The correct answer is: Marty Thau has worked with all of them, in one capacity or another. Which, if you stop and think about it, is pretty damn amazing. How many other people can you think of who were in the right place at the right time to capitalize on so many key moments in rock & roll?

Since we’re reviewing the re-release of his 2 X 5 compilation, I took advantage of my prior contact with him and pinned him down for an email interview. Yes, I know email is cheating. In my defense, let me say this: I am, by nature, the shy and retiring type, and anyway, Seattle to Virginia phone calls are not in the budget. Deal with it.

Many thanks to Marty, of course, and also to Wally Bangs, who came up with a couple of good questions.

What sparked your interest in music?

My sister introduced me to R‘n’B / Doo Wop music in the early ‘50s. I was about 12 or 13. My cousin Elaine (later married to Tony Orlando for 18 years) was the first president of the Jerry Lee Lewis fan club and introduced me to the music of Jerry Lee, Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent. In college I listened to Nina Simone, Thelonious Monk, Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Tito Puente, Machito, Tito Rodriguez. For the most part, rock was non-existent in the USA in the early ‘60s. A year later the Beatles, Stones, Who changed the landscape.

What's the first record you recall buying?

The first record I ever bought was “Church Bells May Ring” by The Diamonds. Other early purchases were “Earth Angel” by The Penguins and “I Put A Spell On You” by Screaming Jay Hawkins.

How did you become involved with Buddah records?

Neil Bogart, who had been my counterpart at Cashbox Magazine when I worked at Billboard in ’63, was named VP & Head of Operations at the newly revitalized Cameo-Parkway Records in early '66 and was piecing together his staff and asked me interview for a promotion position with C-P. I had been telling everyone I was looking for a job and I guess it reached his ears. Already on staff was Cecil Holmes, who would promote Cameo’s r 'n' b product to radio stations, and I would be the promotion manager for the rock releases. In the course of one year at C-P we had hits with Terry Knight & The Pack, who later became Grand Funk Railroad, Question Mark & The Mysterians and their Number 1 rock classic "96 Tears," Bob Segar's first recordings, which were all midwest regional hits, the 5 Stairsteps, Donny Hathaway, Eddie Holman, and Chubby Checker's version of the Beatles' "Back In The USSR," to name a few. We placed 28 records on the national charts and made the front cover of Cashbox Magazine. We were sizzling hot promoters and the music business took notice. Then, in early 1967 Neil informed Cecil and I that Cameo-Parkway was being sold to Allen Klein, the manager of the Beatles. Klein wanted it mainly because of its stock listing and because the Beatles’ contract with Capitol Records was about to expire. The buzz was they'd switch over to C-P and everyone would make a killing on the stock. Klein refused to tell us his plans for us but said we'd get paid every week, and we shouldn't worry, and that was all we needed to know. In the course of the next few months the stock rose from 1 7/8 to 76 and was eventually de-listed from the American Stock Exchange. The SEC concluded something wasn't kosher and Klein ended up in jail, the Beatles renewed with Capitol but we were still in the dark, our momentum now shot and our spirits deflated. It became all too obvious that it was time for our team to move on. Enter Art Kass, the controller at the newly formed Buddah label. Art knew Neil from his days in promotion at MGM and lured Neil, myself and Cecil Holmes away from Cameo to the Buddah label in 1967. The Buddah opportunity was perfect for us because it gave us the control we wanted and the money and perks we deserved.

What were your duties there? Describe a typical day.

As the VP & Director of Promotion I was responsible for promoting Buddah’s music at radio. On a typical day I’d call dozens of music and program directors across the country and try to convince them to play our releases. It took us three months to have our first few hits. "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers and "Simon Says" by The 1910 Fruitgum Company each sold well over a million copies and were followed by "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" by the Ohio Express, "1-2-3 Red-light" and “Indian Giver” by the 1910 Fruitgum Company, "The Worst That Could Happen” by Brooklyn Bridge, "The Rapper" by The Jaggerz, “It’s Your Thing” by the Isley Brothers, “Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)" by Melanie, "Ooh Child" by The 5 Stairsteps, and many more that weren't million sellers but sold hundreds of thousands of copies each. Buddah had become one of the indie success stories of the '60s, along with Motown and A&M Records, and I was now regarded as one of the leading promotion executives in the business.

What are your thoughts on Neil Bogart? What was he like to work with?

Neil was very personable, smart, and adventurous. His ears and “feel” for the marketplace guided him. If he believed in a record he’d promote the hell out of it. In those days you could record a song on a Monday and within a week you'd have records out on the street and one week later know if you had a hit, or a miss. No massive marketing planning, no tour support programs, no artist development meetings were necessary, or even contemplated. If it sounded good it promoted. It was a simple business and controlled by A&R people with "commercial ears." Today it's controlled by lawyers and accountants watching the bottom line and focusing on quick fix trends -- translation; manufactured formulaic music designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator -- because the investments are huge and a few "bombs" could be disastrous but back in the mid ‘60s most of the labels were run by somewhat eccentric entrepreneurs, like Neil, with a need to constantly re-invent the wheel. (Bogart later went on to found Casablanca Records, home of KISS, Donna Summer, and The Village People - Editor)

What was your take on bubblegum then? Now?
It wasn’t my personal taste in music but I appreciated it for what it was. It got me a house, cars, a back account and gave me a career. I liked the hypnosis and beat of most of Buddah’s bubblegum hits. Most were simply plain old fun.

How did you come to leave Buddah?

After 3+ years at Buddah I wanted (and needed) to be involved with music I related to. At home I’d be listening to Hendrix, Santana, Stones, Moody Blues, Yardbirds, Janis Joplin but at work I’d be pushing the 1910 Fruitgum Company and the Ohio express. The disparity proved to be too great for me and I couldn’t live with it. I drove a ’59 White Cloud Rolls Royce, owned a 12 room house on 3 1/2 acres with a tennis court in Suffern, New York and had all the trappings of success but I wasn't happy and concluded I had to do something about it, so I left Buddah and joined a Management / Production / Publishing company called Inherit Productions as one of three partners. Inherit's clientele included Van Morrison, John Cale, the ex-viola player from the Velvet Underground, and legendary African singer Miriam Makeba, who was then married to black activist Stokely Carmichael. (Morrison and Cale are now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). These were serious music makers with serious intent and something to say. Over the next 18 months I practically lived in recording studios with my partner Lewis Merenstein. He had produced Van Morrison's classic "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" LPs and was now getting offers from everyone. I discovered a young new group from Cleveland called the Glass Harp, who featured brilliant guitarist Phil Keaggy. He eventually became a born again Christian -- and went on to a major career in the Inspirational Gospel Music world -- and recorded three LPs with them, another with Dorothy Morrison, the lead singer of the "Oh Happy Day" hit, another with Mama Cass Elliot when she switched over to RCA from ABC, three more with bittersweet storyteller Biff Rose, and another with Chicago blues organist Barry Goldberg and Mike Bloomfield, one of America's most talented and influential guitarists, called "Two Jews Blues."

How did you come to manage the New York Dolls? I recall reading somewhere that you virtually stumbled upon them, almost by accident - what's the story there?

I did stumble upon them in the spring of '72. My wife Betty and I went down to the Village, had dinner, and afterwards came across the Mercer Arts Center, a complex of Off-Off Broadway theaters. Mercer had 5 or 6 theaters of modern and elegant design but business wasn't good and the owner, Art Kaback, an air conditioning mogul with a love of the arts, opened the complex to rock bands on off nights. The marquee outside read NEW YORK DOLLS - 2 Shows - $3. I remembered 19 year-old Danny Goldberg mentioning to me that the they were the best-unsigned downtown band, so I paid the admission, went inside, and sat by the stage in what was called the Oscar Wilde Room. The Dolls came out and tore into "Personality Crisis," one of their anthems. At first I couldn't get past the sight of them. They were visually remarkable. While everybody in America were wearing army coats and earth shoes here were these 5 guys decked out in leather, leopard skin and spandex tights, with bouffant hairdo's, black nail polish, lipstick, six inch platform boots, chopped jeans, feather boa's, armbands and pantyhose. It was a style beyond femininity and thrown together in such a way as to appear natural. Then I zeroed in on their music -- loud and hard ghetto music about girls, sex, drugs, loneliness, heartbreak, and the rites of teenage romance -- real rock ‘n’ roll. I had never seen or heard anything like it and instantly knew they made everyone else look tired. One thought was spinning through my mind, "what would the world think of the Dolls indeterminable gender bending, and is this too real?" I signed on as the Dolls’ manager in June ’72 and brought in two former William Morris booking agents, Steve Leber and David Krebs, to co-manage the band. They would handle touring and I’d strategize and be the spokesman for the Dolls for fans and the record business.

What was the atmosphere like among the band members? Was there friction between junkies and non-users,etc?

As far as I could tell they got along well and were very good friends in the beginning of their run. However, drugs eventually became the issue that destroyed them.

How did your tenure with the Dolls end?

I warned the Dolls that unless they cleaned up their act and write new material their future prospects were bleak and that I wouldn’t continue on as their manager. Mercury wanted another album but only if the Dolls understood this was not just a rock ‘n’ roll party -- and that's why it's called the music business. I decided that in order to keep the ship afloat I'd take a back seat and allow Leber -- who blamed me for everything that went wrong, as if I could control their drug intake, and, as if I, or anyone else, could tame these young lads and control their testosterone levels -- to run with it. I knew it was already too late and Leber wasn't up to the task without me. He was too selfish and pathological to be a manager and the Dolls were one step beyond his comprehension. He was a good booking agent. That’s all. The Dolls were forced to revert back to the club circuit and it was a step down for them and a tough pill to swallow. Two years in the "eye of the rock hurricane," drugs and alcohol, the press backlash and management differences had taken its toll.

What did you make of the McLaren - era Dolls?

Malcolm convinced the band that he could resurrect their careers and issued a press release stating the Dolls had shelved their "paper tiger" managers Leber & Thau and the new New York Dolls would be unveiled at the Little Hippodrome Theater in New York. The Dolls, outfitted in red patent leather, with a hammer and sickle flag draped behind them, looked again like they just might happen the way so many of us hoped and believed they would. I was rooting for them for personal reasons – I liked them, they were my friends -- but also because they were still under contract to me but their resurrection was not to be. When Johnny and Jerry couldn't score dope in Florida and left for New York, leaving their band-mates, Malcolm, fans, and promoters in the lurch, it signaled the end of the band. David & Sylvain concluded it just wasn't worth it anymore if this was what they'd have to contend with. Malcolm flew back to London with his tail between his legs. However, not to be denied, and now loaded with valuable information and insights from his brief stay in NY and involvement with the Dolls and New York’s downtown artists and tastemakers, Malcolm created the Sex Pistols.

What are your thoughts on the reunion shows? Did you attend any of them?

I didn’t attend any of them but did watch their DVD. The new group is very good, and probably better than 90% of today’s bands but I still prefer the original band with Thunders, Nolan and Kane when they were at the top of their game in ’73-’74. David & Syl deserve credit for pulling it off without Thunders. It has surprised everyone.

I've seen both you and Richard Gottehrer credited as discovering Blondie - what's the story there?

Richard Gottehrer was someone I knew from the '60s when he was a partner in a production company called FGG -- Feldman, Gottehrer & Goldstein -- and wrote the 1963 Number 1 hit "My Boyfriends Back" for the Angels. Eventually he became Seymour Stein's partner at Sire Records but left to go out on his own as a producer. One evening I’m describing the CBGB scene and he said “sounds exciting, let's check it out." Richard was mind-blown and a few days later we met at his apartment to discuss how we might approach this hot new scene as a team. We became partners and Instant Records – a production company – was born. Then it was a matter of signing what we the most promising artists. Debby Harry, someone I knew from 1972 when she was dating Sylvain of the Dolls, was the first of three to join Instant. Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and Robert Gordon were the others. (Gotteher produced the first Blondie album, and went on to produce records for The Go-Go’s, The Fleshtones, Mental as Anything, and many more -Editor)

What was the time frame for your involvement with Instant?

1976 into mid-1977. Then Red Star immediately began.

How did Red Star come about? What were you doing in the interim between the Dolls and getting your label up and running?

Instant was happening but I was offered my own label by Marvin Schlacter and Stanley Hoffman, two old school '60’s promoters with a surprising instinct for taking chances on new ideas. They would finance me and underwrite Red Star Records. I sold Gottehrer my interests in Instant and moved on. Red Star would arguably be America's first post hippy punk / new wave label and I felt this was my greatest opportunity yet. There were a few other alternative labels before me but they only concentrated on releasing singles and didn’t appear to be connected to the spirit, culture and social politics of the punk revolution. I was living it minute by minute.

Whatever happened with the Heineken difficulties/lawsuit? (Summed up by Marty himself here and here) Were you ever able to come to an agreement with them?

They settled with me. I’ve allowed them to use the name Red Star Sounds but only in connection with the urban music world – no rock ‘n’ roll. They are allowed to release only a few records per year using the name Red Star Sounds.

How do you determine which artists you want to work with?

First and foremost, I must really like their music. They must be intelligent people and know who they are and what they want out of life. I’m interested in point of view – some statement of meaning from the artist I’m recording. I generally lean to what most initially consider unique artistry.

What's your take on downloading (legal or otherwise)? The impact of music downloading - good, bad, indifferent?

I believe there are more alternatives now for exposure than ever before -- like the ability of individual artists to run their own websites, where they can sell music, merchandise their wares and communicate directly with their fans. It’s safe to say that it will become increasingly possible for newly inspired entrepreneurs to market more efficiently to niche audiences utilizing the technological tools and the power of the Internet. I say good -- for anyone with the vision to realize this and take advantage of all these new possibilities.

What music do you listen to these days?

These days I’ve been listening to old country music, European punk compilations, Jazz collections, Bob Dylan, some Bossa Nova, some drum and bass music, some classical music.

What have you been up to lately?

I moved out of New York and now live in Virginia to be near my daughter and grandsons. I’m writing a screenplay, and a memoir. I’m recording an album with a singer / songwriter from the area. Christian music.

How did you hook up with him?

I was invited to speak at the Virginia Songwriter's Association. Steve Langston, the artist I'm recording, is the head of that organization.

Anything else you want to mention?

I recently licensed my NYC band compilation called “Marty Thau Presents 2 X 5” to Sanctuary Records. Now considered a garage classic, “2 X 5” was originally issued on vinyl only on Red Star in 1980 and this is the first time it is available on CD. Jimmy Destri, Blondie’s keyboard player, produced it and it features the Fleshtones, Revelons, Comateens, Bloodless Pharaohs with Brian Setzer, and the Student Teachers. I recommend it.

How did that project come together? Did you solicit the bands, or did they approach you?

Yes, I solicited the bands on 2 X 5 and then asked Jimmy Destri to produce it for my Red Star label. It was recorded and mixed in 5 nights at House of Music studios in New Jersey.

I appreciated the energy and enthusiasm of the bands I had chosen. The NY scene at that moment was getting a bit pretentious and the great punk bands of the CBGB's era had been signed. (I never really bought into the No Wave Noise scene -- the exceptions being Brian Eno's "No New York" LP, Lydia Lunch, and Arto Lindsay). I was well versed in the 2 X 5 band approach to songs from my earlier Buddah Records and Cameo-Parkway Records experience.

What prompted you to re-release it now?

With the recent renewed interest in garage music -- Little Steven's radio show and the garage concerts he promoted, etc. -- I felt it was a good time to reissue 2 X 5. Merck Mercuriadis, Chairman of Sanctuary Records, licensed it from me in a flash. It had been one of his favorite albums back in the day.