My very first day at Chrysalis LA, started with a visit from Artie Wayne. Artie I had met at a Midem (can't remember which year) and subsequently introduced him to my successor at Chrysalis Music Ltd., Chris Stone (wish I knew where he was), who also invested in his talent.
Can't remember the name of Artie's song, however, was convinced it was a hit and had persuaded Private Stock to invest in Pete Gage (of Vinegar Joe fame) producing it with Linda Kendricks, who I had met when she was a back up singer to Elton or Kiki. A rather crazy woman, with the most beautiful blue eyes, a great voice and pretty stunning. As an aside - Nicky Graham of CBS actually suggested that we were having a gay affair - being pretty naive still, didn't quite get what he was suggesting, but when the proverbial penny dropped, he nearly had my salad in his lap! Not that I have any problem with people's sexual orientation, it's just that by then I was already pretty fed up with being accused of having affairs with anyone in trousers, now a woman too! Linda had been a back up singer with Elton, or Kiki. Anyway, Pete and I thought the song needed a bridge!
Now as General Manager of Chrysalis you would think that both the imprudence and impudence (especially as the legendary copyright expert, Bernard Brown of Apple had helped me learn so much more about copyright law; which I'd started doing at Music Sales; when I was Gen. Man. of Big Pig and Rocket) of my action would have struck me. Besides which, no one was looking to share in the copyright neither Pete Gage, nor me for Chrysalis. Just wanted a hit single, and I think a writer's credit for Pete for the bridge.
My first day in my lovely LA office with a patio and humming birds (later lost to the creative genius, Billy Bass) life was going well.
My first appointment - Artie Wayne and Allan Rinde.
Artie was extremely annoyed and agitated that I had dared to add a bridge to the song he wrote about his love for his grandmother. I was totally horrified and upset that I had descrated something so special to him, and immediately offered to have it removed. That's not what Artie was looking for, but that's for him to write about.
Allan was there to keep him company.
That evening coincidentally, I met Allan again at dinner with one of Ten Years After, Ric Lee (another good man) and a life long friendship began.
Allan rescued me when my heart was broken by a winsome blonde man shortly after my move to LA (he did not like how I cleaned the faucets; the end came when he took me to Joshua Tree and ignored me for the entire time we stayed there, although I still have a double pink silk scarf I bought from Palm Springs' BoJangles), and thereafter rescued me several times more from other unwise choices. A great deal of my spare time was spent up at his and Richard Kimble's house in Laurel Canyon. The two of them generally had me in constant fits of laughter.
I also learned that he had introduced Blondie to Chrysalis, which he has never been acknowledged for.
Allan is extremely intelligent, has a caustic wit, and is thoroughly delightful. When I moved to New York, in spite of the fact that I could stay in a hotel I always stayed with Allan, which did mean that no matter what time I had gone to bed the night before I was to be awoken by the famed Holloway Cleaners starting up their business at around 6 a.m.
I am responsible for his breaking his wrist. He'd visited me in my New York apartment and kindly went up the ladder provided to change a light bulb in a 13' high ceiling. The ladder broke. He had great fun telling everyone at Genghis that his broken wrist was my fault. Fortunately, although he had not wanted to go to emergency, I insisted he did. I was more concerned with his stomach, since his arms were working fine, but he had a hair line fracture in his wrist.
During his planning stage for Genghis Cohen, I attended a few dinners while he interviewed Chinese chefs - great food! His delight in constantly rebuilding the restaurant (never knew what alterations would be made each time I came to LA), and in establishing the Cantina as a "must perform at music" venue was infectious.
My favorite story among so many - his reaction to my commenting one morning as I came out of the spare bedroom and said (was working for Imago by now) that I may be fired by the end of the week - "you make dreadful coffee!" Retreated to the guest bathroom to mutter a little, before returning and asking how did he like it?
Allan's sympathy and empathy when my brother was going through the a dreadful divorce and custody battle remains indelibly imprinted in my memory - I fled to him in tears many times. Before finding a house together, my brother and his eldest daughter were able to seek shelter (from a set-up for spousal abuse) at Allan's Flores Street apartment (he was in Nashville visiting Toni Wine) just before Chrismas that year, 1997.
His knowledge of music is phenomenal. He has introduced me to some of the most interesting men, Michael Ochs and Kenny Schaeffer, are just two of them.
My last trip to Palm Springs was with him to visit Richard and Patti Kimble. Richard and he had me in constant fits of laughter as they shared their music biz stories and I really wish he'd write a book.
Life is full of people that come and go. Most of them can go, and that's fine, Allan - never.
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