- Book Topics
- Rock & Roll
- 1970's
- New York City
- Phil Ramone
- Frank Sinatra
- Bob Dylan
- Paul Simon
- Mick Jagger
- New York Dolls
- Bette Midler
- A & R Recording Studios
- Bob Fosse
- Judy Collins
- Burt Bacharach
- Recording technique
- Recording equipment
Never Say No To A Rock Star
In 1974, at the age of seventeen, author Glenn Berger served as “Schlepper” and apprentice to the legendary recording engineer Phil Ramone at New York City’s A&R Studios, and was witness to music history on an almost daily and nightly basis as pop and rock icons such as Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler, and James Brown performed their hit-making magic, honed their sound, strutted their stuff, bared their souls, and threw epic tantrums. In this memoir, full of revelatory and previously unknown anecdotal observations of these musical giants, Glenn recounts how he quickly learned the ropes to move up from schlepperhood to assistant to the tyrannical Ramone, and eventually, to become a recording engineer superstar himself. Not only is Never Say No to A Rock Star a fascinating, hilarious and poignant behind-the-scenes look of this musical Mecca, but Berger, now a prominent psychologist, looking back through the prism of his youthful experience and his years working as a counselor and therapist, provides a telling and honest examination of the nature of fame and success and the corollaries between creativity, madness and self-destruction.
Links to Reviews
Real Vinyl: In The Studio With Dylan, Jagger, Sinatra, and More
Oddballs and Angels: A Tribute to Phoebe Snow
My Recording Sessions with Bob Dylan: What it was like to be in the studio for Blood on the Tracks
Interview with The Vinyl Press
Interview with Forgotten Hits Magazine
Glenn interviewed on the Australian Today Show
- Book Topics
- Rock & Roll
- 1970's
- New York City
- Phil Ramone
- Frank Sinatra
- Bob Dylan
- Paul Simon
- Mick Jagger
- New York Dolls
- Bette Midler
- A & R Recording Studios
- Bob Fosse
- Judy Collins
- Burt Bacharach
- Recording technique
- Recording equipment
Reviews and Comments
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Glenn takes the reader to the universe of the great A&R studio in New York where some of the most memorable music of the past century was made. Congratulations, Glenn, you tell it the way it was. And I loved reliving it with you.
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Like few books exploring the innards of the record business in its boom years, Glenn Berger’s “Never Say No to a Rock Star” conveys the excitement of being present at the creation of some of the greatest pop and rock albums of the 1970’s and 80’s. His obs
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This book is a delicious tonic for children of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and children yet to come.
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Glenn Berger’s ‘inside’ stories of how some of the most important records of the 20th century were made are titillating, fascinating and essential to understanding the often unpredictable creative psyche that is responsible for great art. In a word, this
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A fascinating and meticulously detailed virtual tour of life in the recording studio… also a collection of juicy thumbnail sketches of the show-biz titans…
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What a trip. And we have a front-row seat!