&R men John Hammond and Mitch Miller in addition to it's long-serving president Godard Lieberson.

If you are of the belief that Mitch Miller nearly killed, or at least limited the careers of many a great singer, this book will not alter that view. It's not that Mamorstein is an apologist for Miller, although he did interview Miller for the book before his death at the age of 99, but I think Miller's career, for better or worse, speaks for itself. So the fact that Miller outlived everybody whose career he had an effect on and, therefore, had the last word, doesn't really alter the way history has and will perceive him.

I do however have renewed respect for Hammond and Lieberson. Hammond brought so many musicians to the label who would eventually become its biggest stars such as Dylan, Springsteen, Streisand, Diamond, etc. As president Lieberson created the Masterworks division and brought so many of the biggest-selling shows and soundtracks to the label.



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