Q+A: Dan Beck on Working with Michael Jackson, Sade and Luther Vandross
Interview with a former Epic exec!
We’ve got former Epic Records senior product manager Dan Beck, author of the brand new book, You’ve Got Michael: Living through HIStory (Trouser Press Books), for this week’s Q+A!
Tamara Palmer/Music Book Club: What was the process like to write this book and how long did it take?
Dan Beck: I began writing pieces of small stories about my experience working with Michael back in the ‘90s, as it was happening. Over the years, I would write bits and pieces. However, after his death, the memories of those extremely difficult days when his career was at risk made me feel that it was important to write about it.
Do you want to write more books?
I believe so. I enjoy writing and I have been very fortunate to work with so many extraordinarily talented people. I’d like to write about more upbeat memories. After the efforts are finished in promoting this book, I’d like to give myself some space to explore some new ideas.
Any favorite memories about working with Sade and Luther Vandross?
Many! I loved working with both Luther and Sade! I worked relatively closely with Luther over the course of 11 albums on Epic. They all were platinum or double platinum. We planned album covers and videos and I gave him much insight into the workings at Epic and Sony on his behalf. He was a wonderful diva! He worked hard and sought perfection. He. could be tough on people, mostly because he was tough on himself. He wanted respect in the industry, and he deserved it and more.
I so enjoyed working with Sade! She dreaded doing promotional work and interviews. I served in a marketing capacity on her first four albums. She dreaded doing promotional work and interviews. However, she and I worked out a plan that was unique, in that she gave us four weeks of intense promotion in front of each album, and I promised we would not trouble her after that. I told her she would hate those four weeks! She’d laugh and I would tell her it was going to be terrible! She loved the fact that once it was complete, she was free to tour and not have to dread any further promotion. No artist that I know of had fewer expectations from her career. She often did it to be good to her bandmates. Jacob Bernstein did a fabulous NY Times Sunday Magazine piece several years ago that captured the essence of Sade.
Are there any other books about MJ that you find really insightful?
There are tons of books out there on Michael. Many of them are subpar. Michael’s own Moonwalk is a meaningful read. Man in the Music by Joseph Vogel is a top choice, as is MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson by Steve Knopper.
What are some of your all-time favorite books on music?
Hellfire by Nick Tosches stands out. Fred Goodman’s The Mansion on the Hill. Fredric Dannen’s Hit Men is instructive about the mob’s involvement in pop radio airplay. I’d like to read Tommy James’ book, Me, the Mob, and the Music. Working in the music business, there was always a sense that organized crime was lurking. I have a bookshelf lined with music books that I want to read — biographies, histories of the blues, etc. I like the stories from before the industry became corporate.
Previously in our Q+A series:
Jibola Fagbamiye and Conor McCreery on Their New Fela Kuti Graphic Novel
Al Shipley on His Brand New Book on Baltimore Club Music
Paul D. Miller on Lead Belly and Digital Fiction, His Upcoming Book About Algorithms and Music Discovery
Martin Popoff on Guns N’ Roses at 40 and Writing 135 Books
Katie Bain on Her Forthcoming Book Desert Dreams: The Music, Style, and Allure of Coachella
Colin Steven on Publishing Electronic Music and Counterculture Books at Velocity Press
Yoel Gaetán on Chronicling Punk in Puerto Rico with Forgotten Youth Records and Books
Jason Pettigrew on Writing a Book About Ministry’s Third Album
Melissa Locker on Her Brand New Book About Oasis Fans
Ira Robbins on Publishing Peter Silverton’s ‘London Calling New York New York’ and What’s Coming from Trouser Press Books
Donna-Claire Chesman on How CRYBABY Came to Her in a Dream
Cary Baker on His First Book and How Busking Can Help Main Street USA
Gina Arnold on The Oxford Handbook of Punk Rock and Working with Academic Publishers
Tom Beaujour on His New Lollapalooza Book and Producing Successful Oral Histories
John Morrison on Boyz II Men and Chronicling Philadelphia Music History
Mark Angelo Harrison on Telling the Spiral Tribe Sound System Story
Lyndsey Parker on Writing a ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ Memoir with Mercy Fontenot
Christina Ward on Running Feral House, a 36-Year-Old Indie Book Company
Ali Smith on Speedball Baby and Telling Stories Without Shame
Arusa Qureshi on Her Love Letter to Women in UK Hip-Hop
Lily Moayeri on Her Favorite Music Books and Writing from a Personal Place
Megan Volpert on Why Alanis Morissette Matters and Writing 15 Books in 18 Years
Mark Swartz on Biggie + Yoko Ono as a Crime-Fighting Duo and Other Fictional Ideas
Annie Zaleski on Cher, Stevie Nicks and Pushing Past Writing Fears
Nelson George on His Next Book and Making Mixtapes in Paper Form
Michaelangelo Matos on Writing and Editing Music Books
