{"id":2208,"date":"2017-11-03T12:07:43","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T16:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/?p=2208"},"modified":"2017-11-09T21:30:54","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T02:30:54","slug":"the-rock-and-roll-music-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/2017\/the-rock-and-roll-music-man\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rock and Roll Music Man"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Mike Belkin, who played a major role in making Cleveland \u201cthe Rock and Roll Capital of the World,\u201d has been in the music business for more than 50 years. Photo by Mike Sands.<\/p><\/div>\n

Walking with Mike Belkin<\/strong> (ADL \u201958) through the corridors of his Chagrin Falls offices is like taking a tour of his own private Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. As he points out framed box office statements from Public Hall for a Jimi Hendrix performance, a signed letter from the Doors and posters from Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Simon & Garfunkel and Led Zeppelin concerts, he narrates colorful conversations or experiences with these renowned musicians.<\/p>\n

One humorous tale pertains to his favorite rock band of all time, the Who. One night he joined them and the James Gang for an apr\u00e8s-concert dinner at the famed Cleveland eatery Captain Frank\u2019s, at the end of the East Ninth Street Pier. As they waited for a couple of band members to arrive, Belkin sat surrounded by the young rockers still sporting their all-white costumes. Finally, Who drummer Keith Moon arrived with James Gang bass player Dale Peters. The notoriously self-destructive Moon was dripping wet, and his suit was now black. Turns out he had taken a few steps too many past the end of the pier. Fortunately, Peters saw him thrashing about in the then heavily polluted water, threw him a life preserver and yanked him out of Lake Erie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just in awe of them,\u201d Belkin admits, recalling the countless hours he hung out with rock stars and other acts he booked or managed. \u201cI got along with all of them, and I enjoyed being around creative people and entertainment professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the practices that brought success to Belkin Productions, the company he formed with his brother Jules in 1965, was their willingness to try new approaches, like the time they set up a tour for the James Gang that featured striptease artist Tempest Storm and a couple of circus acts, including a knife thrower and his assistant. Belkin even booked the show into Carnegie Hall. \u201cIn the concert business, you never know what\u2019s going to happen or who\u2019s going to buy tickets and how many will be sold,\u201d he says. \u201cSo I like to do things that are fresh and new and maybe take a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

His risk-taking paid off. \u201cA sellout concert was always very enjoyable,\u201d Belkin says, and he brought about his fair share of them. Bills headlined by such acts as the Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones filled Cleveland Municipal Stadium with 80,000-plus screaming fans at the legendary World Series of Rock\u2014daylong, multi-act summer events held from 1974 to 1980. Four consecutive sold-out performances by the Michael Stanley Band in 1982 set an attendance record at Blossom Music Center.<\/p>\n

The latter was especially sweet, since Belkin has known Michael Stanley for 50 years and has managed him for almost as long. Although the Belkin brothers sold their company to Live Nation in 2001, Belkin, now 82, remains involved in the rock and roll world, primarily as manager of the Michael Stanley Band and Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. He shares his offices with his son Michael, who heads Live Nation\u2019s Northeast Ohio operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking as a manager is extremely pleasing and fulfilling because I know they are depending on me,\u201d Belkin says. \u201cFor Michael and Donnie, it\u2019s my job to keep them busy and ensure they get paid the amount of money that I feel they can and should get. They are both first-class, solid individuals, so when they sell out or do well or make good money, that makes me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning Together<\/h3>\n

In the early 1950s, when rock and roll was still in its infancy, Belkin was a student at Cleveland Heights High School. He remembers going with his friends to catch jazz greats Buddy Rich and George Shearing at Lindsay\u2019s Sky Bar, near the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue; the club was open to minors on Sundays, when it couldn\u2019t serve liquor.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Concert poster photographed by Mike Sands<\/p><\/div>\n

By the time he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Belkin\u2019s attention had turned to becoming a professional pitching prospect in the minor leagues. He signed with the Milwaukee Braves and transferred to Whitewater State Teachers College, about an hour away from Milwaukee, where the Braves held their spring training. But after a year or so in the Double-A Leagues, riding trains or buses overnight to play games in remote small towns, the lifestyle began to wear thin. A son of the North, Belkin also found Southern segregation and the mistreatment of African American players and team personnel hard to take. So he decided to return to his native Cleveland: \u201cI loved it then and I still love it now,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Although Major League Baseball rules prevented him from continuing his playing career while attending an NCAA-certified school, Belkin enrolled at Western Reserve University in 1956 to complete his undergraduate degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cDean Cramer was very instrumental in getting me into the business college,\u201d Belkin recalls of Clarence \u201cRed\u201d Cramer, dean of Adelbert College at that time. \u201cI used to meet with him regularly, because when I transferred to WRU, I didn\u2019t have the credits necessary to pick right up at Reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

After he graduated, Belkin went to work full-time at his father\u2019s business, Belkin\u2019s Men\u2019s Store. Along with its main location on West 25th and Clark Avenue in Cleveland, the firm leased space in department stores in Painesville and Ashtabula, selling apparel and household goods. Belkin took charge of these satellite operations, driving to one or both each day from his family\u2019s apartment near Shaker Square before there were major freeways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a nice drive,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt\u2019s still a nice drive. I worked six days a week, from 9 in the morning until 6 at night, and did that for several years, until we started the concert business.\u201d<\/p>\n

That business grew out of his friendship with the storeowner at the Ashtabula location, Leroy Anderson. Although Belkin didn\u2019t care much for big band music, he saw the success his friend had promoting acts such as the Duke Ellington Band and the Louis Armstrong Band under the banner \u201cAnderson\u2019s Department Store presents …\u201d One day, after looking through the entertainment section of a Cleveland paper, he decided to explore an idea for a new enterprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther than an occasional Beach Boys or Peter, Paul and Mary show, there really is nothing happening in this market with contemporary music,\u201d he remembers saying to Anderson. \u201cWhy don\u2019t we try to do something and see what happens?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson agreed and asked what he wanted to do first. Belkin enjoyed the Four Freshmen, so he called their record company, which referred him to their booking agent. He learned that he would have to pay the group $1,500 and find an opening act as well. Unfazed, Belkin booked the New Christy Minstrels, and he and Jules scheduled two shows in the 3,000-seat Music Hall at Cleveland\u2019s Public Auditorium for February 5, 1966. After the first show, it looked like they were about $60 down. But after the second, they wound up making $60.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Belkin was presented with a gold record of James Gang Rides Again, which sold $1 million worth of copies during the mid-1970s. He became the James Gang\u2019s manager at the invitation of its drummer and organist, Jimmy Fox. Photo by Mike Sands.<\/p><\/div>\n

It wasn\u2019t an overwhelming success, but they weren\u2019t discouraged. Their first real setback came when the Mamas and the Papas canceled on the day of their show\u2014twice. Their excuse? Mama Cass was sick. But the Belkin brothers learned later that \u201csick\u201d meant she had a substance abuse problem. They had to refund all of the tickets plus eat the deposit for the reserved venue. The fiasco endangered their reputation and left them wondering why they had gotten into the music promotion business.<\/p>\n

Their fortunes turned, however, when Anderson connected them to George Wein, the impresario responsible for the Newport Jazz Festival and other major concert events. Just weeks after the Hough riots, the Belkin brothers sold out the Northeast Ohio Jazz Festival at the Cleveland Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe divided the profits, so George got $5,000, Leroy got $2,500 and the Belkins got $2,500,\u201d Belkin recalls. \u201cThat was pretty much the start of Belkin Productions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In those early days, Mike focused on booking the acts, while Jules oversaw the actual productions and the accounting. Soon they were promoting acts such as Johnny Carson, Liza Minnelli, Sonny & Cher and the Smothers Brothers.<\/p>\n

Belkin didn\u2019t mind that these clients weren\u2019t rock and roll entertainers. \u201cThose were all artists who I always liked, and I enjoyed being on the road with them and booked quite a few dates for them around the country,\u201d he says. \u201cThey all became good friends, and I loved watching these professionals work.\u201d<\/p>\n

A couple of years later, Jimmy Fox, drummer and organist for the James Gang, visited Belkin and asked if he would consider becoming their manager. Belkin said he couldn\u2019t answer until he spent some time with the band members. \u201cI got to know Joe Walsh, then Dale Peters,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI liked all of them, and they were easy to work with. I liked their music and felt they had a good future.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Mike knew the business angles, how to negotiate and promote so we would get better deals,\u201d recalls Peters, who lives in Cleveland. \u201cHe\u2019s a sharp guy and does his homework, but at that time, we were all learning together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Mike, the Belkins gave Cleveland a reputation for breaking new, upcoming acts such as David Bowie. \u201cI brought a lot of people to Cleveland that would not have otherwise come back then,\u201d he says. \u201cI stayed in contact with the international agents to keep up with what was happening in music. And it\u2019s pretty hard to keep secrets about guys like Bowie, who are just unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of the Belkin brothers\u2019 business savvy, affable personalities and consummate professionalism, rock acts worldwide wanted to sign on with them, making Cleveland a necessary stop on their American tours. The Belkins\u2019 success\u2014along with that of their close partners WMMS-FM 100.7 and radio and business guru Milton Maltz\u2014enabled Cleveland to acquire a reputation as \u201cthe Rock and Roll Capital of the World.\u201d That eventually set the stage for the city to become the site of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened in 1995.<\/p>\n

Quite a Ride<\/h3>\n

Today, managing Michael Stanley\u2019s and Donnie Iris\u2019 bands keeps Belkin busy. Stanley calls him \u201cone of my dearest friends in the entire world\u201d and says, \u201cPeople who are fans of the Michael Stanley Band should know that if it weren\u2019t for Mike Belkin, there wouldn\u2019t have been any band to be a fan of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belkin started managing Iris and his group in 1980, so they\u2019ve also shared ample unforgettable experiences, including the parties Belkin occasionally throws at his house for his bands and their families. \u201cI just enjoy the camaraderie,\u201d he says. \u201cAnybody and everybody I manage, I truly love and enjoy spending time with, seeing their concerts. In my heart, I have to like everyone that I manage. I can\u2019t manage someone I don\u2019t like, even if they\u2019re a great musician.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Concert poster photographed by Mike Sands<\/p><\/div>\n

For his part, Iris treasures the time at a restaurant when he offhandedly remarked that he admired Belkin\u2019s wristwatch. He received it in the mail a few days later. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time, but the short of it is he\u2019s just a kind, great human being,\u201d declares Iris, 74. \u201cHe\u2019s been behind us since the beginning, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s still my manager. It\u2019s been quite a ride, and we love him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belkin has also deployed his skills as a manager outside the music business. He and his wife, Annie, are premier collectors of contemporary glass art. They learned everything they could about it from prominent artists they befriended, and before long Belkin was managing the careers of three of them: Paul J. Stankard, William Carlson and Steven Weinberg. He also became close friends with a fourth artist, Henry Halem, who founded the glass program at Kent State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike is a very sweet guy, very open and very giving,\u201d says Halem. \u201cHe took advice very well and built a collection that was second to none.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six years ago, the Belkins donated 64 glass paperweights created by Stankard to the Akron Art Museum, which exhibits them in a permanent, rotating display. Other works from their collection are on loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass and the Corning Museum of Glass.<\/p>\n

Belkin recently completed a memoir with Cleveland author Carlo Wolff, who specializes in jazz and music history. The title\u2014Mike Belkin: Socks, Sports, Rock and Art\u2014<\/em>alludes to his work in the family retail business, his stint in professional baseball, his accomplishments as a concert promoter and manager, and his glass collecting. Out of all these aspects of his life, he devotes the most space to his success launching the careers of major acts from Aerosmith and Bowie to Springsteen and Queen.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelkin Productions had a huge impact on Cleveland,\u201d he concludes. \u201cMusic is meant to entertain, and this is very important. I made a lot of people walk away from a concert with a smile on their face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christopher Johnston is a freelance journalist, playwright and director. <\/em><\/p>\n

For details about Mike Belkin\u2019s memoir, visit <\/em>http:\/\/belkinstory.com\/press\/<\/a><\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walking with Mike Belkin<\/strong> (ADL \u201958) through the corridors of his Chagrin Falls offices is like taking a tour of his own private Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. …Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":2306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artscimedia.case.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/147\/2017\/11\/07185617\/belkin_0385_thumbnail2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2309,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions\/2309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}