The last few times I have seen this newly listed on ebay, it disappears. What is the deal with this set, that ebay would pull it? I realize it's a bootleg, but so is What You Been A-Missin, and that one doesn't get pulled. Is there big mystery? I can't very well bid on it if it keeps "going away".

...must...have...more...Buddy...

Hey, Julie...

I've gotta tell you, The Music Never Died isn't that big of a thrill. The only worthwhile thing I found on that CD/DVD set is the actual taped conversation between Buddy Holly and Paul Cohen, the president of Decca Records. And it's the most frustrating 6 minutes of tape I ever heard---it's like standing in the background and listening to a used car salesman ripping off your little brother, while you are powerless to help him. It's kind of gut-wrenching.

And, again, I say, why go through the hassle and expense of buying a whole friggin' bootleg album, just to get one rare track? I'll load the phone conversation to my FTP site, and I'll post a link here in a little while, so anybody can hear it for free.

Okay, here's a freebie you may (or may not) enjoy... This is the tape recording that Buddy Holly made of his phone call to Paul Cohen, the president of Decca Records, in February 1957:

Buddy Holly Phone Call to Paul Cohen

A little detail on this tape... Buddy first tries to call Milt Gabler, the vice president of Decca, but Gabler is unavailable. So, Buddy then goes straight to the top and calls Paul Cohen, president.

The phone number Buddy gives right at the beginning --- Porter 31617 --- is not Milt Gabler's number, it's Jerry Allison's (and no, that's not a valid phone number anymore). So we know Buddy was calling from the Allison house, and Jerry undoubtedly knew that Buddy had set up the recording equipment there to record this phone call...probably for use in legal proceedings later, if necessary.

NOTE: You will realize very quickly that Paul Cohen is trying to play games with Buddy's head---oh, there's NO WAY Decca is gonna release those songs, but Decca MIGHT release the songs, but you can't re-record the songs, but if you send me some more demos, I'll see what I can do... That kind of crapola. Typical double-talking music industry executive.

But, before your eyes start watering up for poor, poor Buddy, keep this in mind: Buddy is lying to Paul Cohen... Cohen is suspicious and asks Buddy if he has already re-recorded any of the songs in question, and Buddy innocently answers No, sir...

Fact is, even as they are talking, Buddy is sitting on his final version of "That'll Be The Day," re-recorded in Clovis without Decca's knowledge, and far superior to anything he had cut in Nashville. He was just looking for a way to release it.

Buddy's reasons for making this phone call were two-fold:

1.) To find out if Decca had let his brief contract expire---if they had dropped him, for sure, then Buddy would know he was a free agent.

2.) To find out if Decca would release the recording rights to the Nashville sessions---if Cohen would release the rights, then Buddy could take his new, improved That'll Be The Day to any recording label he wanted (definitely not Decca).

If Cohen would not release the recording rights, then Buddy would implement Plan B... Which is what happened.

Not long after this depressing phone call, Buddy released That'll Be The Day through Brunswick Records, and it took off like a rocket on the pop charts. This was a slap in the face to Paul Cohen---not only did Cohen have to eat crow about the quality of the music, but there was nobody for him to sue... Brunswick was a division of Decca!

WARNING: Listening to this tape is going to piss you off. But, if you remember that Buddy is setting this guy up, it makes it worthwhile.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charles Austin,

Wow. Thank you for adding that link. Thank you thank you. That was amazing. What struck me throughout the conversation that although Buddy would sometimes cut Paul Cohen off or he would almost get to the tone of voice that said 'listen to me you idiot', he would always end with "sir". His tone of voice certainly is not laid back, and it sounds different than when we hear it in interviews or just before or just after he's on stage, but I love his voice all the same. It sounds thicker, like he's trying to sound older. He was ahead of his time, and he died before his time, so I guess, in retrospect, it was understandable that he was trying to be older. *sad smile.*

Wow, that was awesome. Thanks for posting it!

i listened to the phone call, and didn't get 'pissed off' at all. because cohen, while admittedly a consumate jerk, was only doing what ANY record company executive would do after having sunk money into a project that hadn't been released yet - he refused to agree to reliquish all rights to it. there is nothing unusual about that. buddy was naive to think that a record company would give him the rights to all the songs back after having just sunk money into recording them.

on this phone call, buddy was not getting ripped off. cohen was just protecting the rights of his company to postpone any decision about what to do with the material. anyone else would do exactly the same thing. typically, you have what's called a reversion clause, where if nothing happens on a given song or group of songs within X-amount of time, then the rights revert to the writer or artist. there may even have been a reversion clause in the contract with decca. but the point is that no record company will go against its own self-interest, any more than a person will. these type of contingencies are all spelled out in a given contract - if this happens, you have this right, if that happens, i have that right. it's all pretty basic.

however, it was poetic justice that buddy was signed to brunswick soon after that call.

paul cohen once called buddy "the biggest no-talent i've ever worked with".

and forty five years later, almost no one knows who paul cohen even was....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jerry,