Allen Klein - by Fred Goodman (Paperback)

About the Book

An account of the heyday of rock & roll through the lens of Allen Klein, the business manager, producer, and gadfly who "broke up the Beatles" and showed the Rolling Stones how to become the preeminent dynasty in popular music.

Book Synopsis

"Fred Goodman makes this world come alive, and any fan of rock or insider tales of the music industry will be in heaven reading about this fascinating, troubling character." -- Judd Apatow, Omnivoracious

"Writing about contracts, percentages, and deals can be tedious, but Goodman makes it as exciting as reading about an artist's sex life. The book explodes with inside dope." --New York Daily News

Allen Klein was like no one the music industry had seen before. Though he became infamous for allegedly causing the Beatles' breakup and robbing the Rolling Stones, the truth is both more complex and more fascinating. As the manager of the Stones and then the Beatles--not to mention Sam Cooke, Pete Townshend, Donovan, the Kinks, and numerous others--he taught young soon-to-be legends how to be businessmen as well as rock stars. While Klein made millions for his clients, he was as merciless with them as he was with anyone, earning himself an outsize reputation for villainy that has gone unchallenged until now. Through unique, unprecedented access to Klein's archives, veteran music journalist Fred Goodman tells the full story of how the Beatles broke up, how the Stones achieved the greatest commercial success in rock history, and how the music business became what it is today.

"Fred Goodman is a superb writer . . . and his account here of one of rock 'n' roll's most polarizing figures could not be more readable. The even-handed tone, the supposition that readers are moderately intelligent and sophisticated, and the rather astounding involvement Allen Klein had with pop music's largest legends--put all that together, and you've got one highly engrossing read." --Yahoo! Music

"Succeed[s] both as a compelling work of rock 'n' roll history and as a cautionary business primer." --Wall Street Journal

From the Back Cover

Writing about contracts, percentages, and deals can be tedious, but Goodman makes it as exciting as reading about an artist s sex life. The book explodes with inside dope. New York Daily News

Allen Klein was like no one the music industry had seen before. Though he became infamous for allegedly causing the Beatles breakup and robbing the Rolling Stones, the truth is both more complex and more fascinating. As the manager of the Stones and then the Beatles not to mention Sam Cooke, Pete Townshend, Donovan, the Kinks, and numerous others he taught young soon-to-be legends how to be businessmen as well as rock stars. While Klein made millions for his clients, he was as merciless with them as he was with anyone, earning himself an outsize reputation for villainy that has gone unchallenged until now. Through unique, unprecedented access to Klein s archives, veteran music journalist Fred Goodman tells the full story of how the Beatles broke up, how the Stones achieved the greatest commercial success in rock history, and how the music business became what it is today.

Fred Goodman is a superb writer . . . and his account here of one of rock n roll s most polarizing figures could not be more readable. The even-handed tone, the supposition that readers are moderately intelligent and sophisticated, and the rather astounding involvement Allen Klein had with pop music s largest legends put all that together, and you ve got one highly engrossing read. Yahoo! Music

Succeed[s] both as a compelling work of rock n roll history and as a cautionary business primer. Wall Street Journal

FRED GOODMAN, a former editor at Rolling Stone, is the author of the books Fortune s Fool, The Secret City, andThe Mansion on the Hill, which was a New York Times Notable Book and received the Ralph J. Gleason Award for the best music book of 1997.
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Review Quotes

"[A] savvy, evenhanded biography...Goodman makes the nuts and bolts really interesting...Sharp thumbnail sketches of various performers, managers, and record company executives also liven things up." --The Daily Beast "A compelling work of rock-'n'-roll history." --Wall Street Journal "Fred Goodman makes this world come alive and any fan of rock or insider tales of the music industry will be in heaven reading about this fascinating, troubling character." --Judd Apatow "Writing about contracts, percentages and deals can be tedious, but Goodman makes it as exciting as reading about an artist's sex life. The book explodes with inside dope." --Jim Farber, New York Daily News "In this thoroughly researched biography, Goodman (a former Rolling Stone editor and author of The Mansion on the Hill) gives a much more complete, balanced look at the man . . . who has mostly been viewed as a cartoon villain, and fleshes out his portrait with more nuance and brush strokes than even before. --Houston Press "One highly engrossing read. . . . Fred Goodman is a superb writer and his account here of one of rock 'n' roll's most polarizing figures could not be more readable. [A] triumph." --Yahoo! Music "I want you to read it, so you can see how the world really works. Allen Klein reinvented the wheel." --Bob Lefsetz "Goodman's eye-opening biography of a pivotal insider reveals the record-company machinations behind some of the biggest names from the 1960s."--Booklist "In this balanced, fascinating, and well-written biography, Goodman gives [Allen Klein] credit where it's due."--Kirkus, STARRED --

About the Author

FRED GOODMAN, a former editor at Rolling Stone, is the author of the books Fortune's Fool, The Secret City, and The Mansion on the Hill, which was a New York Times Notable Book and received the Ralph J. Gleason Award for the Best Music Book of 1997.