By Laura Medina
Joyce Bogart-Trabulus said of course, the fashion in musical drama, "Spinning Gold," of her story with Neal Bogart, founder of Casablanca Records was awesome because she and him set the trends in music, which in turn, set the fashion trends for everybody else to follow.
That infamous John Travolta white suit with black shirt, Casablanca Records' Neil Bogart set that when he was running the label, chasing after talent then promoting them at clubs.
The drama of his life, "Spinning Gold" gives where credit is due.
He was the man who spotted, signed, then promoted the heck out of Isley Brothers, Edwin Hawkins Singers' "Oh, Happy Day," KISS, Donna Summers, and The Village People.
As Jason Isaac says, Neil Bogart gave us the soundtrack of our lives during the pivotal late Sixties thru the Seventies.
Neil's lover-mistress-turned second wife, Joyce, took it upon herself to be KISS' manager, from teaching them how to apply their iconic makeup then designing and styling their iconic costumes.
Neil had his finger on demographics, that "zeitgeist." What others call "having his finger on the pulse."
"Spinning Gold" shows the little things that define and directed Neil's tread forecasting then marketing. When he spotted that KISS' earliest fans were tween and teenaged boy misfits who saw themselves in KISS, in order to save KISS, Neil market to the fan base with the now recognizable KISS merchandising of lunch boxes, t-shirts, and bubblegum (this ugly duckling scribe used to chew KISS Bubble Gum with KISS trading cards).
Hint, hint, Gene Simmons business acumen came from Neil.
Alright, Joyce had this story of a soaring Gene Simmons always hitting on her female secretaries, that she had to hire a male secretary to make Gene quit hitting on her assistants.
How's that for stopping sexual harassment?
Even though the fashion was so stylish that it's considered classics now a days, "Spinning Gold" should one of those movies about the music business. The one that one should watch for, in how to deal in the music business, vinyl and streaming.
Folks should watch for the little details that Neil had a knack for, in discovering then promoting talent.
Neil's instincts were so on point, that his discoveries become legends like KISS; and the songs that came from his discoveries, The Village People's "YMCA" and Donna Summer's Disco hits, transcended the era they defined into pop music enduring classics.
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