Remember those TV shows/movies back in the 70’s and 80’s about life in radio or the music business? A new book from Jawbone Press suggests that truth may be stranger, and often funnier, than fiction.

A veteran of music promotion shares his experiences of the golden age of rock promotion, sharing never-before-told tales of his adventures with some of music’s most colourful characters. Gliders Over Hollywood tells the true story of Paul Rappaport, nicknamed ‘Rap’ who grew up a fan of rock’n’roll, then found himself right in the middle of many of his heroes’ lives as he became the most renowned rock promotion man in the USA.

Rappaport enjoyed a storied thirty-three-year career at Columbia Records, where he was instrumental in the careers of everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello to Billy Joel, Judas Priest to Alice In Chains, and many others.

He’s quite the storyteller and stories he shares are incredible. The book is a thoroughly enjoyable read. You can binge read the book in a couple of days or, like me, savour the stories by reading a couple of chapters a day.

The book will be released on April 25 in Canada.

In this Zoom interview, which also aired on Oldies Without Borders, he shared how he helped Canada’s Loverboy break into the US market.

And then there was the time that Pink Floyd gave him the best Christmas present; letting him play guitar on stage with them in front of 15,000 people. And he has the photo to prove it. That’s him next to David Gilmour.

Truth is stranger than fiction. Enjoy.

Comments and shares always welcome.

Copyright Peter J. Maurin, The Vinyl Professor. Published under Creative Commons License: Attribution/Non-Commercial Use.