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Star-Making Machinery: Inside the Business of Rock and Roll Paperback – January 1, 1977

by Geoffrey Stokes (Author)

4.4 10 ratings

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Follows the musicians, engineers, technicians, and others involved in the making of a typical rock album, from initial concept through packaging and marketing, detailing the entire process of those involved

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Inc (January 1, 1977)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 243 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0394724321
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0394724324
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces

Best Sellers Rank: #2,840,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,413 in Music History & Criticism (Books)

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4.4 10 ratings

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Mike Merrill

Great service!

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2023

Verified Purchase

Item was as advertised, used in good condition and was delivered WAY ahead of schedule which makes me very happy

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Linda Svec

A Great book about the inner workings of the rock music ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

A Great book about the inner workings of the rock music recording world and business at hand. The only problem was the book as bound by the publisher was missing pages 83 through 114. This left out a significant portion of events. and was quite disrupting to the flow of the narrative...
I would recommend anyone ordering this book to make sure all it`s pages were there, the missing pages did not turn up later in the book.

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Jimbo

Wow! What a Well-written In-depth Look at the Music Recording Industry Back in the Day

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

Mr. Stokes did an outstanding job writing this tell-all book that used the story of Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airman to illustrate the industry back in the 70s.

While perhaps not absolutely pertinent to today's industry, if you enjoyed music in the late '60s and '70s, this book is an eye-opener.

The eBook version does contain some editting shortcomings, but the writing is so good, it's easy to give it a pass.

Commander Cody came within one week of making the big time! One week!

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

Geoffrey Stokes' Star-Making Machinery is an important book. It documents an era, mid to late 70's, when rock & roll began to change from an art form to strictly a big business.

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David, Oceano

Great Behind-the-Scenes View of Rock and Roll Business

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2005

The record business may have changed a bit since the 1970s when this book was written, but not so much that this book isn't still a must-read for anyone dreaming of or on their way to being involved in any aspect of the major label record business. And it's a great, fun and very informative read for anyone interested in how the major label record business really works.

This book is fact filled, but wrapped in drama, humor and poignancy as we see how real, talented musicians deal with the ups and downs of the business side of rock stardom. It is also a good view of pop culture in the 1970s.

The author takes us inside the music business, up close, giving us a blow-by-blow, true-life account of a year in the life of the band Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, a mid-tier rock band poised on the brink of greatness. It's a story of drama, comedy, pathos and heartbreak as we see the band members work their way through (and be worked by) the "star-making machinery" of the record business.

We are taken into the recording studio numerous times and see what a major label recording session is like and how it feels to be a musician involved in it all. We go into meetings with record company executives. We see the jealousies, the in-fighting, the record executive double-dealing, the hopes and dreams and disappointments of the rock business.

This book is a joy to read. It is entertaining, informative and real. Don't sign a record contract without reading it!

6 people found this helpful

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steve

Better than described.

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

This book was described in acceptable condition, and it was a least that. Shipped a bit quicker than listed...all good.

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