Leigh:
So? It was industry standard... Sun Records, Chess, Motown, ALL Reggae, early 60s white R&B... Jimi Hendrix never received ONE PENNY for "Are You Experienced", thanks to Yameta Productions, an offshore(Bahamas) company, before his move to the Polydor label.
Yes, I think that John Hammond should be seen in the same terms as the Chess brothers.
Hammond may have been right about her manager/friend... There's absolutely nothing here to indicate otherwise. Junkies attract junkies, you know? It sounds like he was worried about her reputation, career, and future... that was his job.
No, he was worried about his high society friend risking scandal, not protecting Billie Holiday. Here's what I posted from Hammond's memoir, to refresh your memory. It was not contained in the Kofsky excerpt. "I couldn't wait to bring Billie Holiday to Cafe Society. It was the perfect place for her to sing to a new audience with the kind of jazz players who brought out her best. Unfortunately, her appearances were not the success they could have been, and they proved to be the end of my association with Billie's career. She was heavily involved with narcotics, and she had hired as her manager a woman from a distinguished family I knew well. I was concerned that she and her family *might be hurt by unsavory gossip*, or even blackmailed by the gangsters and dope pushers Billie knew." Hurt by unsavory gossip? This is the Vanderbilt in him speaking.
