| It was a typical Capitol Records sales and marketing
meeting. All company promotion and sales personnel were gathered to review the new
product released by the company and plan strategy for making the product a hit. |
| One of the promo reps was hot. The company had
released a English act from the EMI division and was insisting on maximum effort on this
one product. The rep took the single record and threw it across the floor towards
the chief saying, "I don't know how they expect us to push this xxx'ing crap
from England...We have a hard enough time getting air play and exposure for our American
product" |
| And with this outburst, Tom Gelardi, Capitol Records
Promotions Representative, learned a very valuable lesson that every promo rep must
eventually learn: DO NOT JUDGE. The record he threw was "I
Want To Hold Your Hand" by the then obscure Beatles. After it went platinum,
his co-workers mounted the scuffed record on a plaque that said: "To Tom Gelardi -
You Sure Can Pick Them." |
| After his Capitol job ended in 1970, Tom became one
of the top independent promotion men world-wide. He has helped many a hit artist get
their gold by making sure their records were successful in the Midwest. Artists he's
promoted include Wayne Newton, Bobby Vinton, The Lettermen, Steve & Edie Gormet, Jack
Jones, The MC 5, Bob Segar, The Beach Boys, Lew Rauls, Nancy Wilson, Freda Payne, Chairmen
of the Board, and Bill Whithers. He also headed up Midwest promotions for one of the
largest rap/hip hop labels - Tommy Boy in New York. Tom, for instance, arranged the
record company meeting that got Bob Segar a new national record deal and his first
national hit in a decade; up until that point Bob had only succeeded in becoming a huge
regional act. |
| Tom has twice won the highest national award a
promotions representative can earn: " Billboard's Promo Man Of The Year."
In 1970 he earned the award for nationally breaking The Grand Funk Railroad; and in 1974
he earned it again for nationally breaking the rock group Heart. |
| Tom now acts as the Midwest representative for
Action Music Distributors in Cleveland, Ohio. Action is one of the "top 6"
independent distributors in the USA. Tom intends to remain active in the field for
another 5 years. |
| Its Now Teaching & Advising |
| Tom is as upset with how the industry has become
closed to the discovery and development of local acts, as the acts are. "I would
really like it if my advice to the new artist could open the door just a crack towards
getting the national deal and national exposure that was possible a couple of decades
ago," says Tom. |
| Tom remembers when he could take a new local release
to a radio station and hear it played in the 'battle of the bands' while driving out of
the parking lot. "It's quite a different animal now" [Says Tom about the
industry] "There are many tricks you'll need to learn to break though in today's
market." |
| The Recording Institute of Detroit has announced
that Tom Gelardi is making his educational services available exclusively through the
school and its magazine, the Recording Engineer's Quarterly. Tom Gelardi has a
weekly "tip sheet" in Recording Engineer's Quarterly, which has already
begun. |
| Now a contributing REQ Editor |
| Recording engineer's Quarterly announces that Tom
Gelardi has agreed to becoming a contributing editor and regularly submitting articles in
his area of expertise, Record Promotions and Marketing. |
