Long before MTV, CDs, DVDs, and Internet downloading, music came on 12-inch vinyl LPs and 45-rpm singles, and in the 1970s, a flip through a fan’s record stack would probably reveal the Casablanca Records logo at least a couple of times. Rockers remember the label as the home of KISS and Angel, along with a stable of stars that included funk mastermind George Clinton, disco diva Donna Summer, and even camp icons The Village People. Founded in 1973 by the late Neil Bogart and his cousin Larry Harris, Casablanca Records quickly rose to prominence not only as a nurturer of new talent but also as an epicenter of excess in an already-decadent industry, as documented by Harris in And Party Every Day, a new hardcover release from Backbeat Books. With coauthors Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs, Harris delivers, as promised, the inside story of Casablanca’s colorful heyday – and he pulls no punches in the process.
And Party Every Day is packed with madcap anecdotes from the glory days Harris knew firsthand, such as when Bogart arranged for dollar bills to shower down on the mall crowd at a “Kiss-Off” promo event for KISS. Also, readers get a good look at how the makeup, sound, and stage show of KISS evolved, from the band’s raw New York auditions to the arena-sized spectacles they became known for. And on the then-young disco front, Bogart is credited with turning an obscure demo track called “Love to Love You Baby” into the epic 17-minute Donna Summer smash that remains a dance staple to this day.
Besides dishing up a serious scoop of Hollywood insider info, with tidbits ranging from big egos and bad attitudes to hot hookups and horrible habits, And Party Every Day gives an excellent peek at the business side of the music biz. Harris helps the reader understand how things operated in an earlier era, as well as how old practices (payola, anyone?) paved the way for current paradigms. A complete Casablanca discography is included, along with color photos of the company’s artists and personnel, plus a list of the label’s promotional films and music videos, and even a “where are they now?” section to disclose the destinies of a plethora of players who appeared in the label’s saga. Another welcome feature is the use of “timepoint reference” insets throughout the text – highlighting, for instance, the fact that in 1975, the year Casablanca released the enormously successful “KISS Alive” double-album, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” also premiered in theaters and "Saturday Night Live" debuted on TV.
With this book, Larry Harris has provided a gripping, humorous, and well-written memoir of a rambunctious period in popular music. You don’t have to have been a member of the “KISS Army” to appreciate this book, realizing that even though Neil Bogart himself is long gone (he died of lymphoma in 1982), and the record company founded by him folded in 1985, the man and his label left a legacy that will endure as long as there are music fans who “want to rock and roll all night – And Party Every Day!”
Backbeat Books is an imprint of Hal Leonard Corporation, and can be contacted at: www.backbeatbooks.com.
