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In 1954, Alan Freed moved to the radio station WINS in New York City, one of his last radio gigs before becoming embroiled in scandal. (Image circa 1954-56 via BBC)
WEB ONLY// NEWS » APRIL 24, 2012
Rock ‘n’ Roll Payola: Dick Clark and Alan Freed
The converging and diverging histories of two all-American DJs.
BY LOUIS NAYMAN
Rather than end Clark's career, the payola investigations boosted it. His entertainment empire expanded.
Dick Clark’s passing last week reminded me of a rock-and-roll “Christmas Jubilee” concert I saw at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater on Flatbush Avenue during Christmas break 1959.
A $2.50 ticket (paid for out of Bar Mitzvah loot), got me in to see Jackie Wilson, Bobby Rydell, the Detroit Wheels, Bo Diddley, the Isley Brothers, Sam Taylor, Johnny Restivo and half a dozen other acts, plus “Hound Dog Man,” a full-length feature film starring Philadelphia heart-throb Fabian (Forte) in his first Hollywood production.
The rock-and-roll impresario responsible for bringing this all together had been absent during most of the show’s New York run, attending to unavoidable personal business. But on the afternoon I was there, just as the house lights were set to dim for the movie, his familiar reassuring voice suddenly rose from center stage in a crescendo of brass, twanging electric guitars, and a culminating wave of foot stomping, whistles and applause. I don’t recall the exact words – this was more than 52 years ago – but the essence remains as clear now as when I was a 13-year-old from an upstate New York mill town bouncing in my seat along with 4,000 city kids. We knew something was happening here, and we knew what it was – knew it in our hearts and souls, if not yet our heads.
Rock ‘n’ Roll will be vindicated, is what we heard. Square America, go fuck yourself!
The personal business that had kept deejay and rock-and-roll tribune Alan Freed from emceeing the concert was his fight to avoid prosecution for hyping records on air in exchange for under-the-table cash. The practice came to be known as payola, connecting the word pay to Victrola, the original brand name for RCA Victor’s record player.
Payola ranged from flatout bribery – a promoter slipping a couple of hundred dollars to a deejay for playing a designated cut in heavy rotation over a specified time period – to more complex and legally nebulous arrangements involving fake songwriting credits, unearned royalty splits and hidden ownership interests in disc stamping plants, music distribution, publishing, talent management and record labels.
By the spring of 1960, Freed and his younger Philadelphia counterpart, Dick Clark, had been called to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on legislative oversight. The appearances went badly for Freed, and much better for Clark.
A career derailed
Freed, son of a Lithuanian Jewish clothing store clerk and a working-class Welsh-American mother in western Pennsylvania, had popularized rhythm and blues big beat music as a disc jockey via his Rock n’ Roll Party nightly radio program on the New York radio station WINS in the 1950s. He branched out to motion pictures and network television, showcasing artists such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Clyde McPhatter and LaVern Baker. By 1958 he was hosting a daily radio program on WABC in New York and a television show on WNEW.
Along the way, Freed had accepted gratuities and “consultation fees” from record companies and promoters. He also “shared” songwriting credits and royalties with Chuck Berry for “Maybellene” and The Moonglows for “Sincerely.” When ABC demanded in November 1959 that Freed sign a prepared oath swearing he did not now nor had he ever received payment for promoting musical recordings on the air, Freed refused, asserting in a letter that compliance “would violate my self respect.”
He was immediately fired, and five days later was subpoenaed to appear before New York District Attorney Frank Hogan, which accounted for why fans didn’t see much of him during the Christmas Jubilee’s Paramount run.
Called to testify before the House subcommittee on legislative oversight in April 1960, Freed made for a less-than-sympathetic witness. Although not a Jew according to Halachic law (which confers religious identity through matrilineal descent), the Cleveland deejay’s swarthy complexion and prominent nose must have made him seem Jewish enough to the Dixiecrats and Northern Republicans who dominated the proceedings. Freed, after all, had made his reputation introducing “race music” to white kids during his nightly broadcasts and was known for a steadfast insistence on playing authentic original recordings instead of the more sanitized white covers.
In 1957, ABC cancelled his weekly television show, The Big Beat, because southern affiliates complained when an African-American guest artist, Frankie Lymon, was seen on a broadcast dancing with a white girl. And Freed was often photographed in the pages of magazines and tabloids wearing bright scarlet tuxedos or outsized window-plaid sport coats punctuated with a wispy silk bow tie favored by African American or white hillbilly artists. His image as a cultural subversive was cemented at a Boston concert that same year when he allegedly shouted to the crowd, “The police don’t want you to have fun,” which was said to have incited a street riot.
Ironically, what ultimately sealed his fate were Freed’s forthright itemized admissions to the committee concerning payments he had accepted from distributors and recording companies as a musical advisor. The fact that ABC had fired him for declining to sign a humiliating all-encompassing oath denying participation in corrupt practices, while not asking the same of the company’s other contract employee, Dick Clark, only deepened committee members’ and the press’ perception of Freed’s corruption. Less than a month after his testimony, the New York City police arrested the disgraced DJ on charges of having pocketed payola amounting to $116,850.
American grandstanding
Dick Clark, in contrast, made for a straight arrow and sympathetic witness. The son of a radio professional and solidly middle-class family, he had been brought up in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and earned a business degree at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management. His physical appearance before the committee was indistinguishable from the image television viewers saw every weekday between 4 and 5:30 p.m. – an affable well-mannered junior executive in a white shirt, unobtrusive tie, well-tailored grey business suit, engaging smile and straight neutral hair set perfectly with glistening tonic.
Clark became host of the Philadelphia rock-and-roll TV dance show American Bandstand in 1956, and took it national on ABC the following year. He was instrumental in launching the careers of local ethnic working-class performers Frankie Avalon, Fabian Forte, Bobby Rydell, and Connie Francis. With an eye for anticipating teenage trends and a talent for creating them, he eased the cross-over of African American artists by presenting them to the mainstream as novelty acts (Chubby Checker, Gary U.S. Bonds, the Coasters, Fats Domino), slow dance serenaders (The Platters), and nonthreatening girl groups such as the Supremes and Shirelles.
He was clearly backed by ABC when he appeared before the committee in 1960. (This likely had something to do with the fact that while Freed’s broadcasts brought the network annual revenues of $200,000, it earned $12 million from Clark’s show. Flanked by high-powered legal talent and a statistician, Dick Clark dazzled committee members with nonsequitors and masterful deflection.
Going into the hearings he had divested himself of financial interests in at least 33 conflict-of-interest music business enterprises. His professional numbers man produced charts and figures demonstrating that of all the records spun on his programs, Clark had a pecuniary stake in only 27 percent, and that those records attained a popularity rating of only 23 percent. While acknowledging that from time to time he may have received compensation for extramural music-connected services, Clark respectfully but firmly denied ever having taken payola or having broken the law, saying this was just the way the industry works.
In the end, Subcommittee Chair Oren Harris agreed, saying of his earnest and seemingly clean-cut witness, “I don’t think you are the inventor of the system, I think you are the product. Obviously, you’re a fine young man.”
Rather than end the broadcaster’s career, the payola investigations boosted it. His entertainment empire expanded to include production, distribution, publishing, promotion, pop and country music awards, quiz shows and Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve. As the pop cultural revolution of the 1960s took a political turn, embracing the British revolution and psychedelics and turning against white-bread and bubble gum rock, Clark was well-positioned to concentrate on the business end of the business.
When he died at 82 in Malibu this month, Richard Wagstaff Clark was a multi-millionaire dozens of times over and a universally acclaimed cultural icon. Freed, after finally pleading guilty in 1963 to two of 99 counts of commercial bribery, was sentenced to pay a $300 fine and a six-month suspended sentence, after which he was put up on charges of federal income tax evasion. He thereafter descended into a spiral of itinerant radio gigs, alcohol addiction and isolation. He died in 1965, aged 43, of cirrhosis of the liver, without a pot to piss in.
In differing ways, both men were avatars of interracial crossover and cultural diversity, and – even if unwittingly – agents of political change. One was a smooth huckster and commercially savvy entrepreneur; the other embodied crude raw energy attuned more to music and soul than to self-preservation and business. To progress, America needed both. For that, Dick Clark merits such acknowledgement and deserves praise. But it’s Freed who gets my everlasting Kaddish.
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Louis Nayman is a longtime union organizer. The views expressed are his own.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Payola: Dick Clark and Alan Freed -- In These Times.
The scientific data on marijuana and libido are all over the map. But there are common sense reasons that one individual might find marijuana to be a turn-on and another might it to be a turn-off.
Marijuana and the Female Libido
When marijuana researchers refer to sexual difficulties caused by marijuana use in women, they are most likely to be referring to failures of ovulation, reduced likelihood of pregnancy even if a child is conceived (due to changes in the receptivity of the lining of the uterus to the embryo), and disruptions of the menstrual cycle. They are less likely to be referring to difficulties in achieving orgasm or loss of interest in sex.
There is some science to suggest that the endocannabinoids in marijuana may reduce genital arousal in women. Smoking marijuana has been suggested as a treatment for a condition known as persistent genital arousal disorder in women, which is most likely to occur in women who have bipolar disorder or who have suddenly stopped taking antidepressants.
But in most women genital arousal is only part of sexual stimulation. Disinhibition regarding touch may allow a woman to feel aroused along all of her erogenous zones, not just the obvious body parts such as the vagina and the breasts. Many women are stimulated on the midline of the abdomen, the nose, the indentation at the upper lip, the crown of the head, and the tip of the tongue.
Some women find that their sexual energy is too "hot" to control when they do not use marijuana or a similar calming drug. They find that their libido is manageable when they smoke pot. There are women who smoke pot prior to sex in part to feel more in charge of their lovemaking.
Is Marijuana a Negative or a Positive in Women's Sex Lives?
Despite what experts warn, many women report that their sex lives are enhanced by the occasional use of marijuana. Regular use of marijuana, on the other hand, may be a major turn-off. As one woman put it:
"When we (the woman and her husband) first tried smoking pot before making love, it made every touch an ecstatic experience. But over the two years since my husband lost his job and started just sitting around the house smoking grass all day, the very sight of him makes me nauseous."
Or as one man described his relationship, "When we're tokin', there ain't no pokin'."
The short-term effects of marijuana use on sexual enjoyment by women depend on whether dropping inhibitions are relevant to her sexual enjoyment. Not every woman needs to be disinhibited. The long-term effects of marijuana on sexual enjoyment by women are tied in to a number of factors that are not related to the biological effects of the drug, such as whether she and her partner can pay their bills.
Men, Sex, and Marijuana
Marijuana and beer have very similar effects on male testosterone levels—they both lower them. The hops used to flavor beer even contain natural 17-beta-estradiol, which can cause a condition known in Germany as "beer drinker's droop." Some men also have trouble achieving erections after smoking pot. But other men report that smoking marijuana gives them extra power in the bedroom. How can both sets of stories be true?
The simple fact is that people don't always tell sex researchers the truth about their sex lives. However, physiologists also know that a chemical in marijuana called cannabigerol can increase the force of ejaculation and the intensity of orgasm.
Cannabigerol "kicks in" several hours after the tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) in marijuana makes the smoker high and gives them the "munchies." In addition to increasing the intensity of orgasm, this chemical:
• Reduces the need for sociability. Men are less inclined to indulge in foreplay or conversation.
• Makes men less likely to act impulsively. They will be more in control of their sexual activities, but they will also be more response to rituals in their lovemaking. They will want to repeat other sexual encounters in the same way.
• Increases basal metabolic rate. Men become literally "hotter" and more energetic—after the initial effects of the drug wear off.
In a heterosexual couple, marijuana has different effects at different times for the different partners. Women become less inhibited shortly after smoking the drug. This may enable them to enjoy more whole-body stimulation (or it may be unnecessary).
While women are becoming receptive, men are simply getting stoned. Any increased sexual intensity for them occurs after the disinhibitive effects have already worn off for the female partner.
This site is not going to give anyone specific tips on how to use marijuana more effectively for lovemaking. (We don't want the US Drug Enforcement Agency taking a special interest in our work.) And actually, there are no hard and fast scientific rules concerning whose lovemaking might get a bigger boost and when.
The bottom line is that men and women react to marijuana differently. The drug can help them overcome shyness when they are first together, but it can cause them to be out of sync as they get to know each other better. When the habit of smoking marijuana begins to interfere with work, finances, residential upkeep, or personal hygiene, then it tends to be a definite turn-off to good sex.
What about other, legal aphrodisiacs?
The best aphrodisiac for both men and women is exercise. An Italian study of men taking Viagra found that getting 200 minutes of outdoor exercise a week increased erectile strength, sexual confidence, satisfaction with intercourse, and general satisfaction with life.
For women, however, the exercise that most increases interest in sex is foreplay—especially on the days nearest to the midpoint of the menstrual cycle (when a woman is most likely to get pregnant). Creative physical activities that lead to the boudoir are most likely to enhance the female partner's enjoyment of sex.
People don't get arrested for exercise. They don't have to buy it from a shady dealer. Exercise does not ruin promising careers. If marijuana has not enhanced your sex life, try something different. Physical activity can improve your health and improve your lovemaking.
source: http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Marijuana_and_Your_Sex_Life___Is_Marijuana_Sex_Inhibiting__Sex_Enhancing__or_Sex_Neutral__a2029.html?show_all=1
Why is it that so many gay men put such a strong emphasis on sex before really getting to know a person?
While it's flattering to have a man have such strong physical desires to be with you in an intimate manner, I'm not sure it's good to put such an emphasis on sex before really getting to know a person. Intimacy is something that takes time to develop, yet we rush ourselves into this stage by trying to bypass other necessary steps like the building of interdependence between each other, the development of trust, the goal of full disclosure, etc. There's no rule book which states that you must NOT have sex before entering into a relationship but is it really the best idea to do something that some of us might value a bit more than others?
Sex is a primal human desire but if you really feel that you care to get to know someone better you should probably be a bit more conscious of your primal desire and put it to the wayside until you feel they are ready for that type of intimacy within the relationship. Some of us desire a sort of intellectual intercourse rather than a physical one. Sex is great and it's important in a relationship but becoming closer with a potential suitor is more important to me personally.
Remember that sex is everywhere. You can get it at almost any time of any day. You can devalue it all you want or you can let it devalue you. You can have sex prior to a relationship and probably still have a relationship depending on the synchronicity between the parties involved. You can have sex at any age. You can make the decision to be promiscuous or keep sex more sacred.
You can't meet an amazing person any day. You can't build trust with a person instantly. You won't go up to a stranger and give them full disclosure. You won't meet a potential lover every day. You won't get to always share those amazing moments with someone you really care about. You won't always get that person that really wants to know who you are inside and out.
When you do meet that person that wants to ask you questions, learn about you, smile at you, be patient with you, compliment you, give you full disclosure, tell you their secrets but not take your clothes off right away....be happy about it. That's a very rare diamond in the rough.
-Chris Ryan
source: http://www.selfspectrum.com/2012/01/why-do-so-many-men-put-sex-before.html
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