Inching further down the story reveals the history behind Don Robey before he met Mattis while trying to acquire Duke Records, all with the intention to work with Johnny Ace.
Despite a history of illegal dealings and lack of musical skill, Robey had started to build his music empire when he realized how profitable the business of music could be.
In this part of the series, Michael T. Davis, Casey Wood, and Seth West continue the discussion, describing Robey's background and the events leading up to his connection with James Mattis and Johnny Ace.
In this episode, we talk about…
● [02:39] Seth shares his work with Matt, a multi-instrumentalist and musician who has been in several bands. Casey talks about his work on a band called Dark Water from Atlanta.
● [09:35] About the Capital Records office in Hollywood where so many hits have been recorded.
● [14:14] A background on Don Robey from the hustling and illegal dealings to, his taxi business and eventually becoming a successful music promoter running clubs.
● [22:24] Impressed by Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Robey took up the role of his manager and built an even more successful music empire with no business knowledge or musical skill.
● [35:40] The hilarious story of how Casey's college Rock and Roll band got 10,000 CDs pressed.
● [39:10] How Robey got in contact with Duke Records and James Mattis, trying to replicate his success with Gatemouth.
Resources
§ “Temple of Sound” book by Jim Cogan and William Clark
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