In 1965 Dylan had already plugged in and dropped out and the great folk boom of the 1960s was on the wane when Joni Mitchell moved to NYC and later played at the Newport Folk Festival. To learn more check out a great fan site @ www.jonimitchell.com.
And no, I didn't know Joni was going to be a Starbucks featured artist when I planned this feature. *sigh* Simply, Joni has one of my favorite folk acoustic sounds and embodies the morph of folk into the next phase. And then there is the "visual artist" connection.
Before she was Joni Mitchell she was Joni Anderson of Saskatoon, the fair young maid of Canadian folk music singing on the Oscar Brandt hootenany show, Let's Sing Out. "Born to Take the Highway" is unreleased elsewhere, as far as I know. Glimpses of the late Dave Van Ronk, Tom and Harry Chapin and the now octogenarian Oscar Brandt are found here. Oscar still hosts a radio show every week out of New York .
your host, Norah Dooley
photo by Susan Wilson
About Me
- Connecting Stories
- BIONORAH DOOLEY PR CONTACT etc Norah Dooley is a storyteller and children’ s author. She has performed as a featured storyteller in the Christmas and Spring Revels in Cambridge and Boston MA, the Newport Folk Festival, Albany NY River Festival, 3 Apples Storytelling Festival, MA and at the Clearwater Festival. Norah has been presenting workshops and stories throughout New England and also New York, Chicago, and Texas for people of all ages for 14 years. She has published 5 spoken word CDs including: Music of Angels (1999), Stories Nobody Told Me “Italian” Folk tales (2002) and Stories from the Neighborhood, World Folk tales (2002), Rabbitales (2006) and My Bad,Bad Dog and other Neighbors (2006). Norah’s published picture books, Everybody Cooks Rice, Everybody Bakes Bread, Everybody Serves Soup and Everybody Brings Noodles, (Carolrhoda Books @ lernerbooks.com) are four titles in a series about her former neighborhood in Cambridge, MA.
In the Bull Pen, engineer, phone, music librarian and all around good guy
Robert Fairchild, valued for his encyclopedic memory of songs,lyrics and other sterling qualities
NIck Noble
will be hosting.
Woody Guthrie Pt 1 JAN 3
http://www.woodyguthrie.org/index.htm
Bob Franke - Live! DEC 20th 2007
in the studio @ 7:30PM
Klezmer~ Happy Hannukah
Klezmer Conservatory Band
Judy Collins - NOV 1st feature
http://www.judycollins.com/
Josh White, Jr. ~ OCT 25th
http://www.joshwhitejr.com/
Topical Songs~OCT 11
McGarrigles + family - OCT 4
http://www.latribu.ca
Joan Baez SEPT 27
http://joanbaez.com/
Phil Ochs ~ SEPT 20th
http://www.sonnyochs.com/
BIg Bill Broonzy ~ SEPT 13
Songs from Sing Out ! feature SEPT 6th
British folk featured AUG 30th
John Roberts & Tony Barrand, local but both English born
Peter Paul and Mary AUG 23 feature
Arlo Guthrie featured AUG 16th
Arlo Guthrie @ Woodstock 1969
Joni Mitchell featured AUG 9
Joni Mitchell circa 1970s
Bob Dylan featured AUG 2
Blog readers Voted him "premier poet of the 20th century"
Who is Who in early folk
Cast of Characters
MARK ABRAMSON. Elektra producer from the early Sixties on, with a gentle touch and an appetite for encounter. In the late Nineties, running a crisis center near Woodstock.
BILL ALEXANDER. A Marin County therapist.
DAVID ANDERLE. The incarnation of Elektra in Sixties LA. Beloved of artists. Later senior VP for A&R at A&M Records.
ALAN ARKIN. A Tarrier, later a movie star.
ARS NOVA. Classically trained musicians going medieval on the ars of rock.
MOSES ASCH. An obsessive, invaluable chronicler of world folk music on his Folkways label.
K.O. ASHER. The "Scroogiest" and most honest independent record distributor in the Midwest.
TED ASHLEY. Former chairman of Warner Brothers Inc.
OONA AUSTIN: A lady of the canyon.
EVE BABITZ. A Sixties LA watcher and writer. Sister of Mirandi.
MIRANDI BABITZ. Sister of Eve. Measured the inside leg of Jim Morrison for his custom-made leather pants.
PETER BARTÓK. Early genius audio engineer. Son of the composer.
PAUL BEAVER. A Moog man who departed this earth on a UFO . . . Strange days.
THEODORE BIKEL. Actor, folk singer, conscience. Recorded sixteen LPs for Elektra.
MIKE BLOOMFIELD. Guitarist. For sheer skill and passion, a white Hendrix. Died of drug overdose in 1981.
BRUCE BOTNICK. Boy wonder recording engineer for Love, Tim Buckley, the Doors, and co-producer of "LA Woman." In the Nineties, a producer of movie soundtracks and Disney cast albums.
BONNIE BRAMLETT. As in Delaney & Bonnie. A great white blues singer.
DELANEY BRAMLETT. Husband of Bonnie. Put his name ahead of hers and blacked her eye.
OSCAR BRAND. Folk interpreter with an encyclopedic repertoire. Recorded nonstop for Elektra in the Sixties.
MARLON BRANDO. A fan of bizarre sound effects.
DAVID BRAUN. Music business attorney and wit.
BREAD. A sweet-harmony soft-rock group.
BERTOLT BRECHT. A lyricist for the Doors.
JACKSON BROWNE. Signed to Elektra's publishing unit as a teenage songwriter.
LENNY BRUCE. Once called a "sick" comedian; died of dope and genius.
LORD BUCKLEY. Before Lenny Bruce there was Lord Buckley.
TIM BUCKLEY. A doomed angel with a four-octave voice and a bad habit. ODd at 27.
ERIC BURDON. An Animal, with war stories of Jim Morrison's night tripping.
PAUL BUTTERFIELD. White electric blues man. Knew the South Side of Chicago, made a noise at Newport. Died in 1987 after years of poor health.
EDWARD TATNALL CANBY. An early enlightened stereophile and music critic.
HARRY CHAPIN. The last artist Jac personally produced and sent on his way- 'Taxi!' Killed in an auto accident 1980.
CIGAR PAIN. Burned his throat so his voice would sound like Jim Morrison's.
ERIC CLAPTON. A fan of Delaney & Bonnie.
JOE COCKER. Another fan of Delaney & Bonnie; a Mad Dog and Englishman.
ALAN COHEN. Executive VP for Warner Communications, Steve Ross's right hand until he allegedly tried to bite it.
HERB COHEN. Castro "freedom fighter," sky diver, LA coffee house pioneer, partner of Theo Bikel, manager of Judy Henske and Tim Buckley.
LEONARD COHEN. A poet in his youth.
JUDY COLLINS. Began as a folk maid of constant sorrow, became an artist of taste and constantly refreshing inventiveness.
STAN CORNYN. Head of creative services for Warner Bros. Records.
PAMELA COURSON. Emotional partner in crime of Jim Morrison, till death did them part.
CROSBY, STILLS & NASH. Sat on Paul Rothchild's couch in Laurel Canyon and sang.
MARIA D'AMATO. Singer with the Even Dozen Jug Band; later Maria Muldaur.
ALLEN DAVIAU. Camera store clerk in his youth; later a cinematographer with five Academy Award nominations.
CLIVE DAVIS. Highly talented record company president who threw a demo tape of Carly Simon across the room. In the Nineties, well-thought-of chairman of Arista Records.
DOROTHY DEAN. The Spade of Queens. Famous doorperson at Max's Kansas City.
JOHN DENSMORE. The Doors' drummer. Suffered for his sanity.
MAYA DEREN. Haitian voodoo adept, avant-garde film maker.
DEADLY DIANE. Waitress at the Unicorn on the Sunset Strip. A barebreasted portrait is in the Herb Cohen collection.
JIM DICKSON. Producer, scene-maker in Sixties LA.
DIGBY DIEHL. Journalist, Doors observer, later wrote for Playboy.
ROGER DI FIORE. Cook, master joint roller, W.C. Fields admirer.
THE DILLARDS. The real bluegrass thing.
HENRY DILTZ. Photographer to the stars of rock.
CONNIE DI NARDO. One of the Three Graces of Paxton Lodge.
NED DOHENY. Teenage guitar wizard.
THE DOORS. The Elektra band-high musical intelligence and five gold albums in a row, on the way to platinum.
BOB DYLAN. The road not taken: signed to Columbia while Jac was out of town.
JACLYN EASTON. Daughter of Jac and Nina. In the late Nineties, an Internet business specialist.
CASS ELLIOTT. A Laurel Canyon Mama.
ALLAN EMIG. Helped design Elektra's LA studio.
AHMET ERTEGUN. Founder, with brother Nesuhi, of Atlantic Records. One of the greats.
NESUHI ERTEGUN. With brother Ahmet, founder of Atlantic Records. An internationalist in musical and cultural reach.
THE EVEN DOZEN JUG BAND. Count 'em. What you hear is what you get.
PAT FARALLA. Of Elektra West. Later the master baker of Santa Fe.
CYRUS FARYAR. The Persian minstrel of Barham Boulevard. Nearly a Sufi.
DANNY FIELDS. Elektra publicist, designated company freak. The hippest guy in New York. Close personal friend of Max's Kansas City.
MITCHELL FINK. On the scene then . . . and now.
HARRISON FORD. A carpenter in his youth.
MICHAEL FORD. A poet in his youth.
BARRY FRIEDMAN. AKA Frazier Mohawk. Laurel Canyon prankster, circus clown, fire eater, wearer of gorilla suits, escape artist. In the late Nineties, producing records in Canada.
DAVE GAHR. Folk and rock photographer with a discerning eye.
DIANE GARDINER. Publicist for the Doors, friend and long-suffering neighbor of Jim Morrison.
DAVID GATES. A civilized recording artist. Leader of Bread.
BILL GAZZARI. Sunset Strip club owner, auditioned the Doors.
DAVID GEFFEN. Once and future enfant terrible, baby mogul, billionaire rising.
BOB GIBSON. Washington Square folkie, traveling twelve-string guitarist, talent scout extraordinaire. Died in 1996.
TONY "LITTLE SUN" GLOVER. Of Koerner, Ray & Glover. A young white blues musician out of Minneapolis.
CYNTHIA GOODING. Tall, beautiful, intelligent, multilingual Village folk singer.
PEARL GOODMAN. Jac's soul-of-discretion secretary for three decades.
SAM GOODY. Big record store man in New York City.
JIM GORDON. Rock drummer on a Judy Collins album, later beat his mother to death with a hammer.
ARTHUR GORSON. Manager of singer-songwriters, Sixties activist.
BILL GRAHAM. Mr. Fillmore, West and East. Killed in helicopter accident 1991.
GEORGE GRAVES. Jac's driver. Played great pool, spoke softly, and carried a big switchblade.
ANTON GREENE. A stuffer of quail eggs.
JEANIE GREENE. Southern reincarnation of Mary Magdalene.
MARLIN GREENE. Husband of Jeanie. An Alabama State Trouper.
JOYCE GRENFELL. An English comedienne with a spy camera.
ALBERT GROSSMAN. The Jabba the Hutt of artist managers, sometimes referred to as "the floating Buddha." Represented Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Band, Janis Joplin. Died 1986.
WOODY GUTHRIE. Nonpareil folk chronicler of America: this land was his land.
JOHN HAENY. Elektra studio engineer of great virtuosity and Virgosity.
BRUCE HARRIS. A miniskirt-mesmerized freshman, later an Elektra publicist.
LARRY HARRIS. Music business lawyer at CBS who walked across the street to Elektra.
STEVE HARRIS. Elektra's good shepherd for Jim Morrison, Tim Buckley, and Carly Simon.
GEORGE HARRISON. A fan of Delaney & Bonnie.
BILL HARVEY. Elektra art director. Created and elaborated the label's visual identity. Died in early Nineties.
FRED HELLERMAN. A Weaver of wisdom, arranger for Theodore Bikel.
SUZANNE HELMS. Ran Elektra's West Coast office. Jazz aficionado, auto mechanic, chocolate lover, dog trainer, disciplinarian of Jim Morrison. Married a jazz bassist, lives in Switzerland.
JIMI HENDRIX. A jammer in a cabana, and a Plaster Castee.
JUDY HENSKE. Stood tall, sang strong, opened for Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen in a Louise Brooks wig.
THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS. On drums, Sam Shepard. Rockin' around on that belladonna cloud-Euphoria!
ADAM HOLZMAN. Son of Jac and Nina. Grew up to play keyboard with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Chaka Khan, Grover Washington Jr.
JAC HOLZMAN. El Supremo of Elektra 1950-1973, from age 19 to 42. Continued with Warner Communications as Chief Technologist. In 1982, became chairman of Panavision Inc. In 1986, created FirstMedia, which acquired Cinema Products, makers of the Steadicam. Came back to music in 1991, establishing the Discovery family of labels, which in the late Nineties became part of the Sire Records Group, a unit of Time Warner.
KEITH HOLZMAN. Jac's brother and working colleague at Elektra and Nonesuch.
NINA HOLZMAN. Was Nina Merrick. Married Jac in 1955. Mother of Adam and Jaclyn. At Elektra, invaluable yin to Jac's yang. Later Nina Lamb.
THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND. A trippy British group.
MICHAEL JAMES JACKSON. Stockboy-novelist-observer of the Elektra LA scene.
SANDY JACKSON. An escapee from Synanon. Second chair in an encounter group.
RON JACOBS. Boss Jock of Southern California rock radio.
MICK JAGGER. A fan of the Elektra studio in LA.
BILLY JAMES. Laurel Canyon hipster. One of the earliest record business company freaks. Saw the Doors as worth signing, managed the teenage Jackson Browne. Husband of Judy.
JUDY JAMES. Wife of Billy. Watched the Laurel Canyon creatures come and go. Theater and philosophy major, later a theater and movie producer, partner of Richard Dreyfuss.
DICK JAMES. Publisher of the Beatles' music.
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE. Toured with the Doors, sharing notes about the nature and quality of life and pharmacology in the Sixties.
DR. JOHN. A night tripper, a somewhat strung-out session musician for Judy Collins.
JANIS JOPLIN. Almost but not quite an Elektra artist.
SHERRI KANDELL. A high school Strip chick in bellbottom hip huggers. Danced in a go-go cage at the Whisky and on top of the deli at Canter's.
DAVE KAPP. Of Kapp Records. Made an offer that Jac could refuse.
KATHY AND CAROL. Joan Baez times two.
LENNY KAYE. Musician, writer, anthologist and thinker.
STACY KEACH. An actor encountered by Jac. Lover of Judy Collins.
SALLY KELLERMAN. A waitress at the Unicorn.
JANICE KENNER. Teenage beloved of the teenage Jackson Browne. One of the Three Graces of Paxton.
FRED KEWLEY. Manager of Harry Chapin.
CAROLE KING. A Laurel Canyon dog owner.
"SPIDER" JOHN KOERNER. Out of Minneapolis, a young white urban blues man.
KOERNER, RAY & GLOVER. Surprised and delighted Jac's ear-a new direction for Elektra.
SANDY KONIKOFF. Sal Mineo as Gene Krupa. A drummer for Dylan. Purveyor of the Sphincterphone.
BERNIE KRAUSE. With Paul Beaver, a pioneer of synthesizer music.
ROBBY KRIEGER. The Doors' guitarist. The Jackson Pollock of rock. Writer of 'Light My Fire.'
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON. Played with Carly Simon.
JIM LADD. A Doors true believer.
BOB LANDY. An anagrammatic piano player.
RHONDA LANE. Go-go dancer in a go-go cage.
KANDY LATSON. Leader of an encounter group. And a snorter.
TIMOTHY LEARY. Evangelist of the sacrament of LSD.
ARTHUR LEE. Early into psychedelic eyewear. Leader of Love. Emblematic of the mid-Sixties west coast scene.
JOHN LENNON. Fan of Koerner, Ray & Glover.
HAROLD LEVENTHAL. Grand old man of folk artist management, from the Weavers to Judy Collins to Arlo Guthrie.
HARRY LEW. An Elektra distributor.
MONSIEUR L'HÔPITAL. An immaculately clad Frenchman whose word was good.
THE LIMELITERS. Jac's first chart group: Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, Glenn Yarbrough.
FRANK LISCIANDRO. A Morrison watcher.
ALAN LOMAX. Like his father John, a great white folk collector.
THE LOS ANGELES FANTASY ORCHESTRA. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
LOVE. Jac's first West Coast rock and roll band.
THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL. One that Jac missed out on. John Sebastian was his friend.
THE LOWER EAST SIDE. David Peel's stoned band-"Have a Marijuana."
LONNIE MACK. A wham of a Memphis man, later a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitar player.
CHARLES MANSON. Wannabe Elektra artist, mass murderer.
RAY MANZAREK. Doors keyboardist and keeper of the flame.
PHIL MANZINI. Threw Manzarek, Morrison, Krieger and Densmore out of the Whisky onto the Sunset Strip-"This is the end!"
MC5. Revolutionary rockers out of Detroit.
PAUL McCARTNEY. A recommender of bespoke boots.
PAT McCOY. A fan in the radio business.
ED McCURDY. Village folkie. Recorded for Jac in the Fifties. Big baritone voice and sharp tongue.
BROWNIE McGHEE. Vintage black folk singer.
GEORGE McGOVERN. Fan of 'Amazing Grace.'
BARRY McGUIRE. The voice of God in Laurel Canyon.
BHASKAR MENON. Head of Capitol Records, later Chairman of EMI.
FREDDIE MERCURY. Glam rocker, lead singer of Queen. Died November 1991.
BETTE MIDLER. Judy Henske was what Bette wanted to be when she grew up.
RUSS MILLER. Ran Elektra's publishing, produced, was Elektra's man in Nashville.
JONI MITCHELL. A beginning song writer and lady of the Canyon.
FRAZIER MOHAWK. AKA Barry Friedman. Practitioner of Laurel Canyon voodoo, inducer and producer of psychedelic albums.
JIM MORRISON. Lead singer of the Doors. Rock icon, lethally intelligent stoned explorer of the dark and the deep. Dead poet, July 1971.
VAN MORRISON. Jammed with the Doors at the Whisky.
CRAZY NANCY. Crazy for Jim Morrison. Hung out for love, broke in and stole for desperation.
FRED NEIL. Uniquely talented musician, prototypical flake.
PAUL NELSON. Founder of the Little Sandy Review, folk-friend of Jac.
MICHAEL NESMITH. Ex-Monkee. Produced for Countryside Records.
BOB NEUWIRTH. Hippest of the hip, sharpest of the sharp, hired gun of Bob Dylan, designated minder of Jim Morrison.
JACK NICHOLSON. Friend of a friend of Carly Simon.
NICO. An apparition, a disapparition, a death-talker, a waver of guns, a naked dancer with Jim Morrison. Also a member of the Velvet Underground. Died from heat exhaustion while bicycling in Spain 1988.
MICHAEL OCHS. The ultimate rock archivist. Brother of Phil.
PHIL OCHS. Protest singer second only to Dylan-but that hurt. Died a suicide 1976.
LOTTIE OLCOTT. One of the Three Graces of Paxton Lodge.
MO OSTIN. A recording industry legend. Chairman of Warner Bros. Records, and in the Nineties Dreamworks Records.
DR. PANGLOSS. Voltaire's philosopher. Would have made an enthusiastic radio promotion man.
CHARLIE PARKER. A night visitor.
VAN DYKE PARKS. Backup musician for Judy Collins.
PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND. White and black electric blues. Blew the house down at Newport.
TOM PAXTON. A singer-songwriter, endlessly productive.
RICHARD PEASLEE. Composer of the music for "Marat/Sade."
DAVID PEEL. Voice of the Lower East Side.
MICHELLE PHILLIPS. A Mama.
GEORGE PICKOW. Photographer. Did early album covers for Elektra. Husband of Jean Ritchie.
THE PLASTER CASTERS. Cynthia and Diane. Performance artists ahead of their time.
PLATO. An urban music critic.
POMPEO POSAR. Photographed album covers for Jac and later Playmates for Hugh Hefner.
MEL POSNER. A boy from Brooklyn. From stock boy to president of Elektra, later head of international division of Geffen Records.
THE PSYCHEDELIC STOOGES. Iggy's band.
ANN PURTILL. Brought Jac to listen to Harry Chapin.
QUEEN. The ultimate British glam rock band. Jac's last major signing.
IAN RALFINI. Ran the London office of Warner/Elektra/Atlantic-WEA-which was like juggling chain saws.
DAVE "SNAKER" RAY. Of Koerner, Ray & Glover.
SUSAN REED. A redhaired folk singer.
JACK REINSTEIN. Elektra accountant, king of the adversary audit.
RHINOCEROS. A supergroup that staggered under the weight of talent and expectations.
FRITZ RICHMOND. Mr. Jug Band. His washtub bass is in the Smithsonian. Famous Cambridge folk scene viper. Studio engineer at Elektra LA. Brother of Marty.
MARTY RICHMOND. Brother of Fritz. Saw it all, from Paxton Lodge to Tranquility Base to Lahaina, Maui.
PAUL RICKOLT. Jac's first Elektra partner.
JOSHUA RIFKIN. Kazoo and piano player with the Even Dozen Jug Band, arranger for Judy Collins, wunderkind musicologist for Nonesuch Records, revitalizer of Scott Joplin rags.
LEONARD RIPLEY. Mustachioed playboy. Jac's Elektra partner, bought out in 1958. Husband of Alexandra, who later wrote Scarlett, the sequel to Gone With The Wind.
JEAN RITCHIE. Classic early folk singer from Viper, Kentucky. Wife of George Pickow.
SUE ROBERTS. Elektra business affairs supervisor. One of the first female record company executives.
ROLLING STONES. Heard and appreciated by Jac during an audition taping in London, but not available for signing.
PHIL ROSE. Record executive who ate more cake than he ever thought he would have to.
WESLEY ROSE. A Nashville music publisher.
STEVE ROSS. The charming conglomerateur of Warner Communications and then Time Warner. Died 1992.
ARLYNE ROTHBERG. Manager of Carly Simon.
DAN ROTHCHILD. Son of Paul and Terry, grew up to be a musician-producer.
PAUL ROTHCHILD. Jac's high-powered producer all through the big years of the Sixties. With the Doors, had five gold albums in a row, and platinum rising. Died of cancer in the spring of 1995. Jac was with him to the end.
TERRY ROTHCHILD. Wife of Paul, mother of Dan.
ROBB ROYER. A member of Bread.
TOM RUSH. A singer-songwriter-guitarist with commanding presence.
IRWIN RUSSELL. More than corporate counsel, a wise personal counselor to Jac.
LEON RUSSELL. Heavy-duty keyboard player.
SABICAS. Fast-fingered flamenco guitarist.
BOB SACKS. At St. John's College, had a record player and a collection of folk 78s that turned Jac on.
ELLEN SANDER. Rock journalist, immortalizer in print of the Plaster Casters, Jac's lover, mother of Marin.
MARIN PAUL TAJ RAIN SANDER-HOLZMAN. Son of Ellen and Jac, born in Bolinas. Grew up to be an actor-dancer in San Francisco.
JOE SARASINO. Record executive who told the Doors to get out of his office with their insane songs.
AL SCHLESINGER. A gentlemanly music business attorney-at-law-and that is not an oxymoron.
JOHN SEBASTIAN. Session musician for Elektra, later a Lovin' Spoonful, later again lived in a tie-dye tent.
PETE SEEGER. Traditional folk music's voice of conscience.
CLIVE SELWOOD. Elektra's man in England. Released 'Amazing Grace' as a single.
MAURICE SENDAK. A West Village bathroom muralist.
SAM SHEPARD. A drummer, a Holy Modal Rounder.
BILL SIDDONS. Teenage manager of the Doors, grew to maturity and acquired wisdom on the job.
PAUL SIEBEL. Sixties singer-songwriter. An Elektra favorite who never found a big audience.
PETER SIEGEL. A producer with an ear for real folk.
JEFF SILVERMAN. A teenager with a camera, in the right place at the wrong time.
SHEL SILVERSTEIN. Hairy jazz man, later a famous cartoonist, versifier, and writer of children's books.
CARLY SIMON. Singer-songwriter, Woman of the Seventies, class act.
PAUL SIMON. Almost but not quite an Elektra artist in his youth.
JOHN SINCLAIR. A White Panther.
GRACE SLICK. Would not be wooed away from Jefferson Airplane to solo at Elektra.
HARRY SMITH. Folk anthologist, formative for Bob Dylan.
JOE SMITH. One of the fastest minds and mouths in the record business. President of Warner Bros. Records and then Capitol Records.
MAYNARD SOLOMON. With brother Seymour, founder of Vanguard Records, friendly competitor of Elektra. Later the renowned biographer of Beethoven and Mozart.
SEYMOUR SOLOMON. With brother Maynard, founder of Vanguard Records.
ABE SOMER. Pit bull lawyer, and that's not an oxymoron.
ROGER SOMERS. Wild man of Muir Woods, Pied Piper of the hot tub, design genius.
EDWARD SOREL. An album cover illustrator for Nonesuch Records in his youth.
JOSEPH SPENCE. Guitar wizard of the Bahamas.
GEORGE STEELE. Played celebratory trumpet in the office when Elektra had a hit.
ESTELLE STERNBERGER. Jac's much loved maternal grandmother.
TERESA "TRACEY" STERNE. Presiding intelligence of Nonesuch Records.
CAT STEVENS. On the bill at the Troubadour with Carly Simon.
STEPHEN STILLS. A lover of Judy Collins.
IGGY STOOGE. Teenage father of premature punk.
JONATHAN TAPLIN. Roadie for Dylan, later a movie producer.
JAMES TAYLOR. Sat at the feet of Carly Simon.
STUDS TERKEL. A writer of liner notes for early Elektra, later a famous Chicago broadcaster and author.
SONNY TERRY. Vintage black folk singer.
THEM. Van Morrison's band. Jammed with the Doors at the Whisky.
THE TRAVELERS 3. Multicultural folk trio.
VINCE TREANOR. Sound man for the Doors tours. The King of Loud.
JOHN VAN HAMMERSVELD. Observer of the LA scene.
DAVE VAN RONK. Village folkie, white blues man, jug band leader.
PAUL VENEKLASSEN. Acoustical engineer for the LA Elektra studio.
VITO. The old man of the Whisky dance floor.
ELLEN VOGT.. Second chair to David Anderle at Elektra LA. Found Jim Morrison face down in the bushes.
KIM VON TEMPSKI. A ship's purser bearing an aromatic sealed envelope.
ANDY WARHOL.. Artist famous for more than fifteen minutes. Gave Jim Morrison a gold Louis XIV phone.
ANNE WARNER. Fed Jac Brunswick stew in his hungry Village days. Wife of Frank.
FRANK WARNER. Husband of Anne. Folk song collector and singer. Recorded 'Tom Dooley.' Owned a famous autographed banjo.
THE WEAVERS. A founding folk group.
KURT WEILL. Song writer for the Doors.
GEORGE WEIN. Founder of the Newport Folk Festival.
J. MAX WEIS. Jac's grandfather. A rebel rabbi.
JANN WENNER. The once and future Mr. Rolling Stone.
DOUG WESTON. Owner of the Troubadour in LA.
JERRY WEXLER. Mr. R&B. With the Ertegun brothers, made up the Atlantic Records triumvirate.
JOSH WHITE. Black folk singer, virtuoso guitarist, charismatic showman. Died September 1969.
TIMOTHY WHITE. Teenage Elektra fan from the Jersey 'burbs. Later a writer of fine books about music and musicians, editor of Billboard.
THE WHO. Shared the bill with the Doors more than once.
FRED WILLIAMS. On the scene down on the Farm.
PAUL WILLIAMS. Founder of Ur-rock magazine Crawdaddy; godfather of Marin Sander-Holzman.
STEVIE WONDER. In pursuit of a Number 1 record.
JERRY YESTER. Guitarist for Judy Henske, later produced Tim Buckley, and later again Tom Waits.
IZZY YOUNG. Proprietor of the Folk Center in the Village, intermittent bill payer.
BOB ZACHARY. Elektra producer-executive.
FRANK ZAPPA. Father of the Mothers of Invention, patron of the Plaster Casters, passionate advocate of free speech in rock lyrics. Died 1993.
WARREN ZEVON. An excitable boy in Laurel Canyon.
MARK ABRAMSON. Elektra producer from the early Sixties on, with a gentle touch and an appetite for encounter. In the late Nineties, running a crisis center near Woodstock.
BILL ALEXANDER. A Marin County therapist.
DAVID ANDERLE. The incarnation of Elektra in Sixties LA. Beloved of artists. Later senior VP for A&R at A&M Records.
ALAN ARKIN. A Tarrier, later a movie star.
ARS NOVA. Classically trained musicians going medieval on the ars of rock.
MOSES ASCH. An obsessive, invaluable chronicler of world folk music on his Folkways label.
K.O. ASHER. The "Scroogiest" and most honest independent record distributor in the Midwest.
TED ASHLEY. Former chairman of Warner Brothers Inc.
OONA AUSTIN: A lady of the canyon.
EVE BABITZ. A Sixties LA watcher and writer. Sister of Mirandi.
MIRANDI BABITZ. Sister of Eve. Measured the inside leg of Jim Morrison for his custom-made leather pants.
PETER BARTÓK. Early genius audio engineer. Son of the composer.
PAUL BEAVER. A Moog man who departed this earth on a UFO . . . Strange days.
THEODORE BIKEL. Actor, folk singer, conscience. Recorded sixteen LPs for Elektra.
MIKE BLOOMFIELD. Guitarist. For sheer skill and passion, a white Hendrix. Died of drug overdose in 1981.
BRUCE BOTNICK. Boy wonder recording engineer for Love, Tim Buckley, the Doors, and co-producer of "LA Woman." In the Nineties, a producer of movie soundtracks and Disney cast albums.
BONNIE BRAMLETT. As in Delaney & Bonnie. A great white blues singer.
DELANEY BRAMLETT. Husband of Bonnie. Put his name ahead of hers and blacked her eye.
OSCAR BRAND. Folk interpreter with an encyclopedic repertoire. Recorded nonstop for Elektra in the Sixties.
MARLON BRANDO. A fan of bizarre sound effects.
DAVID BRAUN. Music business attorney and wit.
BREAD. A sweet-harmony soft-rock group.
BERTOLT BRECHT. A lyricist for the Doors.
JACKSON BROWNE. Signed to Elektra's publishing unit as a teenage songwriter.
LENNY BRUCE. Once called a "sick" comedian; died of dope and genius.
LORD BUCKLEY. Before Lenny Bruce there was Lord Buckley.
TIM BUCKLEY. A doomed angel with a four-octave voice and a bad habit. ODd at 27.
ERIC BURDON. An Animal, with war stories of Jim Morrison's night tripping.
PAUL BUTTERFIELD. White electric blues man. Knew the South Side of Chicago, made a noise at Newport. Died in 1987 after years of poor health.
EDWARD TATNALL CANBY. An early enlightened stereophile and music critic.
HARRY CHAPIN. The last artist Jac personally produced and sent on his way- 'Taxi!' Killed in an auto accident 1980.
CIGAR PAIN. Burned his throat so his voice would sound like Jim Morrison's.
ERIC CLAPTON. A fan of Delaney & Bonnie.
JOE COCKER. Another fan of Delaney & Bonnie; a Mad Dog and Englishman.
ALAN COHEN. Executive VP for Warner Communications, Steve Ross's right hand until he allegedly tried to bite it.
HERB COHEN. Castro "freedom fighter," sky diver, LA coffee house pioneer, partner of Theo Bikel, manager of Judy Henske and Tim Buckley.
LEONARD COHEN. A poet in his youth.
JUDY COLLINS. Began as a folk maid of constant sorrow, became an artist of taste and constantly refreshing inventiveness.
STAN CORNYN. Head of creative services for Warner Bros. Records.
PAMELA COURSON. Emotional partner in crime of Jim Morrison, till death did them part.
CROSBY, STILLS & NASH. Sat on Paul Rothchild's couch in Laurel Canyon and sang.
MARIA D'AMATO. Singer with the Even Dozen Jug Band; later Maria Muldaur.
ALLEN DAVIAU. Camera store clerk in his youth; later a cinematographer with five Academy Award nominations.
CLIVE DAVIS. Highly talented record company president who threw a demo tape of Carly Simon across the room. In the Nineties, well-thought-of chairman of Arista Records.
DOROTHY DEAN. The Spade of Queens. Famous doorperson at Max's Kansas City.
JOHN DENSMORE. The Doors' drummer. Suffered for his sanity.
MAYA DEREN. Haitian voodoo adept, avant-garde film maker.
DEADLY DIANE. Waitress at the Unicorn on the Sunset Strip. A barebreasted portrait is in the Herb Cohen collection.
JIM DICKSON. Producer, scene-maker in Sixties LA.
DIGBY DIEHL. Journalist, Doors observer, later wrote for Playboy.
ROGER DI FIORE. Cook, master joint roller, W.C. Fields admirer.
THE DILLARDS. The real bluegrass thing.
HENRY DILTZ. Photographer to the stars of rock.
CONNIE DI NARDO. One of the Three Graces of Paxton Lodge.
NED DOHENY. Teenage guitar wizard.
THE DOORS. The Elektra band-high musical intelligence and five gold albums in a row, on the way to platinum.
BOB DYLAN. The road not taken: signed to Columbia while Jac was out of town.
JACLYN EASTON. Daughter of Jac and Nina. In the late Nineties, an Internet business specialist.
CASS ELLIOTT. A Laurel Canyon Mama.
ALLAN EMIG. Helped design Elektra's LA studio.
AHMET ERTEGUN. Founder, with brother Nesuhi, of Atlantic Records. One of the greats.
NESUHI ERTEGUN. With brother Ahmet, founder of Atlantic Records. An internationalist in musical and cultural reach.
THE EVEN DOZEN JUG BAND. Count 'em. What you hear is what you get.
PAT FARALLA. Of Elektra West. Later the master baker of Santa Fe.
CYRUS FARYAR. The Persian minstrel of Barham Boulevard. Nearly a Sufi.
DANNY FIELDS. Elektra publicist, designated company freak. The hippest guy in New York. Close personal friend of Max's Kansas City.
MITCHELL FINK. On the scene then . . . and now.
HARRISON FORD. A carpenter in his youth.
MICHAEL FORD. A poet in his youth.
BARRY FRIEDMAN. AKA Frazier Mohawk. Laurel Canyon prankster, circus clown, fire eater, wearer of gorilla suits, escape artist. In the late Nineties, producing records in Canada.
DAVE GAHR. Folk and rock photographer with a discerning eye.
DIANE GARDINER. Publicist for the Doors, friend and long-suffering neighbor of Jim Morrison.
DAVID GATES. A civilized recording artist. Leader of Bread.
BILL GAZZARI. Sunset Strip club owner, auditioned the Doors.
DAVID GEFFEN. Once and future enfant terrible, baby mogul, billionaire rising.
BOB GIBSON. Washington Square folkie, traveling twelve-string guitarist, talent scout extraordinaire. Died in 1996.
TONY "LITTLE SUN" GLOVER. Of Koerner, Ray & Glover. A young white blues musician out of Minneapolis.
CYNTHIA GOODING. Tall, beautiful, intelligent, multilingual Village folk singer.
PEARL GOODMAN. Jac's soul-of-discretion secretary for three decades.
SAM GOODY. Big record store man in New York City.
JIM GORDON. Rock drummer on a Judy Collins album, later beat his mother to death with a hammer.
ARTHUR GORSON. Manager of singer-songwriters, Sixties activist.
BILL GRAHAM. Mr. Fillmore, West and East. Killed in helicopter accident 1991.
GEORGE GRAVES. Jac's driver. Played great pool, spoke softly, and carried a big switchblade.
ANTON GREENE. A stuffer of quail eggs.
JEANIE GREENE. Southern reincarnation of Mary Magdalene.
MARLIN GREENE. Husband of Jeanie. An Alabama State Trouper.
JOYCE GRENFELL. An English comedienne with a spy camera.
ALBERT GROSSMAN. The Jabba the Hutt of artist managers, sometimes referred to as "the floating Buddha." Represented Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Band, Janis Joplin. Died 1986.
WOODY GUTHRIE. Nonpareil folk chronicler of America: this land was his land.
JOHN HAENY. Elektra studio engineer of great virtuosity and Virgosity.
BRUCE HARRIS. A miniskirt-mesmerized freshman, later an Elektra publicist.
LARRY HARRIS. Music business lawyer at CBS who walked across the street to Elektra.
STEVE HARRIS. Elektra's good shepherd for Jim Morrison, Tim Buckley, and Carly Simon.
GEORGE HARRISON. A fan of Delaney & Bonnie.
BILL HARVEY. Elektra art director. Created and elaborated the label's visual identity. Died in early Nineties.
FRED HELLERMAN. A Weaver of wisdom, arranger for Theodore Bikel.
SUZANNE HELMS. Ran Elektra's West Coast office. Jazz aficionado, auto mechanic, chocolate lover, dog trainer, disciplinarian of Jim Morrison. Married a jazz bassist, lives in Switzerland.
JIMI HENDRIX. A jammer in a cabana, and a Plaster Castee.
JUDY HENSKE. Stood tall, sang strong, opened for Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen in a Louise Brooks wig.
THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS. On drums, Sam Shepard. Rockin' around on that belladonna cloud-Euphoria!
ADAM HOLZMAN. Son of Jac and Nina. Grew up to play keyboard with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Chaka Khan, Grover Washington Jr.
JAC HOLZMAN. El Supremo of Elektra 1950-1973, from age 19 to 42. Continued with Warner Communications as Chief Technologist. In 1982, became chairman of Panavision Inc. In 1986, created FirstMedia, which acquired Cinema Products, makers of the Steadicam. Came back to music in 1991, establishing the Discovery family of labels, which in the late Nineties became part of the Sire Records Group, a unit of Time Warner.
KEITH HOLZMAN. Jac's brother and working colleague at Elektra and Nonesuch.
NINA HOLZMAN. Was Nina Merrick. Married Jac in 1955. Mother of Adam and Jaclyn. At Elektra, invaluable yin to Jac's yang. Later Nina Lamb.
THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND. A trippy British group.
MICHAEL JAMES JACKSON. Stockboy-novelist-observer of the Elektra LA scene.
SANDY JACKSON. An escapee from Synanon. Second chair in an encounter group.
RON JACOBS. Boss Jock of Southern California rock radio.
MICK JAGGER. A fan of the Elektra studio in LA.
BILLY JAMES. Laurel Canyon hipster. One of the earliest record business company freaks. Saw the Doors as worth signing, managed the teenage Jackson Browne. Husband of Judy.
JUDY JAMES. Wife of Billy. Watched the Laurel Canyon creatures come and go. Theater and philosophy major, later a theater and movie producer, partner of Richard Dreyfuss.
DICK JAMES. Publisher of the Beatles' music.
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE. Toured with the Doors, sharing notes about the nature and quality of life and pharmacology in the Sixties.
DR. JOHN. A night tripper, a somewhat strung-out session musician for Judy Collins.
JANIS JOPLIN. Almost but not quite an Elektra artist.
SHERRI KANDELL. A high school Strip chick in bellbottom hip huggers. Danced in a go-go cage at the Whisky and on top of the deli at Canter's.
DAVE KAPP. Of Kapp Records. Made an offer that Jac could refuse.
KATHY AND CAROL. Joan Baez times two.
LENNY KAYE. Musician, writer, anthologist and thinker.
STACY KEACH. An actor encountered by Jac. Lover of Judy Collins.
SALLY KELLERMAN. A waitress at the Unicorn.
JANICE KENNER. Teenage beloved of the teenage Jackson Browne. One of the Three Graces of Paxton.
FRED KEWLEY. Manager of Harry Chapin.
CAROLE KING. A Laurel Canyon dog owner.
"SPIDER" JOHN KOERNER. Out of Minneapolis, a young white urban blues man.
KOERNER, RAY & GLOVER. Surprised and delighted Jac's ear-a new direction for Elektra.
SANDY KONIKOFF. Sal Mineo as Gene Krupa. A drummer for Dylan. Purveyor of the Sphincterphone.
BERNIE KRAUSE. With Paul Beaver, a pioneer of synthesizer music.
ROBBY KRIEGER. The Doors' guitarist. The Jackson Pollock of rock. Writer of 'Light My Fire.'
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON. Played with Carly Simon.
JIM LADD. A Doors true believer.
BOB LANDY. An anagrammatic piano player.
RHONDA LANE. Go-go dancer in a go-go cage.
KANDY LATSON. Leader of an encounter group. And a snorter.
TIMOTHY LEARY. Evangelist of the sacrament of LSD.
ARTHUR LEE. Early into psychedelic eyewear. Leader of Love. Emblematic of the mid-Sixties west coast scene.
JOHN LENNON. Fan of Koerner, Ray & Glover.
HAROLD LEVENTHAL. Grand old man of folk artist management, from the Weavers to Judy Collins to Arlo Guthrie.
HARRY LEW. An Elektra distributor.
MONSIEUR L'HÔPITAL. An immaculately clad Frenchman whose word was good.
THE LIMELITERS. Jac's first chart group: Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, Glenn Yarbrough.
FRANK LISCIANDRO. A Morrison watcher.
ALAN LOMAX. Like his father John, a great white folk collector.
THE LOS ANGELES FANTASY ORCHESTRA. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
LOVE. Jac's first West Coast rock and roll band.
THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL. One that Jac missed out on. John Sebastian was his friend.
THE LOWER EAST SIDE. David Peel's stoned band-"Have a Marijuana."
LONNIE MACK. A wham of a Memphis man, later a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitar player.
CHARLES MANSON. Wannabe Elektra artist, mass murderer.
RAY MANZAREK. Doors keyboardist and keeper of the flame.
PHIL MANZINI. Threw Manzarek, Morrison, Krieger and Densmore out of the Whisky onto the Sunset Strip-"This is the end!"
MC5. Revolutionary rockers out of Detroit.
PAUL McCARTNEY. A recommender of bespoke boots.
PAT McCOY. A fan in the radio business.
ED McCURDY. Village folkie. Recorded for Jac in the Fifties. Big baritone voice and sharp tongue.
BROWNIE McGHEE. Vintage black folk singer.
GEORGE McGOVERN. Fan of 'Amazing Grace.'
BARRY McGUIRE. The voice of God in Laurel Canyon.
BHASKAR MENON. Head of Capitol Records, later Chairman of EMI.
FREDDIE MERCURY. Glam rocker, lead singer of Queen. Died November 1991.
BETTE MIDLER. Judy Henske was what Bette wanted to be when she grew up.
RUSS MILLER. Ran Elektra's publishing, produced, was Elektra's man in Nashville.
JONI MITCHELL. A beginning song writer and lady of the Canyon.
FRAZIER MOHAWK. AKA Barry Friedman. Practitioner of Laurel Canyon voodoo, inducer and producer of psychedelic albums.
JIM MORRISON. Lead singer of the Doors. Rock icon, lethally intelligent stoned explorer of the dark and the deep. Dead poet, July 1971.
VAN MORRISON. Jammed with the Doors at the Whisky.
CRAZY NANCY. Crazy for Jim Morrison. Hung out for love, broke in and stole for desperation.
FRED NEIL. Uniquely talented musician, prototypical flake.
PAUL NELSON. Founder of the Little Sandy Review, folk-friend of Jac.
MICHAEL NESMITH. Ex-Monkee. Produced for Countryside Records.
BOB NEUWIRTH. Hippest of the hip, sharpest of the sharp, hired gun of Bob Dylan, designated minder of Jim Morrison.
JACK NICHOLSON. Friend of a friend of Carly Simon.
NICO. An apparition, a disapparition, a death-talker, a waver of guns, a naked dancer with Jim Morrison. Also a member of the Velvet Underground. Died from heat exhaustion while bicycling in Spain 1988.
MICHAEL OCHS. The ultimate rock archivist. Brother of Phil.
PHIL OCHS. Protest singer second only to Dylan-but that hurt. Died a suicide 1976.
LOTTIE OLCOTT. One of the Three Graces of Paxton Lodge.
MO OSTIN. A recording industry legend. Chairman of Warner Bros. Records, and in the Nineties Dreamworks Records.
DR. PANGLOSS. Voltaire's philosopher. Would have made an enthusiastic radio promotion man.
CHARLIE PARKER. A night visitor.
VAN DYKE PARKS. Backup musician for Judy Collins.
PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND. White and black electric blues. Blew the house down at Newport.
TOM PAXTON. A singer-songwriter, endlessly productive.
RICHARD PEASLEE. Composer of the music for "Marat/Sade."
DAVID PEEL. Voice of the Lower East Side.
MICHELLE PHILLIPS. A Mama.
GEORGE PICKOW. Photographer. Did early album covers for Elektra. Husband of Jean Ritchie.
THE PLASTER CASTERS. Cynthia and Diane. Performance artists ahead of their time.
PLATO. An urban music critic.
POMPEO POSAR. Photographed album covers for Jac and later Playmates for Hugh Hefner.
MEL POSNER. A boy from Brooklyn. From stock boy to president of Elektra, later head of international division of Geffen Records.
THE PSYCHEDELIC STOOGES. Iggy's band.
ANN PURTILL. Brought Jac to listen to Harry Chapin.
QUEEN. The ultimate British glam rock band. Jac's last major signing.
IAN RALFINI. Ran the London office of Warner/Elektra/Atlantic-WEA-which was like juggling chain saws.
DAVE "SNAKER" RAY. Of Koerner, Ray & Glover.
SUSAN REED. A redhaired folk singer.
JACK REINSTEIN. Elektra accountant, king of the adversary audit.
RHINOCEROS. A supergroup that staggered under the weight of talent and expectations.
FRITZ RICHMOND. Mr. Jug Band. His washtub bass is in the Smithsonian. Famous Cambridge folk scene viper. Studio engineer at Elektra LA. Brother of Marty.
MARTY RICHMOND. Brother of Fritz. Saw it all, from Paxton Lodge to Tranquility Base to Lahaina, Maui.
PAUL RICKOLT. Jac's first Elektra partner.
JOSHUA RIFKIN. Kazoo and piano player with the Even Dozen Jug Band, arranger for Judy Collins, wunderkind musicologist for Nonesuch Records, revitalizer of Scott Joplin rags.
LEONARD RIPLEY. Mustachioed playboy. Jac's Elektra partner, bought out in 1958. Husband of Alexandra, who later wrote Scarlett, the sequel to Gone With The Wind.
JEAN RITCHIE. Classic early folk singer from Viper, Kentucky. Wife of George Pickow.
SUE ROBERTS. Elektra business affairs supervisor. One of the first female record company executives.
ROLLING STONES. Heard and appreciated by Jac during an audition taping in London, but not available for signing.
PHIL ROSE. Record executive who ate more cake than he ever thought he would have to.
WESLEY ROSE. A Nashville music publisher.
STEVE ROSS. The charming conglomerateur of Warner Communications and then Time Warner. Died 1992.
ARLYNE ROTHBERG. Manager of Carly Simon.
DAN ROTHCHILD. Son of Paul and Terry, grew up to be a musician-producer.
PAUL ROTHCHILD. Jac's high-powered producer all through the big years of the Sixties. With the Doors, had five gold albums in a row, and platinum rising. Died of cancer in the spring of 1995. Jac was with him to the end.
TERRY ROTHCHILD. Wife of Paul, mother of Dan.
ROBB ROYER. A member of Bread.
TOM RUSH. A singer-songwriter-guitarist with commanding presence.
IRWIN RUSSELL. More than corporate counsel, a wise personal counselor to Jac.
LEON RUSSELL. Heavy-duty keyboard player.
SABICAS. Fast-fingered flamenco guitarist.
BOB SACKS. At St. John's College, had a record player and a collection of folk 78s that turned Jac on.
ELLEN SANDER. Rock journalist, immortalizer in print of the Plaster Casters, Jac's lover, mother of Marin.
MARIN PAUL TAJ RAIN SANDER-HOLZMAN. Son of Ellen and Jac, born in Bolinas. Grew up to be an actor-dancer in San Francisco.
JOE SARASINO. Record executive who told the Doors to get out of his office with their insane songs.
AL SCHLESINGER. A gentlemanly music business attorney-at-law-and that is not an oxymoron.
JOHN SEBASTIAN. Session musician for Elektra, later a Lovin' Spoonful, later again lived in a tie-dye tent.
PETE SEEGER. Traditional folk music's voice of conscience.
CLIVE SELWOOD. Elektra's man in England. Released 'Amazing Grace' as a single.
MAURICE SENDAK. A West Village bathroom muralist.
SAM SHEPARD. A drummer, a Holy Modal Rounder.
BILL SIDDONS. Teenage manager of the Doors, grew to maturity and acquired wisdom on the job.
PAUL SIEBEL. Sixties singer-songwriter. An Elektra favorite who never found a big audience.
PETER SIEGEL. A producer with an ear for real folk.
JEFF SILVERMAN. A teenager with a camera, in the right place at the wrong time.
SHEL SILVERSTEIN. Hairy jazz man, later a famous cartoonist, versifier, and writer of children's books.
CARLY SIMON. Singer-songwriter, Woman of the Seventies, class act.
PAUL SIMON. Almost but not quite an Elektra artist in his youth.
JOHN SINCLAIR. A White Panther.
GRACE SLICK. Would not be wooed away from Jefferson Airplane to solo at Elektra.
HARRY SMITH. Folk anthologist, formative for Bob Dylan.
JOE SMITH. One of the fastest minds and mouths in the record business. President of Warner Bros. Records and then Capitol Records.
MAYNARD SOLOMON. With brother Seymour, founder of Vanguard Records, friendly competitor of Elektra. Later the renowned biographer of Beethoven and Mozart.
SEYMOUR SOLOMON. With brother Maynard, founder of Vanguard Records.
ABE SOMER. Pit bull lawyer, and that's not an oxymoron.
ROGER SOMERS. Wild man of Muir Woods, Pied Piper of the hot tub, design genius.
EDWARD SOREL. An album cover illustrator for Nonesuch Records in his youth.
JOSEPH SPENCE. Guitar wizard of the Bahamas.
GEORGE STEELE. Played celebratory trumpet in the office when Elektra had a hit.
ESTELLE STERNBERGER. Jac's much loved maternal grandmother.
TERESA "TRACEY" STERNE. Presiding intelligence of Nonesuch Records.
CAT STEVENS. On the bill at the Troubadour with Carly Simon.
STEPHEN STILLS. A lover of Judy Collins.
IGGY STOOGE. Teenage father of premature punk.
JONATHAN TAPLIN. Roadie for Dylan, later a movie producer.
JAMES TAYLOR. Sat at the feet of Carly Simon.
STUDS TERKEL. A writer of liner notes for early Elektra, later a famous Chicago broadcaster and author.
SONNY TERRY. Vintage black folk singer.
THEM. Van Morrison's band. Jammed with the Doors at the Whisky.
THE TRAVELERS 3. Multicultural folk trio.
VINCE TREANOR. Sound man for the Doors tours. The King of Loud.
JOHN VAN HAMMERSVELD. Observer of the LA scene.
DAVE VAN RONK. Village folkie, white blues man, jug band leader.
PAUL VENEKLASSEN. Acoustical engineer for the LA Elektra studio.
VITO. The old man of the Whisky dance floor.
ELLEN VOGT.. Second chair to David Anderle at Elektra LA. Found Jim Morrison face down in the bushes.
KIM VON TEMPSKI. A ship's purser bearing an aromatic sealed envelope.
ANDY WARHOL.. Artist famous for more than fifteen minutes. Gave Jim Morrison a gold Louis XIV phone.
ANNE WARNER. Fed Jac Brunswick stew in his hungry Village days. Wife of Frank.
FRANK WARNER. Husband of Anne. Folk song collector and singer. Recorded 'Tom Dooley.' Owned a famous autographed banjo.
THE WEAVERS. A founding folk group.
KURT WEILL. Song writer for the Doors.
GEORGE WEIN. Founder of the Newport Folk Festival.
J. MAX WEIS. Jac's grandfather. A rebel rabbi.
JANN WENNER. The once and future Mr. Rolling Stone.
DOUG WESTON. Owner of the Troubadour in LA.
JERRY WEXLER. Mr. R&B. With the Ertegun brothers, made up the Atlantic Records triumvirate.
JOSH WHITE. Black folk singer, virtuoso guitarist, charismatic showman. Died September 1969.
TIMOTHY WHITE. Teenage Elektra fan from the Jersey 'burbs. Later a writer of fine books about music and musicians, editor of Billboard.
THE WHO. Shared the bill with the Doors more than once.
FRED WILLIAMS. On the scene down on the Farm.
PAUL WILLIAMS. Founder of Ur-rock magazine Crawdaddy; godfather of Marin Sander-Holzman.
STEVIE WONDER. In pursuit of a Number 1 record.
JERRY YESTER. Guitarist for Judy Henske, later produced Tim Buckley, and later again Tom Waits.
IZZY YOUNG. Proprietor of the Folk Center in the Village, intermittent bill payer.
BOB ZACHARY. Elektra producer-executive.
FRANK ZAPPA. Father of the Mothers of Invention, patron of the Plaster Casters, passionate advocate of free speech in rock lyrics. Died 1993.
WARREN ZEVON. An excitable boy in Laurel Canyon.
