Continuing into the 70's
There were many perks at Go Magazine. Records, Lots of records.
The editorial job was to review music. Each day , slews of 45 RPM
records were delivered. So many that, there was an overflow.
I loved the music, and as this blog pertains to art, I used the records, as art,
in a creative way. After listening to the 45's, I tacked them on my bedroom wall
end to end, from floor to ceiling. Beneath the Records The wall was pale blue,
with clouds painted on it.
The records on the wall over the clouds gave an illusion
of a Giant Gate . It was rather Cool.
Whenever I wanted to listen to a 45, record , I would replace it with another one.
As I said there were a lot of records.
Not only were there 45's , but Albums too. I hope I'm not losing the MP3 crowd. :)
There were amazing albums, promotional copies that no one wanted,
Jimi Hendrix Electric Lady Land, , The Who, Ten Years After, Chameleon Church,
Yes, Chameleon Church,with Chevy Chase. I collected everything. I had an eclectic taste.
I only wish I had some of those today.
I was a Yuppie, or a Yumpie in the 80's, and moved for work, too much,alas,
so went the record albums. More of the 80's in future blogs.
As the popularity of Go Magazine grew, so did the influx of mail, and packages from record companies. Lorraine Alterman, kept a good handle on things in the Editorial Department.
She was an excellent editor, with a hard working staff.
My dark room wasn't a dungeon, but a large room, right between the Editorial, and the
Production Departments, I was in the middle of how a publication was produced.
A wonderful learning experience, and yet, I was left alone to produce the visuals for
the publication.
Speaking of Visuals, I mentioned yesterday, that I created an Esquire Socks monthly
comic strip. It was well received. Joe asked me to try something for Royal Crown Cola.
I created some characters, drew a few strips, on spec. (unfortunately, I misplaced some
of my earlier 60's cartoons, so I can't display them here.) The Royal Crown, did not fly.
I was full of ideas.
I asked Joe, if I could do something with records. I told him, my idea, and he said, sure,
but you realize, this will be on spec, no money, I said, OK.
I chose 3 popular records of the time. Good Morning Starshine, from the Broadway show
"Hair", Shel Siverstein's, "A Boy Named Sue", and "Working on A Groovy Thing", which was a
R&B song from GO Magazines affiliate publication R&B World.
I played the records over and over, I took notes, jotted down the lyrics, and made sketches.
The "Good Morning Starshine", played out in my head as the end of the world, ( just follow the lyrics.) "A Boy Named Sue", I followed the story line, but added a twist to the end, and "Working on a Groovy Thing" was the creation of a Frankenstein monster, only Hip.
I drew them up, brought them in, showed Joe. Joe showed them to the record companies.
I have mentioned Joe Coleman quite a bit, since he gave me my first opportunity to create cartoons professionally, but I would be remiss, if I did not thank Ruby Mazur.
Ruby Mazur, was the Art Director of Go Magazine, he gave it the look , the style, and it's feel.
He also, gave me a chance to show my ability to create cartoons. An artist needs direction, and a good Art Director, can set an artist on the right path. Ruby had that ability, and he did it with a gentle manner. It's nice to hear that Ruby found success, although, he was destined for it
Congratulations Ruby!.
My Rock & Roll cartoons were printed, with one stipulation. We could not use the title of the songs in the strips.
Apparently, to create a weekly comic strip about songs, would be impossible.
First , there would have to be an OK from the author of the song, then the artist, then
the record company, and so on.
Besides, who really would ever want to see visualizations of music anyway?
That was one comment I heard in 1969.
Flash ahead for a moment to the 80's,
a new television program begins, with the visualization
of rock music, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
Was Go Magazine ahead of itself?
Yes, in many ways it was, with a great bank of talent.
What happened to Go Magazine?
Continued tomorrow, or perhaps Monday,
as I search for the missing Visuals.
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