Podcasts about Franzese

Former top Mafia member, Michael Franzese, joins Pastor Greg Laurie to share one of the most captivating stories ever discussed on this podcast. Hear everything, from which movies truly replicate the real-life mafia, to the highs and lows of Franzese's faith. When Jesus came into that prison of Franzese's, his life completely turned for the better. It's a story of how nobody is beyond God's reach. Listen in! --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former top Mafia member, Michael Franzese, joins Pastor Greg Laurie to share one of the most captivating stories ever discussed on this podcast. Hear everything, from which movies truly replicate the real-life mafia, to the highs and lows of Franzese's faith. When Jesus came into that prison of Franzese's, his life completely turned for the better. It's a story of how nobody is beyond God's reach. Listen in! --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Maher sits down with former Colombo crime family capo, podcaster, and best-selling author Michael Franzese for a fascinating exploration of organized crime, current politics, and America's shifting cultural landscape. From comparing Mafia code to modern government maneuvering, to dissecting the psychology of leaders, the two dive headlong into the forces shaping American life. Franzese shares candid reflections on his days running lucrative schemes (and why he ultimately walked away), while Bill challenges the notion of how power truly works. They also swap favorite scenes from The Godfather and Goodfellas, delve into Franzese's religious awakening, how lessons from the mob world can translate into navigating business, politics, and personal relationships. Get ready for a raw, riveting sit-down that blurs the lines between comedy, true crime, and social commentary. Go to https://www.RadioactiveMedia.com or text RANDOM at 511511 to save up to 50%, today! Get started at https://www.factormeals.com/random50off and use code random50off to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. Follow Club Random on IG: @ClubRandomPodcast Follow Bill on IG: @BillMaher Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/ClubRandom Watch Club Random on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ClubRandomYouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael & Miquelle Franzese: Leaving The Mob for God | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, we sit down with Michael Franzese, a former captain of the Colombo crime family, who once ranked among the most powerful mob bosses in America. Known for his business acumen and ability to navigate the dangerous waters of organized crime, Michael left behind a life of corruption and violence, defying the odds by walking away without entering witness protection. Today, he is a man of faith, an author, and a motivational speaker, using his experiences to inspire hope and change in others.Joining Michael is his daughter, Miquelle Franzese, who shares her perspective on growing up with a father whose past was marked by crime and redemption. Miquelle opens up about her family's journey through challenges, faith, and healing. She reflects on the resilience it takes to rebuild relationships and the role her father's transformation has played in her life.Michael shares his journey from being one of Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Mob Bosses" to becoming a devoted family man and servant of God. He discusses how faith, forgiveness, and perseverance helped him leave the mob life behind and find a greater purpose. Miquelle offers unique insights into navigating a family dynamic shaped by her father's complicated history, highlighting the impact of faith and love in overcoming challenges.This episode also delves into sensitive topics like addiction, the opioid crisis, mental health struggles, and grief, as well as the struggles of self-forgiveness and finding purpose after a life of regret.This conversation is a testament to the power of second chances, the strength of family, and the hope that faith can provide. Whether you're looking for inspiration, insight, or a reminder of the human capacity for change, this episode is a must-watch.Follow us on all our social media platforms down belowINSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics/?igshid=Mzc1MmZhNjY%3DSPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4diCrlmIyqrkE2e22mFgU1?si=2df7f5920f944098FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thehopeaholicspodcast/TREATMENT : https://www.hopebythesea.com

Intervista con Michele Franzese, l'ideatore della Rome Future Week per anticipare tutti i dettagli di questa seconda edizione: dal 16 al 22 settembre centinaia di eventi diffusi nella capitale per parlare di futuro e innovazione. Una chiacchierata per scoprire i temi, gli argomenti di questa manifestazione destinata a tutti e a tutte. Maggiori info e

He was made an offer he couldn't refuse. From medical student to the most profitable mobster since Al Capone, this is the real story of the hidden mafia life. Michael Franzese is an American former mafia member who served as a caporegime in the Colombo crime family. He is the best-selling author of books such as, ‘Blood Covenant' and ‘I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse: Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss'. In this conversation, Michael and Steven discuss topics such as, how Michael ran the world's biggest scam, how his father got him into the mafia, the reason Michael left a life of crime, and his experience of 21 months and 7 days in solitary confinement. (00:00) Intro (02:25) Who is Michael Franzese? (04:27) Inside a Mafia Family (06:32) My Dad Was A Mafia UnderBoss (10:35) How the Mafia Family is Structured (12:10) The History of the Colombo Family (17:33) Mafia Family Wars (18:50) What Happens at a Mafia Sitdown? (20:51) How the Mafia Decides Who Lives and Who Dies (21:20) Franzese's Dad In Prison (23:30) Joining the Mafia: How Michael Franzese Became a Made Man (30:34) My Dad Was Involved in 35 Murders (33:56) How Does The Mafia Kill People? (36:15) Is There Mafia Training? What It Takes to Join (39:49) Choosing The Mafia Over My Loved Ones (40:56) The Mafia's Manipulation Tactics (43:15) Business Lessons from the Mafia (44:58) How I Made Millions with the Gas Station Scam (52:02) Swearing the Mafia Oath (53:43) Why I Joined the Mafia (55:18) Mafia Members: Killers vs Rule Followers (57:52) Do We All Have the Instinct to Kill? (59:51) How Seeing a Dead Body Changed My Life Forever (01:05:20) “He Had To Kill His Father” (01:09:31) The Moment My Dad Betrayed Me (01:14:25) Was All the Money Illegal? (01:15:33) How Mafia Life Helped My Business Success (01:16:56) When Does Everything Come Crashing Down? (01:21:51) How Easy Is It to Order a Murder in the Mafia (01:23:53) Money Rules in the Mafia (01:29:24) How the FBI Tracked My Bank Accounts (01:30:31) Where I Hid My Mafia Money (01:33:48) What It's Really Like Behind Bars (01:35:55) “I Was Kept in Solitary Confinement” (01:38:24) How I Survived Solitary Confinement Without Losing My Mind (01:42:46) How Power Is Maintained in the Mob (01:44:36) My Dad Didn't Stand Up for Me (01:49:10) Reconnecting with My Father After Betrayal (01:52:42) The Mafia Stories I Can't Tell (01:54:31) What I Struggle with (01:55:51) What Do People Want To Know About You? (01:59:24) Micromanaging (02:03:08) The Last Guest Question (02:05:30) Michael Franzese's Closing Message to the Audience Follow Michael:  YouTube - https://g2ul0.app.link/iOcSgJkX4Lb  Twitter - https://g2ul0.app.link/dXbcRafX4Lb  Instagram - https://g2ul0.app.link/pRuoUtiX4Lb  You can buy Michael's book, ‘I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse', here: https://g2ul0.app.link/JDOamnFm5Lb  Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACEpisodes  My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' is out now - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACBook  You can purchase the The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards: Second Edition, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb  Follow me: https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb  Sponsors: Linkedin Ads: https://www.linkedin.com/doac24 Colgate - https://www.colgate.com/en-gb/colgate-total Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we chat with Tone Franzese, whose journey has taken him from Wall Street to corporate health and tech sales. Tone shares his story, including a transformative three-month solo backpacking trip across Southeast Asia that reshaped his perspective on life and work.Tune in as Tone talks about:- His early career in the high-stakes environment of Wall Street.- The challenges and growth that come with switching industries.- How traveling alone changed his outlook on life.- Balancing career ambitions with family life.- The importance of facing and overcoming adversity.- Parenting insights and personal growth.Whether you're looking for inspiration, career advice, or just a good story, this episode offers something valuable. Join us for a candid conversation about embracing change and following your passions. Music Credit: Clean Break by Density & Time

GGB GANGGGG :) Michael Franzese was one of the most notorious mob bosses of the 80s. After 10 years in prison, this former “Prince of the Mafia” is now a man on a mission for the King of Kings. Michael's amazing story and engaging delivery has brought record attendance to events all over the country. Michael's story is a modern-day Damascus Road experience, from his early days in the Mob and rise to power to God's leading him to do the unthinkable: quit the Mob and follow Jesus. In fact, Nobody of Franzese's rank had ever just walked away – and lived. Until now. Michael's compelling story of transformation is featured in his autobiography, Blood Covenant. He has also written several other books including This Thing Of Ours, and The Good, the Bad, and the Forgiven. He has appeared widely in both Christian and secular high-profile media, including The 700 Club, Life magazine, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, GQ, The Today Show, Fox News, Fortune magazine, 48 Hours, NBC Nightly News, and many others. we're so grateful for voices like Michael's who praise Jesus in places He's not welcome. we love you guys so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari if you'd like to support Girls Gone Bible

The podcast is one year old today! It's hard to believe it's been a year already, but thank you everyone for your support! To celebrate, I've invited a very special guest on. Cassandra Franzese is the principal of MESA Charter High School in Buschwick, Brooklyn. She's also a mother of 1 (very adorable little baby). And she's my wife! TOPICS COVERED: How does being a teacher and principal inform the way that you're a parent? Is having a baby hard? The difficulty of being a working parent and having to go to an office every day Having a rigid work schedule How having a kid can help you change your relationship with work  How to balance everything Tips for self care Being a parent in the education space Switching gender roles in a relationship The impact we have on our kids psyche Advice for ambitious women that want to focus on career and family Advice for parents with rigid works schedules in an office Best advice you've ever received  Advice for your former self  Advice for me EPISODE LINKS: Cassandra's LinkedIn SHOW LINKS: contact: ⁠⁠successfulworkingparents@gmail.com⁠⁠ Linktree:⁠ ⁠https://linktr.ee/successfulworkingparents⁠⁠  Musical credit: Hippie Beatnix (ID 1913) by Lobo Loco CC-by-nc-nd

MICHAEL FRANZESE UK TOUR TICKETS: http://tiny.cc/MF-remademan Download EarnIn today! https://www.earnin.com/home-new/ Spelled “E” “A” “R” “N” “I” “N” in the Google play or Apple app store. When you download the EarnIn app type in Shaun Attwood under PODCAST when you sign up – it'll really help the show. Shaun Attwood under PODCAST. Go to our SPONSOR AURA https://aura.com/shaunattwood to get a 14 day free trial and see if your personal information has been leaked online.

The best and quickest way to affluence is to stay out of the mob consciousness. We all know mob consciousness, it's when we follow the mob. Getting out of mob consciousness is not as easy as it seems. Recently, metaphysical teacher Cathy Norman shared, “I was thinking to myself, “I'm so glad that I don't belong to any mob consciousness. They are so divisive. They are so ridiculous. And they live in the idea of us versus them… And then my Higher Self helped me to see that by not liking them and harshly judging them I was becoming one of them.” Jesus' example is the best method to stay out of the fear-based thoughts of the mob. “What does it matter to you what others are doing? You—follow me.”  On this episode, Darrell and Ed encourage listeners to forget the urge to jump on the bandwagon and stay true to your mission: to express love.. And, during the second segment, Jolly Johnny Franzese and Judicious Joel Freeman share the benefits of staying out of the mob with today's reading, “God's Loving Care”. Help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/funniestthing Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing: https://www.unitylansing.org/ Subscribe to receive an inspiring daily reading from Joyce Kramer: https://www.joycekramerministries.com

GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Jack Hibbs is the senior and founding pastor of the 10,000-member Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Southern California. He is also the host of the nationally syndicated TV and radio program Real Life, and his daily media programs reach millions worldwide. Jack and his wife, Lisa, have two adult daughters and three grandchildren. GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: Katie has been a civil litigator for over 20 years, first in New Zealand and then in Australia. As a generalist civil litigator at first, Katie cut her teeth in employment, medico-legal, regulatory disputes and all jurisdictional courts work before specialising in class actions and large matters.   GUEST 3 OVERVIEW: Dan Franzese, a candidate for US Congress in Florida's 22nd district, has signed the Re-Declaration of Independence.  

Mob Boss Turns to Christ with Michael FranzeseFor more information visit pastorvlad.org

For those listeners out there that would like to learn a little more about me, here is an episode of me being interviewed on the Own Your Work podcast with Sonja Holmes. We talk about my journey from Wall Street to the Wellness industry. How I use meditation. Why I quit my job and moved to Thailand. And much more! EPISODE LINKS linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonjaholmesrecruiting/ instagram: @sonjaonthemic website:https://www.sonjaholmes.com/ SHOW LINKS: contact: ⁠successfulworkingparents@gmail.com⁠ Linktree:⁠ ⁠https://linktr.ee/successfulworkingparents⁠⁠ 

Known as the “biggest money earner in the mob since Al Capone,” Michael Franzese grew up as the son of the notorious Underboss of the Colombo crime family. Michael's story is nothing short of extraordinary. He's the only high-ranking figure from a major crime family to walk away without protective custody and live. We welcomed Michael back to the RUN GPG Podcast again for a third time to talk about his riveting life and the very intriguing parallels and applications between the world of organized crime in the mafia and entrepreneurship and business. We covered the following topics: The Secret To Longevity Is ... Join The Mafia The Machiavellian Philosophy Weaponizing The Justice System Ray Liotta & Henry Hill Giuliani Wanted To Put Me In Prison For 100 Years From Enemies To Friends Is John Gotti Responsible For The Downfall Of The Mob? The "Hit" On Paul Castellano  What Is The "Mafia Commission"?  Franzese Will Get Whacked!  Why The Witness Protection Program Was Created Frank Sinatra's Mob Connection Was The Mafia Responsible For JFK's Assassination? "There's No Such Thing As The Mafia" - J. Edgar Hoover Where Is Jimmy Hoffa's Body? Marlon Brando & The Godfather The Godfather & Lessons For Leaders The Easiest Sports To Fix Franzese Wines They Won't Let Me In Canada! The Importance Of Gratitude From A Former Mob Boss  The "Son Of Sam" Murders

Megyn Kelly is joined by Michael Franzese, former top Mafia member and host of the YouTube show "Sitdown with Michael Franzese," to talk about growing up in a Mafia family, deciding to join the "life" himself, his relationship with his family then and now, how Rudy Giuliani put him in prison in a racketeering case, his evolving relationship with the former NYC mayor, how they became closer after the prosecution, planning his exit from the Mafia, Donnie Brasco, Goodfellas, and The Godfather and how similar they are to the actual Mafia, the connections between Hollywood actors and mobsters, how he found God after being handed a Bible by a prison guard, lessons he's learned and the way he lives his life now, talking to the police vs. his time in prison, how he got involved in making films, connection between Mafia and Hollywood, life lessons and his redemption story, and more.More from Franzese: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelfranzese Follow The Megyn Kelly Show on all social platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MegynKellyTwitter: http://Twitter.com/MegynKellyShowInstagram: http://Instagram.com/MegynKellyShowFacebook: http://Facebook.com/MegynKellyShow Find out more information at: https://www.devilmaycaremedia.com/megynkellyshow

Episode 170 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at "Astral Weeks", the early solo career of Van Morrison, and the death of Bert Berns.  Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-minute bonus episode available, on "Stoned Soul Picnic" by Laura Nyro. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Errata At one point I, ridiculously, misspeak the name of Charles Mingus' classic album. Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is not about dinner ladies. Also, I say Warren Smith Jr is on "Slim Slow Slider" when I meant to say Richard Davis (Smith is credited in some sources, but I only hear acoustic guitar, bass, and soprano sax on the finished track). Resources As usual, I've created Mixcloud playlists, with full versions of all the songs excerpted in this episode. As there are so many Van Morrison songs in this episode, the Mixcloud is split into three parts, one, two, and three. The information about Bert Berns comes from Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues by Joel Selvin. I've used several biographies of Van Morrison. Van Morrison: Into the Music by Ritchie Yorke is so sycophantic towards Morrison that the word “hagiography” would be, if anything, an understatement. Van Morrison: No Surrender by Johnny Rogan, on the other hand, is the kind of book that talks in the introduction about how the author has had to avoid discussing certain topics because of legal threats from the subject. Howard deWitt's Van Morrison: Astral Weeks to Stardom is over-thorough in the way some self-published books are, while Clinton Heylin's Can You Feel the Silence? is probably the best single volume on the artist. Information on Woodstock comes from Small Town Talk by Barney Hoskyns. Ryan Walsh's Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968 is about more than Astral Weeks, but does cover Morrison's period in and around Boston in more detail than anything else. The album Astral Weeks is worth hearing in its entirety. Not all of the music on The Authorized Bang Collection is as listenable, but it's the most complete collection available of everything Morrison recorded for Bang. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before we start, a quick warning -- this episode contains discussion of organised crime activity, and of sudden death. It also contains excerpts of songs which hint at attraction to underage girls and discuss terminal illness. If those subjects might upset you, you might want to read the transcript rather than listen to the episode. Anyway, on with the show. Van Morrison could have been the co-writer of "Piece of My Heart". Bert Berns was one of the great collaborators in the music business, and almost every hit he ever had was co-written, and he was always on the lookout for new collaborators, and in 1967 he was once again working with Van Morrison, who he'd worked with a couple of years earlier when Morrison was still the lead singer of Them. Towards the beginning of 1967 he had come up with a chorus, but no verse. He had the hook, "Take another little piece of my heart" -- Berns was writing a lot of songs with "heart" in the title at the time -- and wanted Morrison to come up with a verse to go with it. Van Morrison declined. He wasn't interested in writing pop songs, or in collaborating with other writers, and so Berns turned to one of his regular collaborators, Jerry Ragavoy, and it was Ragavoy who added the verses to one of the biggest successes of Berns' career: [Excerpt: Erma Franklin, "Piece of My Heart"] The story of how Van Morrison came to make the album that's often considered his masterpiece is intimately tied up with the story we've been telling in the background for several episodes now, the story of Atlantic Records' sale to Warners, and the story of Bert Berns' departure from Atlantic. For that reason, some parts of the story I'm about to tell will be familiar to those of you who've been paying close attention to the earlier episodes, but as always I'm going to take you from there to somewhere we've never been before. In 1962, Bert Berns was a moderately successful songwriter, who had written or co-written songs for many artists, especially for artists on Atlantic Records. He'd written songs for Atlantic artists like LaVern Baker, and when Atlantic's top pop producers Leiber and Stoller started to distance themselves from the label in the early sixties, he had moved into production as well, writing and producing Solomon Burke's big hit "Cry to Me": [Excerpt: Solomon Burke, "Cry to Me"] He was the producer and writer or co-writer of most of Burke's hits from that point forward, but at first he was still a freelance producer, and also produced records for Scepter Records, like the Isley Brothers' version of "Twist and Shout", another song he'd co-written, that one with Phil Medley. And as a jobbing songwriter, of course his songs were picked up by other producers, so Leiber and Stoller produced a version of his song "Tell Him" for the Exciters on United Artists: [Excerpt: The Exciters, "Tell Him"] Berns did freelance work for Leiber and Stoller as well as the other people he was working for. For example, when their former protege Phil Spector released his hit version of "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah", they got Berns to come up with a knockoff arrangement of "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?", released as by Baby Jane and the Rockabyes, with a production credit "Produced by Leiber and Stoller, directed by Bert Berns": [Excerpt: Baby Jane and the Rockabyes, "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?"] And when Leiber and Stoller stopped producing work for United Artists, Berns took over some of the artists they'd been producing for the label, like Marv Johnson, as well as producing his own new artists, like Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, who had been discovered by Berns' friend Jerry Ragovoy, with whom he co-wrote their "Cry Baby": [Excerpt: Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters, "Cry Baby"] Berns was an inveterate collaborator. He was one of the few people to get co-writing credits with Leiber and Stoller, and he would collaborate seemingly with everyone who spoke to him for five minutes. He would also routinely reuse material, cutting the same songs time and again with different artists, knowing that a song must be a hit for *someone*. One of his closest collaborators was Jerry Wexler, who also became one of his best friends, even though one of their earliest interactions had been when Wexler had supervised Phil Spector's production of Berns' "Twist and Shout" for the Top Notes, a record that Berns had thought had butchered the song. Berns was, in his deepest bones, a record man. Listening to the records that Berns made, there's a strong continuity in everything he does. There's a love there of simplicity -- almost none of his records have more than three chords. He loved Latin sounds and rhythms -- a love he shared with other people working in Brill Building R&B at the time, like Leiber and Stoller and Spector -- and great voices in emotional distress. There's a reason that the records he produced for Solomon Burke were the first R&B records to be labelled "soul". Berns was one of those people for whom feel and commercial success are inextricable. He was an artist -- the records he made were powerfully expressive -- but he was an artist for whom the biggest validation was *getting a hit*. Only a small proportion of the records he made became hits, but enough did that in the early sixties he was a name that could be spoken of in the same breath as Leiber and Stoller, Spector, and Bacharach and David. And Atlantic needed a record man. The only people producing hits for the label at this point were Leiber and Stoller, and they were in the process of stopping doing freelance work and setting up their own label, Red Bird, as we talked about in the episode on the Shangri-Las. And anyway, they wanted more money than they were getting, and Jerry Wexler was never very keen on producers wanting money that could have gone to the record label. Wexler decided to sign Bert Berns up as a staff producer for Atlantic towards the end of 1963, and by May 1964 it was paying off. Atlantic hadn't been having hits, and now Berns had four tracks he wrote and produced for Atlantic on the Hot One Hundred, of which the highest charting was "My Girl Sloopy" by the Vibrations: [Excerpt: The Vibrations, "My Girl Sloopy"] Even higher on the charts though was the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout". That record, indeed, had been successful enough in the UK that Berns had already made exploratory trips to the UK and produced records for Dick Rowe at Decca, a partnership we heard about in the episode on "Here Comes the Night". Berns had made partnerships there which would have vast repercussions for the music industry in both countries, and one of them was with the arranger Mike Leander, who was the uncredited arranger for the Drifters session for "Under the Boardwalk", a song written by Artie Resnick and Kenny Young and produced by Berns, recorded the day after the group's lead singer Rudy Lewis died of an overdose: [Excerpt: The Drifters, "Under the Boardwalk"] Berns was making hits on a regular basis by mid-1964, and the income from the label's new success allowed Jerry Wexler and the Ertegun brothers to buy out their other partners -- Ahmet Ertegun's old dentist, who had put up some of the initial money, and Miriam Bienstock, the ex-wife of their initial partner Herb Abramson, who'd got Abramson's share in the company after the divorce, and who was now married to Freddie Bienstock of Hill and Range publishing. Wexler and the Erteguns now owned the whole label. Berns also made regular trips to the UK to keep up his work with British musicians, and in one of those trips, as we heard in the episode on "Here Comes the Night", he produced several tracks for the group Them, including that track, written by Berns: [Excerpt: Them, "Here Comes the Night"] And a song written by the group's lead singer Van Morrison, "Gloria": [Excerpt: Them, "Gloria"] But Berns hadn't done much other work with them, because he had a new project. Part of the reason that Wexler and the Erteguns had gained total control of Atlantic was because, in a move pushed primarily by Wexler, they were looking at selling it. They'd already tried to merge with Leiber and Stoller's Red Bird Records, but lost the opportunity after a disastrous meeting, but they were in negotiations with several other labels, negotiations which would take another couple of years to bear fruit. But they weren't planning on getting out of the record business altogether. Whatever deal they made, they'd remain with Atlantic, but they were also planning on starting another label. Bert Berns had seen how successful Leiber and Stoller were with Red Bird, and wanted something similar. Wexler and the Erteguns didn't want to lose their one hit-maker, so they came up with an offer that would benefit all of them. Berns' publishing contract had just ended, so they would set up a new publishing company, WEB IV, named after the initials Wexler, Ertegun, and Berns, and the fact that there were four of them. Berns would own fifty percent of that, and the other three would own the other half. And they were going to start up a new label, with seventeen thousand dollars of the Atlantic partners' money. That label would be called Bang -- for Bert, Ahmet, Neshui, and Gerald -- and would be a separate company from Atlantic, so not affected by any sale. Berns would continue as a staff producer for Atlantic for now, but he'd have "his own" label, which he'd have a proper share in, and whether he was making hits for Atlantic or Bang, his partners would have a share of the profits. The first two records on Bang were "Shake and Jerk" by Billy Lamont, a track that they licensed from elsewhere and which didn't do much, and a more interesting track co-written by Berns. Bob Feldman, Richard Gottehrer, and Jerry Goldstein were Brill Building songwriters who had become known for writing "My Boyfriend's Back", a hit for the Angels, a couple of years earlier: [Excerpt: The Angels, "My Boyfriend's Back"] With the British invasion, the three of them had decided to create their own foreign beat group. As they couldn't do British accents, they pretended to be Australian, and as the Strangeloves -- named after the Stanley Kubrick film Dr  Strangelove -- they released one flop single. They cut another single, a version of "Bo Diddley", but the label they released their initial record through didn't want it. They then took the record to Atlantic, where Jerry Wexler said that they weren't interested in releasing some white men singing "Bo Diddley". But Ahmet Ertegun suggested they bring the track to Bert Berns to see what he thought. Berns pointed out that if they changed the lyrics and melody, but kept the same backing track, they could claim the copyright in the resulting song themselves. He worked with them on a new lyric, inspired by the novel Candy, a satirical pornographic novel co-written by Terry Southern, who had also co-written the screenplay to Dr Strangelove. Berns supervised some guitar overdubs, and the result went to number eleven: [Excerpt: The Strangeloves, "I Want Candy"] Berns had two other songs on the hot one hundred when that charted, too -- Them's version of "Here Comes the Night", and the version of Van McCoy's song "Baby I'm Yours" he'd produced for Barbara Lewis. Three records on the charts on three different labels. But despite the sheer number of charting records he'd had, he'd never had a number one, until the Strangeloves went on tour. Before the tour they'd cut a version of "My Girl Sloopy" for their album -- Berns always liked to reuse material -- and they started performing the song on the tour. The Dave Clark Five, who they were supporting, told them it sounded like a hit and they were going to do their own version when they got home. Feldman, Gottehrer, and Goldstein decided *they* might as well have the hit with it as anyone else. Rather than put it out as a Strangeloves record -- their own record was still rising up the charts, and there's no reason to be your own competition -- they decided to get a group of teenage musicians who supported them on the last date of the tour to sing new vocals to the backing track from the Strangeloves album. The group had been called Rick and the Raiders, but they argued so much that the Strangeloves nicknamed them the Hatfields and the McCoys, and when their version of "My Girl Sloopy", retitled "Hang on Sloopy", came out, it was under the band name The McCoys: [Excerpt: The McCoys, "Hang on Sloopy"] Berns was becoming a major success, and with major success in the New York music industry in the 1960s came Mafia involvement. We've talked a fair bit about Morris Levy's connection with the mob in many previous episodes, but mob influence was utterly pervasive throughout the New York part of the industry, and so for example Richard Gottehrer of the Strangeloves used to call Sonny Franzese of the Colombo crime family "Uncle John", they were so close. Franzese was big in the record business too, even after his conviction for bank robbery. Berns, unlike many of the other people in the industry, had no scruples at all about hanging out with Mafiosi. indeed his best friend in the mid sixties was Tommy Eboli, a member of the Genovese crime family who had been in the mob since the twenties, starting out working for "Lucky" Luciano. Berns was not himself a violent man, as far as anyone can tell, but he liked the glamour of hanging out with organised crime figures, and they liked hanging out with someone who was making so many hit records. And so while Leiber and Stoller, for example, ended up selling Red Bird Records to George Goldner for a single dollar in order to get away from the Mafiosi who were slowly muscling in on the label, Berns had no problems at all in keeping his own label going. Indeed, he would soon be doing so without the involvement of Atlantic Records. Berns' final work for Atlantic was in June 1966, when he cut a song he had co-written with Jeff Barry for the Drifters, inspired by the woman who would soon become Atlantic's biggest star: [Excerpt: The Drifters, "Aretha"] The way Berns told the story in public, there was no real bad blood between him, Wexler, and the Erteguns -- he'd just decided to go his own way, and he said “I will always be grateful to them for the help they've given me in getting Bang started,” The way Berns' wife would later tell the story, Jerry Wexler had suggested that rather than Berns owning fifty percent of Web IV, they should start to split everything four ways, and she had been horrified by this suggestion, kicked up a stink about it, and Wexler had then said that either Berns needed to buy the other three out, or quit and give them everything, and demanded Berns pay them three hundred thousand dollars. According to other people, Berns decided he wanted one hundred percent control of Web IV, and raised a breach of contract lawsuit against Atlantic, over the usual royalty non-payments that were endemic in the industry at that point. When Atlantic decided to fight the lawsuit rather than settle, Berns' mob friends got involved and threatened to break the legs of Wexler's fourteen-year-old daughter, and the mob ended up with full control of Bang records, while Berns had full control of his publishing company. Given later events, and in particular given the way Wexler talked about Berns until the day he died, with a vitriol that he never used about any of the other people he had business disputes with, it seems likely to me that the latter story is closer to the truth than the former. But most people involved weren't talking about the details of what went on, and so Berns still retained his relationships with many of the people in the business, not least of them Jeff Barry, so when Barry and Ellie Greenwich had a new potential star, it was Berns they thought to bring him to, even though the artist was white and Berns had recently given an interview saying that he wanted to work with more Black artists, because white artists simply didn't have soul. Barry and Greenwich's marriage was breaking up at the time, but they were still working together professionally, as we discussed in the episode on "River Deep, Mountain High", and they had been the main production team at Red Bird. But with Red Bird in terminal decline, they turned elsewhere when they found a potential major star after Greenwich was asked to sing backing vocals on one of his songwriting demos. They'd signed the new songwriter, Neil Diamond, to Leiber and Stoller's company Trio Music at first, but they soon started up their own company, Tallyrand Music, and signed Diamond to that, giving Diamond fifty percent of the company and keeping twenty-five percent each for themselves, and placed one of his songs with Jay and the Americans in 1965: [Excerpt: Jay and the Americans, "Sunday and Me"] That record made the top twenty, and had established Diamond as a songwriter, but he was still not a major performer -- he'd released one flop single on Columbia Records before meeting Barry and Greenwich. But they thought he had something, and Bert Berns agreed. Diamond was signed to Bang records, and Berns had a series of pre-production meetings with Barry and Greenwich before they took Diamond into the studio -- Barry and Greenwich were going to produce Diamond for Bang, as they had previously produced tracks for Red Bird, but they were going to shape the records according to Berns' aesthetic. The first single released from Diamond's first session, "Solitary Man", only made number fifty-five, but it was the first thing Diamond had recorded to make the Hot One Hundred at all: [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Solitary Man"] The second single, though, was much more Bert Berns' sort of thing -- a three-chord song that sounded like it could have been written by Berns himself, especially after Barry and Greenwich had added the Latin-style horns that Berns loved so much. Indeed according to some sources, Berns did make a songwriting suggestion -- Diamond's song had apparently been called "Money Money", and Berns had thought that was a ridiculous title, and suggested calling it "Cherry Cherry" instead: [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Cherry Cherry"] That became Diamond's first top ten hit. While Greenwich had been the one who had discovered Diamond, and Barry and Greenwich were the credited producers on all Diamond's records  as a result, Diamond soon found himself collaborating far more with Barry than with Greenwich, so for example the first number one he wrote, for the Monkees rather than himself, ended up having its production just credited to Barry. That record used a backing track recorded in New York by the same set of musicians used on most Bang records, like Al Gorgoni on lead guitar and Russ Savakus on bass: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "I'm a Believer"] Neil Diamond was becoming a solid hit-maker, but he started rubbing up badly against Berns. Berns wanted hits and only hits, and Diamond thought of himself as a serious artist. The crisis came when two songs were under contention for Diamond's next single in late 1967, after he'd had a whole run of hits for the label. The song Diamond wanted to release, "Shilo", was deeply personal to him: [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Shilo"] But Bert Berns had other ideas. "Shilo" didn't sound like a hit, and he knew a hit when he heard one. No, the clear next single, the only choice, was "Kentucky Woman": [Excerpt: Neil Diamond, "Kentucky Woman"] But Berns tried to compromise as best he could. Diamond's contract was up for renewal, and you don't want to lose someone who has had, as Diamond had at that point, five top twenty hits in a row, and who was also writing songs like "I'm a Believer" and "Red Red Wine". He told Diamond that he'd let "Shilo" come out as a single if Diamond signed an extension to his contract. Diamond said that not only was he not going to do that, he'd taken legal advice and discovered that there were problems with his contract which let him record for other labels -- the word "exclusive" had been missed out of the text, among other things. He wasn't going to be recording for Bang at all any more. The lawsuits over this would stretch out for a decade, and Diamond would eventually win, but the first few months were very, very difficult for Diamond. When he played the Bitter End, a club in New York, stink bombs were thrown into the audience. The Bitter End's manager was assaulted and severely beaten. Diamond moved his wife and child out of Manhattan, borrowed a gun, and after his last business meeting with Berns was heard talking about how he needed to contact the District Attorney and hire a bodyguard. Of the many threats that were issued against Diamond, though, the least disturbing was probably the threat Berns made to Diamond's career. Berns pointed out to Diamond in no uncertain terms that he didn't need Diamond anyway -- he already had someone he could replace Diamond with, another white male solo singer with a guitar who could churn out guaranteed hits. He had Van Morrison: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] When we left Van Morrison, Them had just split up due to the problems they had been having with their management team. Indeed, the problems Morrison was having with his managers seem curiously similar to the issues that Diamond was having with Bert Berns -- something that could possibly have been a warning sign to everyone involved, if any of them had known the full details of everyone else's situation. Sadly for all of them, none of them did. Them had had some early singles success, notably with the tracks Berns had produced for them, but Morrison's opinion of their second album, Them Again, was less than complimentary, and in general that album is mostly only remembered for the version of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", which is one of those cover versions that inspires subsequent covers more than the original ever did: [Excerpt: Them, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"] Them had toured the US around the time of the release of that album, but that tour had been a disaster. The group had gained a reputation for incredible live shows, including performances at the Whisky A-Go-Go with the Doors and Captain Beefheart as their support acts, but during the tour Van Morrison had decided that Phil Solomon, the group's manager, was getting too much money -- Morrison had agreed to do the tour on a salary, rather than a percentage, but the tour had been more successful than he'd expected, and Solomon was making a great deal of money off the tour, money that Morrison believed rightfully belonged to him. The group started collecting the money directly from promoters, and got into legal trouble with Solomon as a result. The tour ended with the group having ten thousand dollars that Solomon believed -- quite possibly correctly -- that he was owed. Various gangsters whose acquaintance the group had made offered to have the problem taken care of, but they decided instead to come to a legal agreement -- they would keep the money, and in return Solomon, whose production company the group were signed to, would get to keep all future royalties from the Them tracks. This probably seemed a good idea at the time, when the idea of records earning royalties for sixty or more years into the future seemed ridiculous, but Morrison in particular came to regret the decision bitterly. The group played one final gig when they got back to Belfast, but then split up, though a version of the group led by the bass player Alan Henderson continued performing for a few years to no success. Morrison put together a band that played a handful of gigs under the name Them Again, with little success, but he already had his eyes set on a return to the US. In Morrison's eyes, Bert Berns had been the only person in the music industry who had really understood him, and the two worked well together. He had also fallen in love with an American woman, Janet Planet, and wanted to find some way to be with her. As Morrison said later “I had a couple of other offers but I thought this was the best one, seeing as I wanted to come to America anyway. I can't remember the exact details of the deal. It wasn't really that spectacular, money-wise, I don't think. But it was pretty hard to refuse from the point of view that I really respected Bert as a producer. I'd rather have worked with Bert than some other guy with a bigger record company. From that angle, it was spectacular because Bert was somebody that I wanted to work with.” There's little evidence that Morrison did have other offers -- he was already getting a reputation as someone who it was difficult to work with -- but he and Berns had a mutual respect, and on January the ninth, 1967, he signed a contract with Bang records. That contract has come in for a lot of criticism over the years, but it was actually, *by the standards in operation in the music business in 1967*, a reasonably fair one. The contract provided that, for a $2,500 a year advance, Bang would record twelve sides in the first year, with an option for up to fifty more that year, and options for up to four more years on the same terms. Bang had the full ownership of the masters and the right to do what they wanted with them. According to at least one biographer, Morrison added clauses requiring Bang to actually record the twelve sides a year, and to put out at least three singles and one album per year while the contract was in operation. He also added one other clause which seems telling -- "Company agrees that Company will not make any reference to the name THEM on phonograph records, or in advertising copy in connection with the recording of Artist." Morrison was, at first, extremely happy with Berns. The problems started with their first session: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl (takes 1-6)"] When Morrison had played the songs he was working on for Berns, Berns had remarked that they sounded great with just Morrison and his guitar, so Morrison was surprised when he got into the studio to find the whole standard New York session crew there -- the same group of session players who were playing for everyone from the Monkees to Laura Nyro, from Neil Diamond to the Shangri-Las -- along with the Sweet Inspirations to provide backing vocals. As he described it later "This fellow Bert, he made it the way he wanted to, and I accepted that he was producing it... I'd write a song and bring it into the group and we'd sit there and bash it around and that's all it was -- they weren't playing the songs, they were just playing whatever it was. They'd say 'OK, we got drums so let's put drums on it,' and they weren't thinking about the song, all they were thinking about was putting drums on it... But it was my song, and I had to watch it go down." The first song they cut was "Brown-Eyed Girl", a song which Morrison has said was originally a calypso, and was originally titled "Brown-skinned Girl", though he's differed in interviews as to whether Berns changed the lyric or if he just decided to sing it differently without thinking about it in the session. Berns turned "Brown-Eyed Girl" into a hit single, because that was what he tended to do with songs, and the result sounds a lot like the kind of record that Bang were releasing for Neil Diamond: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] Morrison has, in later years, expressed his distaste for what was done to the song, and in particular he's said that the backing vocal part by the Sweet Inspirations was added by Berns and he disliked it: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] Morrison has been very dismissive of "Brown-Eyed Girl" over the years, but he seems not to have disliked it at the time, and the song itself is one that has stood the test of time, and is often pointed to by other songwriters as a great example of the writer's craft. I remember reading one interview with Randy Newman -- sadly, while I thought it was in Paul Zollo's "Songwriters on Songwriting" I just checked that and it's not, so I can't quote it precisely -- in which he says that he often points to the line "behind the stadium with you" as a perfect piece of writing, because it's such a strangely specific detail that it convinces you that it actually happened, and that means you implicitly believe the rest of the song. Though it should be made very clear here that Morrison has always said, over and over again, that nothing in his songs is based directly on his own experiences, and that they're all products of his imagination and composites of people he's known. This is very important to note before we go any further, because "Brown-Eyed Girl" is one of many songs from this period in Morrison's career which imply that their narrator has an attraction to underage girls -- in this case he remembers "making love in the green grass" in the distant past, while he also says "saw you just the other day, my how you have grown", and that particular combination is not perhaps one that should be dwelt on too closely. But there is of course a very big difference between a songwriter treating a subject as something that is worth thinking about in the course of a song and writing about their own lives, and that can be seen on one of the other songs that Morrison recorded in these sessions, "T.B. Sheets": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "T.B. Sheets"] It seems very unlikely indeed that Van Morrison actually had a lover die of tuberculosis, as the lover in the song does, and while a lot of people seem convinced that it's autobiographical, simply because of the intensity of the performance (Morrison apparently broke down in tears after recording it), nobody has ever found anyone in Morrison's life who fits the story in the song, and he's always ridiculed such suggestions. What is true though is that "T.B. Sheets" is evidence against another claim that Morrison has made in the past - that on these initial sessions the eight songs recorded were meant to be the A and B sides of four singles and there was no plan of making an album. It is simply not plausible at all to suggest that "T.B. Sheets" -- a slow blues about terminal illness, that lasts nearly ten minutes -- was ever intended as a single. It wouldn't have even come close to fitting on one side of a forty-five. It was also presumably at this time that Berns brought up the topic of "Piece of My Heart". When Berns signed Erma Franklin, it was as a way of getting at Jerry Wexler, who had gone from being his closest friend to someone he wasn't on speaking terms with, by signing the sister of his new signing Aretha. Morrison, of course, didn't co-write it -- he'd already decided that he didn't play well with others -- but it's tempting to think about how the song might have been different had Morrison written it. The song in some ways seems a message to Wexler -- haven't you had enough from me already? -- but it's also notable how many songs Berns was writing with the word "heart" in the chorus, given that Berns knew he was on borrowed time from his own heart condition. As an example, around the same time he and Jerry Ragavoy co-wrote "Piece of My Heart", they also co-wrote another song, "Heart Be Still", a flagrant lift from "Peace Be Still" by Aretha Franklin's old mentor Rev. James Cleveland, which they cut with Lorraine Ellison: [Excerpt: Lorraine Ellison, "Heart Be Still"] Berns' heart condition had got much worse as a result of the stress from splitting with Atlantic, and he had started talking about maybe getting open-heart surgery, though that was still very new and experimental. One wonders how he must have felt listening to Morrison singing about watching someone slowly dying. Morrison has since had nothing but negative things to say about the sessions in March 1967, but at the time he seemed happy. He returned to Belfast almost straight away after the sessions, on the understanding that he'd be back in the US if "Brown-Eyed Girl" was a success. He wrote to Janet Planet in San Francisco telling her to listen to the radio -- she'd know if she heard "Brown-Eyed Girl" that he would be back on his way to see her. She soon did hear the song, and he was soon back in the US: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Brown-Eyed Girl"] By August, "Brown-Eyed Girl" had become a substantial hit, making the top ten, and Morrison was back in the States. He was starting to get less happy with Berns though. Bang had put out the eight tracks he'd recorded in March as an album, titled Blowin' Your Mind, and Morrison thought that the crass pseudo-psychedelia of the title, liner notes, and cover was very inappropriate -- Morrison has never been a heavy user of any drugs other than alcohol, and didn't particularly want to be associated with them. He also seems to have not realised that every track he recorded in those initial sessions would be on the album, which many people have called one of the great one-sided albums of all time -- side A, with "Brown-Eyed Girl", "He Ain't Give You None" and the extended "T.B. Sheets" tends to get far more love than side B, with five much lesser songs on it. Berns held a party for Morrison on a cruise around Manhattan, but it didn't go well -- when the performer Tiny Tim tried to get on board, Carmine "Wassel" DeNoia, a mobster friend of Berns' who was Berns' partner in a studio they'd managed to get from Atlantic as part of the settlement when Berns left, was so offended by Tim's long hair and effeminate voice and mannerisms that he threw him overboard into the harbour. DeNoia was meant to be Morrison's manager in the US, working with Berns, but he and Morrison didn't get on at all -- at one point DeNoia smashed Morrison's acoustic guitar over his head, and only later regretted the damage he'd done to a nice guitar. And Morrison and Berns weren't getting on either. Morrison went back into the studio to record four more songs for a follow-up to "Brown-Eyed Girl", but there was again a misunderstanding. Morrison thought he'd been promised that this time he could do his songs the way he wanted, but Berns was just frustrated that he wasn't coming up with another "Brown-Eyed Girl", but was instead coming up with slow songs about trans women. Berns overdubbed party noises and soul backing vocals onto "Madame George", possibly in an attempt to copy the Beach Boys' Party! album with its similar feel, but it was never going to be a "Barbara Ann": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Madame George (Bang version)"] In the end, Berns released one of the filler tracks from Blowin' Your Mind, "Ro Ro Rosey", as the next single, and it flopped. On December the twenty-ninth, Berns had a meeting with Neil Diamond, the meeting after which Diamond decided he needed to get a bodyguard. After that, he had a screaming row over the phone with Van Morrison, which made Berns ill with stress. The next day, he died of a heart attack. Berns' widow Ilene, who had only just given birth to a baby a couple of weeks earlier, would always blame Morrison for pushing her husband over the edge. Neither Van Morrison nor Jerry Wexler went to the funeral, but Neil Diamond did -- he went to try to persuade Ilene to let him out of his contract now Berns was dead. According to Janet Planet later, "We were at the hotel when we learned that Bert had died. We were just mortified, because things had been going really badly, and Van felt really bad, because I guess they'd parted having had some big fight or something... Even though he did love Bert, it was a strange relationship that lived and died in the studio... I remember we didn't go to the funeral, which probably was a mistake... I think [Van] had a really bad feeling about what was going to happen." But Morrison has later mostly talked about the more practical concerns that came up, which were largely the same as the ones Neil Diamond had, saying in 1997 "I'd signed a contract with Bert Berns for management, production, agency and record company,  publishing, the whole lot -- which was professional suicide as any lawyer will tell you now... Then the whole thing blew up. Bert Berns died and I was left broke." This was the same mistake, essentially, that he'd made with Phil Solomon, and in order to get out of it, it turned out he was going to have to do much the same for a third time.  But it was the experience with Berns specifically that traumatised Morrison enough that twenty-five years later he would still be writing songs about it, like "Big Time Operators": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Big Time Operators"] The option to renew Morrison's contracts with Berns' companies came on the ninth of January 1968, less than two weeks after Berns' death. After his death, Berns' share of ownership in his companies had passed to his widow, who was in a quandary. She had two young children, one of whom was only a few weeks old, and she needed an income after their father had died. She was also not well disposed at all towards Morrison, who she blamed for causing her husband's death. By all accounts the amazing thing is that Berns lived as long as he did given his heart condition and the state of medical science at the time, but it's easy to understand her thinking. She wanted nothing to do with Morrison, and wanted to punish him. On the other hand, her late husband's silent partners didn't want to let their cash cow go. And so Morrison came under a huge amount of pressure in very different directions. From one side, Carmine DiNoia was determined to make more money off Morrison, and Morrison has since talked about signing further contracts at this point with a gun literally to his head, and his hotel room being shot up. But on the other side, Ilene Berns wanted to destroy Morrison's career altogether. She found out that Bert Berns hadn't got Morrison the proper work permits and reported him to the immigration authorities. Morrison came very close to being deported, but in the end he managed to escape deportation by marrying Janet Planet. The newly-married couple moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to get away from New York and the mobsters, and to try to figure out the next steps in Morrison's career. Morrison started putting together a band, which he called The Van Morrison Controversy, and working on new songs. One of his earliest connections in Massachusetts was the lead singer of a band called the Hallucinations, who he met in a bar where he was trying to get a gig: [Excerpt: The Hallucinations, "Messin' With the Kid"] The Hallucinations' lead singer was called Peter Wolf, and would much later go on to become well-known as the singer with the J. Geils Band. He and Morrison became acquaintances, and later became closer friends when they realised they had another connection -- Wolf had a late-night radio show under the name Woofa Goofa, and he'd been receiving anonymous requests for obscure blues records from a fan of the show. Morrison had been the one sending in the requests, not realising his acquaintance was the DJ. Before he got his own band together, Morrison actually guested with the Hallucinations at one show they did in May 1968, supporting John Lee Hooker. The Hallucinations had been performing "Gloria" since Them's single had come out, and they invited Morrison to join them to perform it on stage. According to Wolf, Morrison was very drunk and ranted in cod-Japanese for thirty-five minutes, and tried to sing a different song while the band played "Gloria". The audience were apparently unimpressed, even though Wolf shouted at them “Don't you know who this man is? He wrote the song!” But in truth, Morrison was sick of "Gloria" and his earlier work, and was trying to push his music in a new direction. He would later talk about having had an epiphany after hearing one particular track on the radio: [Excerpt: The Band, "I Shall Be Released"] Like almost every musician in 1968, Morrison was hit like a lightning bolt by Music From Big Pink, and he decided that he needed to turn his music in the same direction. He started writing the song "Brand New Day", which would later appear on his album Moondance, inspired by the music on the album. The Van Morrison Controversy started out as a fairly straightforward rock band, with guitarist John Sheldon, bass player Tom Kielbania, and drummer Joey Bebo. Sheldon was a novice, though his first guitar teacher was the singer James Taylor, but the other two were students at Berklee, and very serious musicians. Morrison seems to have had various managers involved in rapid succession in 1968, including one who was himself a mobster, and another who was only known as Frank, but one of these managers advanced enough money that the musicians got paid every gig. These musicians were all interested in kinds of music other than just straight rock music, and as well as rehearsing up Morrison's hits and his new songs, they would also jam with him on songs from all sorts of other genres, particularly jazz and blues. The band worked up the song that would become "Domino" based on Sheldon jamming on a Bo Diddley riff, and another time the group were rehearsing a Grant Green jazz piece, "Lazy Afternoon": [Excerpt: Grant Green, "Lazy Afternoon"] Morrison started messing with the melody, and that became his classic song "Moondance": [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Moondance"] No recordings of this electric lineup of the group are known to exist, though the backing musicians remember going to a recording studio called Ace recordings at one point and cutting some demos, which don't seem to circulate. Ace was a small studio which, according to all the published sources I've read, was best known for creating song poems, though it was a minor studio even in the song-poem world. For those who don't know, song poems were essentially a con aimed at wannabe songwriters who knew nothing about the business -- companies would advertise you too could become a successful, rich, songwriter if you sent in your "song poems", because anyone who knew the term "lyric" could be presumed to know too much about the music business to be useful. When people sent in their lyrics, they'd then be charged a fee to have them put out on their very own record -- with tracks made more or less on a conveyor belt with quick head arrangements, sung by session singers who were just handed a lyric sheet and told to get on with it. And thus were created such classics prized by collectors as "I Like Yellow Things", "Jimmy Carter Says 'Yes'", and "Listen Mister Hat". Obviously, for the most part these song poems did not lead to the customers becoming the next Ira Gershwin, but oddly even though Ace recordings is not one of the better-known song poem studios, it seems to have produced an actual hit song poem -- one that I don't think has ever before been identified as such until I made a connection, hence me going on this little tangent. Because in researching this episode I noticed something about its co-owner, Milton Yakus', main claim to fame. He co-wrote the song "Old Cape Cod", and to quote that song's Wikipedia page "The nucleus of the song was a poem written by Boston-area housewife Claire Rothrock, for whom Cape Cod was a favorite vacation spot. "Old Cape Cod" and its derivatives would be Rothrock's sole evident songwriting credit. She brought her poem to Ace Studios, a Boston recording studio owned by Milton Yakus, who adapted the poem into the song's lyrics." And while Yakus had written other songs, including songs for Patti Page who had the hit with "Old Cape Cod", apparently Page recorded that song after Rothrock brought her the demo after a gig, rather than getting it through any formal channels. It sounds to me like the massive hit and classic of the American songbook "Old Cape Cod" started life as a song-poem -- and if you're familiar with the form, it fits the genre perfectly: [Excerpt: Patti Page, "Old Cape Cod"] The studio was not the classiest of places, even if you discount the song-poems. Its main source of income was from cutting private records with mobsters' wives and mistresses singing (and dealing with the problems that came along when those records weren't successful) and it also had a sideline in bugging people's cars to see if their spouses were cheating, though Milton Yakus' son Shelly, who got his start at his dad's studio, later became one of the most respected recording engineers in the industry -- and indeed had already worked as assistant engineer on Music From Big Pink. And there was actually another distant connection to Morrison's new favourite band on these sessions. For some reason -- reports differ -- Bebo wasn't considered suitable for the session, and in his place was the one-handed drummer Victor "Moulty" Moulton, who had played with the Barbarians, who'd had a minor hit with "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" a couple of years earlier: [Excerpt: The Barbarians, "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?"] A later Barbarians single, in early 1966, had featured Moulty telling his life story, punctuated by the kind of three-chord chorus that would have been at home on a Bert Berns single: [Excerpt: The Barbarians, "Moulty"] But while that record was credited to the Barbarians, Moulton was the only Barbarian on the track, with the instruments and backing vocals instead being provided by Levon and the Hawks. Shortly after the Ace sessions, the Van Morrison Controversy fell apart, though nobody seems to know why. Depending on which musician's story you listen to, either Morrison had a dream that he should get rid of all electric instruments and only use acoustic players, or there was talk of a record deal but the musicians weren't good enough, or the money from the mysterious manager (who may or may not have been the one who was a mobster) ran out. Bebo went back to university, and Sheldon left soon after, though Sheldon would remain in the music business in one form or another. His most prominent credit has been writing a couple of songs for his old friend James Taylor, including the song "Bittersweet" on Taylor's platinum-selling best-of, on which Sheldon also played guitar: [Excerpt: James Taylor, "Bittersweet"] Morrison and Kielbania continued for a while as a duo, with Morrison on acoustic guitar and Kielbania on double bass, but they were making very different music. Morrison's biggest influence at this point, other than The Band, was King Pleasure, a jazz singer who sang in the vocalese style we've talked about before -- the style where singers would sing lyrics to melodies that had previously been improvised by jazz musicians: [Excerpt: King Pleasure, "Moody's Mood for Love"] Morrison and Kielbania soon decided that to make the more improvisatory music they were interested in playing, they wanted another musician who could play solos. They ended up with John Payne, a jazz flute and saxophone player whose biggest inspiration was Charles Lloyd. This new lineup of the Van Morrison Controversy -- acoustic guitar, double bass, and jazz flute -- kept gigging around Boston, though the sound they were creating was hardly what the audiences coming to see the man who'd had that "Brown-Eyed Girl" hit the year before would have expected -- even when they did "Brown-Eyed Girl", as the one live recording of that line-up, made by Peter Wolf, shows: [Excerpt: The Van Morrison Controversy, "Brown-Eyed Girl (live in Boston 1968)"] That new style, with melodic bass underpinning freely extemporising jazz flute and soulful vocals, would become the basis of the album that to this day is usually considered Morrison's best. But before that could happen, there was the matter of the contracts to be sorted out. Warner-Reprise Records were definitely interested. Warners had spent the last few years buying up smaller companies like Atlantic, Autumn Records, and Reprise, and the label was building a reputation as the major label that would give artists the space and funding they needed to make the music they wanted to make. Idiosyncratic artists with difficult reputations (deserved or otherwise), like Neil Young, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, the Grateful Dead, and Joni Mitchell, had all found homes on the label, which was soon also to start distributing Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys, and Captain Beefheart. A surly artist who wants to make mystical acoustic songs with jazz flute accompaniment was nothing unusual for them, and once Joe Smith, the man who had signed the Grateful Dead, was pointed in Morrison's direction by Andy Wickham, an A&R man working for the label, everyone knew that Morrison would be a perfect fit. But Morrison was still under contract to Bang records and Web IV, and those contracts said, among other things, that any other label that negotiated with Morrison would be held liable for breach of contract. Warners didn't want to show their interest in Morrison, because a major label wanting to sign him would cause Bang to raise the price of buying him out of his contract. Instead they got an independent production company to sign him, with a nod-and-wink understanding that they would then license the records to Warners. The company they chose was Inherit Productions, the production arm of Schwaid-Merenstein, a management company set up by Bob Schwaid, who had previously worked in Warners' publishing department, and record producer Lewis Merenstein. Merenstein came to another demo session at Ace Recordings, where he fell in love with the new music that Morrison was playing, and determined he would do everything in his power to make the record into the masterpiece it deserved to be. He and Morrison were, at least at this point, on exactly the same page, and bonded over their mutual love of King Pleasure. Morrison signed to Schwaid-Merenstein, just as he had with Bert Berns and before him Phil Solomon, for management, record production, and publishing. Schwaid-Merenstein were funded by Warners, and would license any recordings they made to Warners, once the contractual situation had been sorted out. The first thing to do was to negotiate the release from Web IV, the publishing company owned by Ilene Berns. Schwaid negotiated that, and Morrison got released on four conditions -- he had to make a substantial payment to Web IV, if he released a single within a year he had to give Web IV the publishing, any album he released in the next year had to contain at least two songs published by Web IV, and he had to give Web IV at least thirty-six new songs to publish within the next year. The first two conditions were no problem at all -- Warners had the money to buy the contract out, and Merenstein's plans for the first album didn't involve a single anyway. It wouldn't be too much of a hardship to include a couple of Web IV-published tracks on the album -- Morrison had written two songs, "Beside You" and "Madame George", that had already been published and that he was regularly including in his live sets. As for the thirty-six new songs... well, that all depended on what you called a song, didn't it? [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Ring Worm"] Morrison went into a recording studio and recorded thirty-one ostensible songs, most of them lasting one minute to within a few seconds either way, in which he strummed one or two chords and spoke-sang whatever words came into his head -- for example one song, "Here Comes Dumb George", just consists of the words "Here Comes Dumb George" repeated over and over. Some of the 'songs', like "Twist and Shake" and "Hang on Groovy", are parodying Bert Berns' songwriting style; others, like "Waiting for My Royalty Check", "Blowin' Your Nose", and "Nose in Your Blow", are attacks on Bang's business practices. Several of the songs, like "Hold on George", "Here Comes Dumb George", "Dum Dum George", and "Goodbye George" are about a man called George who seems to have come to Boston to try and fail to make a record with Morrison. And “Want a Danish” is about wanting a Danish pastry. But in truth, this description is still making these "songs" sound more coherent than they are. The whole recording is of no musical merit whatsoever, and has absolutely nothing in it which could be considered to have any commercial potential at all. Which is of course the point -- just to show utter contempt to Ilene Berns and her company. The other problem that needed to be solved was Bang Records itself, which was now largely under the control of the mob. That was solved by Joe Smith. As Smith told the story "A friend of mine who knew some people said I could buy the contract for $20,000. I had to meet somebody in a warehouse on the third floor on Ninth Avenue in New York. I walked up there with twenty thousand-dollar bills -- and I was terrified. I was terrified I was going to give them the money, get a belt on the head and still not wind up with the contract. And there were two guys in the room. They looked out of central casting -- a big wide guy and  a tall, thin guy. They were wearing suits and hats and stuff. I said 'I'm here with the money. You got the contract?' I remember I took that contract and ran out the door and jumped from the third floor to the second floor, and almost broke my leg to get on the street, where I could get a cab and put the contract in a safe place back at Warner Brothers." But the problem was solved, and Lewis Merenstein could get to work translating the music he'd heard Morrison playing into a record. He decided that Kielbania and Payne were not suitable for the kind of recording he wanted -- though they were welcome to attend the sessions in case the musicians had any questions about the songs, and thus they would get session pay. Kielbania was, at first, upset by this, but he soon changed his mind when he realised who Merenstein was bringing in to replace him on bass for the session. Richard Davis, the bass player -- who sadly died two months ago as I write this -- would later go on to play on many classic rock records by people like Bruce Springsteen and Laura Nyro, largely as a result of his work for Morrison, but at the time he was known as one of the great jazz bass players, most notably having played on Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch: [Excerpt: Eric Dolphy, "Hat and Beard"] Kielbania could see the wisdom of getting in one of the truly great players for the album, and he was happy to show Davis the parts he'd been playing on the songs live, which Davis could then embellish -- Davis later always denied this, but it's obvious when listening to the live recordings that Kielbania played on before these sessions that Davis is playing very similar lines. Warren Smith Jr, the vibraphone player, had played with great jazz musicians like Charles Mingus and Herbie Mann, as well as backing Lloyd Price, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. Connie Kay, the drummer, was the drummer for the Modern Jazz Quartet and had also played sessions with everyone from Ruth Brown to Miles Davis. And Jay Berliner, the guitarist, had played on records like Charles Mingus' classic The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady: [Excerpt: Charles Mingus: "Mode D - Trio and Group Dancers, Mode F - Single Solos & Group Dance"] There was also a flute player whose name nobody now remembers. Although all of these musicians were jobbing session musicians -- Berliner came to the first session for the album that became Astral Weeks straight from a session recording a jingle for Pringles potato chips -- they were all very capable of taking a simple song and using it as an opportunity for jazz improvisation. And that was what Merenstein asked them to do. The songs that Morrison was writing were lyrically oblique, but structurally they were very simple -- surprisingly so when one is used to listening to the finished album. Most of the songs were, harmonically, variants of the standard blues and R&B changes that Morrison was used to playing. "Cyprus Avenue" and "The Way Young Lovers Do", for example, are both basically twelve-bar blueses -- neither is *exactly* a standard twelve-bar blues, but both are close enough that they can be considered to fit the form. Other than what Kielbania and Payne showed the musicians, they received no guidance from Morrison, who came in, ran through the songs once for them, and then headed to the vocal booth. None of the musicians had much memory of Morrison at all -- Jay Berliner said “This little guy walks in, past everybody, disappears into the vocal booth, and almost never comes out, even on the playbacks, he stayed in there." While Richard Davis later said “Well, I was with three of my favorite fellas to play with, so that's what made it beautiful. We were not concerned with Van at all, he never spoke to us.” The sound of the basic tracks on Astral Weeks is not the sound of a single auteur, as one might expect given its reputation, it's the sound of extremely good jazz musicians improvising based on the instructions given by Lewis Merenstein, who was trying to capture the feeling he'd got from listening to Morrison's live performances and demos. And because these were extremely good musicians, the album was recorded extremely quickly. In the first session, they cut four songs. Two of those were songs that Morrison was contractually obliged to record because of his agreement with Web IV -- "Beside You" and "Madame George", two songs that Bert Berns had produced, now in radically different versions: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Madame George"] The third song, "Cyprus Avenue", is the song that has caused most controversy over the years, as it's another of the songs that Morrison wrote around this time that relate to a sexual or romantic interest in underage girls. In this case, the reasoning might have been as simple as that the song is a blues, and Morrison may have been thinking about a tradition of lyrics like this in blues songs like "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl". Whatever the cause though, the lyrics have, to put it mildly, not aged well at all: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Cyprus Avenue"] That song would be his standard set-closer for live performances for much of the seventies. For the fourth and final song, though, they chose to record what would become the title track for the album, "Astral Weeks", a song that was a lot more elliptical, and which seems in part to be about Morrison's longing for Janet Planet from afar, but also about memories of childhood, and also one of the first songs to bring in Morrison's fascination with the occult and spirituality,  something that would be a recurring theme throughout his work, as the song was partly inspired by paintings by a friend of Morrison's which suggested to him the concept of astral travel: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Astral Weeks"] Morrison had a fascination with the idea of astral travel, as he had apparently had several out-of-body experiences as a child, and wanted to find some kind of explanation for them. Most of the songs on the album came, by Morrison's own account, as a kind of automatic writing, coming through him rather than being consciously written, and there's a fascination throughout with, to use the phrase from "Madame George", "childhood visions". The song is also one of the first songs in Morrison's repertoire to deliberately namecheck one of his idols, something else he would do often in future, when he talks about "talking to Huddie Leadbelly". "Astral Weeks" was a song that Morrison had been performing live for some time, and Payne had always enjoyed doing it. Unlike Kielbania he had no compunction about insisting that he was good enough to play on the record, and he eventually persuaded the session flute player to let him borrow his instrument, and Payne was allowed to play on the track: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Astral Weeks"] Or at least that's how the story is usually told -- Payne is usually credited for playing on "Madame George" too, even though everyone agrees that "Astral Weeks" was the last song of the night, but people's memories can fade over time. Either way, Payne's interplay with Jay Berliner on the guitar became such a strong point of the track that there was no question of bringing the unknown session player back -- Payne was going to be the woodwind player for the rest of the album: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Astral Weeks"] There was then a six-day break between sessions, during which time Payne and Kielbania went to get initiated into Scientology -- a religion with which Morrison himself would experiment a little over a decade later -- though they soon decided that it wasn't worth the cost of the courses they'd have to take, and gave up on the idea the same week. The next session didn't go so well. Jay Berliner was unavailable, and so Barry Kornfeld, a folkie who played with people like Dave Van Ronk, was brought in to replace him. Kornfeld was perfectly decent in the role, but they'd also brought in a string section, with the idea of recording some of the songs which needed string parts live. But the string players they brought in were incapable of improvising, coming from a classical rather than jazz tradition, and the only track that got used on the finished album was "The Way Young Lovers Do", by far the most conventional song on the album, a three-minute soul ballad structured as a waltz twelve-bar blues, where the strings are essentially playing the same parts that a horn section would play on a record by someone like Solomon Burke: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "The Way Young Lovers Do"] It was decided that any string or horn parts on the rest of the album would just be done as overdubs. It was two weeks before the next and final session for the album, and that featured the return of Jay Berliner on guitar. The session started with "Sweet Thing" and "Ballerina", two songs that Morrison had been playing live for some time, and which were cut in relatively quick order.  They then made attempts at two more songs that didn't get very far, "Royalty", and "Going Around With Jesse James", before Morrison, stuck for something to record, pulled out a new lyric he'd never performed live, "Slim Slow Slider". The whole band ran through the song once, but then Merenstein decided to pare the arrangement down to just Morrison, Payne (on soprano sax rather than on flute), and Warren Smith Jr: [Excerpt: Van Morrison, "Slim Slow Slider"] That track was the only one where, after the recording, Merenstein didn't compliment the performance, remaining silent instead – Payne said “Maybe everyone was just tired, or maybe they were moved by it.” It seems likely it was the latter. The track eventually got chosen as the final track of the album, because Merenstein felt that it didn't fit conceptually with anything else -- and it's definitely a more negative track than the oth

    He grew up in a blue-collar town and learned the value of hard work from his father who worked for more than 40 years as a union carpenter. A top student, Dan was awarded a degree in political science, with honors, from Amherst College. While in college, he served as a Congressional intern in the Capitol Hill office of Congressman Gregory Carman (R). Dan went on to earn his MBA in finance from the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Dan helped pay for these degrees with summer and part-time work as a carpenter's assistant, starting at age 16. After graduating from Wharton, Dan made billions of dollars of successful investments as a portfolio manager for one of the world's largest pension funds. He went on to other roles in finance, becoming a leading expert in the bond market while working at Merrill Lynch. Dan has raised tens of billions of dollars of growth capital for hundreds of companies which has helped create thousands of jobs. Not one to sit still, Dan has been very active in his community. He spent a decade helping out with youth sports programs, including coaching eight seasons of little league baseball. He had a particular knack for teaching the fundamentals of baseball to very young players, who always enjoyed learning from “Coach Dan.” Dan has been married for 36 years to his college sweetheart, Vicky Franzese. Together they raised two great children. They were entrepreneurs in the early years of the Internet era and started up a successful online travel guide that they subsequently sold to a major media company. They have made other successful venture capital investments as well. Dan won a competitive five-way primary and was the Republican nominee for Florida's 22nd Congressional District in 2022.   

This week on the show we delve into the life of Colombo mobster Michael Franzese. Franzese was a visionary and a huge earner for the Mob and was a part of one of the biggest schemes in the history of the Mafia. I also discuss his arrests, leaving the Mob, his cooperation and his life now as a successful entrepreneur and YouTuber. Like cigars? Check out our friends at www.privadacigarclub.com If you enjoy the show, please make sure you leave us a 5 star rating and a review! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @sitdowncrimepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the show we delve into the life of Colombo mobster Michael Franzese. Franzese was a visionary and a huge earner for the Mob and was a part of one of the biggest schemes in the history of the Mafia. I also discuss his arrests, leaving the Mob, his cooperation and his life now as a successful entrepreneur and YouTuber. Like cigars? Check out our friends at www.privadacigarclub.com If you enjoy the show, please make sure you leave us a 5 star rating and a review! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @sitdowncrimepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Franchesco Franzese aka let's go Chesco is a father, financial planner, motivational speaker, community value add, and podcaster. Our conversation is centered on how Chesco became a courageous enthusiastic man of God using the gifts he has been given. Contact/ Follow: FranChesco Franzese IG/FB: @letsgo_chesco Podcast: @thevaluerace https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-value-race/id1678792331 Website: https://linktr.ee/letsgochesco Contact/ Follow: Asher Tchoua IG/ Threads/ YouTube: @itsmytimepodcast X: @mytimepodcast Website: solo.to/imtp --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asher-tchoua0/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/asher-tchoua0/support

Today on "The Wise and The Wiseguy podcast," Michael Franzese and Chazz Palminteri dive into part 2 of "The Prince," where they explore some of Machiavelli's greatest and most controversial quotes. Michael shares his perspective on reading "The Prince", emphasizing the importance of listening and being slow to respond, which were crucial lessons in his life during his time in the Mob. Chazz and Michael express their admiration for Machiavelli's wisdom and discuss how his advice can apply to life and leadership. Join them as they delve deeper into Machiavellian principles and their real-world applications.   #TheWiseAndTheWiseguy #MachiavelliQuotes #LeadershipLessons #WisdomFromHistory #MichaelFranzese #ChazzPalminteri #LifeLessons #WisdomOfSolomon #MobLifeInsights #ThePrinceQuotes

Ever wondered what it's like working on Wall Street? The allure of working in the finance realm endures. But why would a guy leave Wall Street to work in a tech startup or, specifically, a company all about fertility and family planning? Today, I have Anthony Franzese, who has embarked on an unlikely and interesting career path. He started his career on Wall Street and later landed in the tech space at Headspace. He now works as a Strategic Partnership Executive at Stork Club, a next-generation maternity and family benefits provider. He also is the creator and host of the Successful Working Parents podcast, having joined the ranks of working parents himself just six weeks ago with the birth of his child. Join us as we discuss his unusual career path, what it's like being a working parent, experiencing ageism as a young employee (yes, ageism is not only experienced by older workers; it goes both ways), overcoming the challenges of the need to succeed early, and experiencing life based on the different stages in life. Learn how Anthony found the courage to leave the bro-centric world of Wall Street and head into mental health tech as a man. This conversation is a refreshing and fun one. If you're in that stage where you feel uncertain about your career because everyone else is younger than you, this episode might inspire you that there's hope for older workers to thrive in tech–just look at how Anthony started his tech career at the ripe age of 25 and has still found success. That's right - Anthony felt behind his colleagues in tech because he came in at 25. That's tech for you! But, as you'll learn - Anthony's take is that age shouldn't matter, your results should. We're with you there, Anthony!"There is value in experience, but I think there's also just value in results, right? And so I think there should be more judgment based on what people are doing and less on how old they are and what they've done."- Anthony FranzeseIn This Episode:-How Anthony went from working in Wall Street to tech and doing a podcast on parenting-What's it like for a guy to work in a fertility and maternity benefits company?-Anthony shares how he overcame the hurdle of shifting from a male-dominated environment (Wall Street) to a female-centric industry (health & fertility space)-Reverse Ageism: What's it like being a young and new employee in a workplace dominated by an older workforce?-How Anthony viewed older colleagues in tech who didn't want to use the new tech tools at work - and the risks for older tech employees who don't embrace the new tech-Feeling the external pressure to succeed early (and possibly land on the Forbes 30 under 30 list)-How do you view your life based on your chronological age compared to your current life stage (single, married, parent, caring for an elderly parent, etc.)?-Does being a parent make you bolder to step into the role of mentor to the men and women in the workplace?And much more.Connect with Anthony Franzese:-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-franzese-38b11317/-Linktree - https://linktr.ee/successfulworkingparentsConnect with Maureen Clough:-Instagram:

In this exclusive interview, former Mafia capo Michael Franzese shares his insights into the history of the New Jersey and Philadelphia mafia. Franzese, who was once one of the most powerful men in the mob, gives a firsthand account of the rise and fall of these two infamous criminal organizations. He talks about the major figures who shaped the mafia in these two cities, the violent wars that were fought between rival gangs, and the corruption that infiltrated law enforcement and politics. Franzese also discusses the current state of the mafia in New Jersey and Philadelphia. He believes that the mob is still a force to be reckoned with, but that it is no longer the powerful organization it once was. He attributes this decline to a number of factors, including increased law enforcement pressure, the rise of new criminal groups, and the changing demographics of these two cities. This is a fascinating and revealing interview that provides a unique glimpse into the world of the mafia. Franzese is a charismatic and articulate speaker, and he tells his story with wit and humor. This video is a must-watch for anyone interested in organized crime or the history of New Jersey and Philadelphia. The interview was conducted by Tom La Vecchia, best selling author and host of the New Theory Podcast *  Franzese is currently a motivational speaker and author. He has written many books about his life in the mafia: "Blood Covenant" and "Confessions of a Mafia Boss. to name a few. He also released Mafia Democracy which is his new best selling title Show Sponsor: JSV Captial: https://jsvcapital.com/mentorship-program/. Get a $100 off the Mentorship when you mention NewTheory. Get your tickets to hear Michael speak here: https://bit.ly/3s0ckHg Get Franzese wine here: https://franzesewine.com/ New Jersey Digest article on Michael: https://thedigestonline.com/news/a-true-mob-story-michael-franzese/

Get ready for a sizzling new episode on the **Jess Get Hired Podcast** as we kick off our scorching summer series with a whole new format - welcome to **Hot Takes**!

Welcome back to the Invest In Yourself Podcast. Today I am joined by Colombo Crime Family / Los Angeles. Crime Family associate Kenji Gallo.During his time in the mafia he worked in adult films as a producer.Kenji would also secretly sell drugs as well. After years in the mob Kenji  turned informant and wore a wire against the Colombo, Lucchese,and Los Angeles crime families. He would then go into the witness protection program.Kenji wrote a book called Break Shot about his life in the mafia. And wearing a  wire against a lot of the members of the mafia. Please subscribe to my channel for more interviews like this. Buy Kenji's Book- https://a.co/d/7fhzJkG Find all of our Invest In Yourself Platforms Subscribe to Salvatore Polisi & My Patreon Channel-  https://patreon.com/user?u=93654095 Clothing Website- https://iiyclothing.bigcartel.com/products YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6wGSATB9uusaUCvICpJZ_Q Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/6d5D4lauoKHeQ1obygbOhM?si=s37hThFuQACwN1EDZKFQfg&fbclid=IwAR2WNDWcwAJe-SaFOQT6AwW2P0TcntJzOy9inskcULxIswBY9dZniUYjki0&nd=1 Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-i-y-podcast/id1577114137 Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/invest_in_yourself_2020/ TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@invest_in_yourself_2020?lang=en Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/IIYCLOTHING Email- iiypodcast2021@gmail.com If you would like to donate to the channel here is mFind all of our Invest In Yourself Platforms Subscribe to Salvatore Polisi & My Patreon Channel- https://patreon.com/user?u=93654095 Clothing Website- https://iiyclothing.bigcartel.com/products YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6wGSATB9uusaUCvICpJZ_Q Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/6d5D4lauoKHeQ1obygbOhM?si=s37hThFuQACwN1EDZKFQfg&fbclid=IwAR2WNDWcwAJe-SaFOQT6AwW2P0TcntJzOy9inskcULxIswBY9dZniUYjki0&nd=1 Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-i-y-podcast/id1577114137 Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/invest_in_yourself_2020/ TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@invest_in_yourself_2020?lang=en Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/IIYCLOTHING Email- ...

For more than two decades, Giovanni Franzese has been working for the telecoms giant Ericsson where he served most recently as Head of Blockchain Business Development. As an engineer, Giovanni liked to experiment with different types of technologies, but it wasn't until six years ago that he decided to use blockchain technology to develop a product solution.The product, Ericsson Customer Acceptance is a big win for Ericsson. As he explains, “it's a big product, it's very successful, and we have we have a very vast adoption.” As he tells Charles Miller on this episode of CoinGeek Conversations, innovation from within a corporation is extremely complex. “Innovation comes through acquisition, it's much easier: you buy a company which has a brilliant idea,” he says. In Giovanni's case, his idea to use blockchain didn't happen overnight. He admits that transforming his idea into a viable product was a struggle at first, but he worked  ‘under the radar' and step by step: “it's like Lego bricks buildings, the first one and then the second, and then it was a good building at the end,” he says. It also helped that he found an internal stakeholder to sponsor his idea.Ericsson Customer Acceptance is backed by Hyperledger Fabric, a private blockchain technology. While building the product, Giovanni wasn't aware of any public blockchain with secured scalability and high transaction rates per second. On top of that, he was wary of proposing the use of public blockchain which he colleagues might fear would potentially expose corporate data.    As Giovanni explains, the challenge continued as there was resistance to a product that had the word blockchain associated to it. As he points out, “at the very beginning nobody wanted it because it's not a secret that blockchain is still a little bit controversial, especially when we have such scandals like FDX.” Despite the roadblocks, Giovanni's blockchain-based solution was deployed to several Ericsson customers. At the end, he says “the benefits were so evident.”Giovanni left his position at Ericsson to join nChain where he plans to expand the BSV-supporting global tech company into a consultant service company. Only a few weeks after taking on the role of nChain executive partner, Giovanni had the opportunity to speak at the recent London Blockchain Conference. He highlighted his experience in developing, implementing, and eventually providing blockchain solutions to big corporates. In his talk, he shared a significant career-lesson to his audience: “I don't regret what I did and the decisions I took six years ago when I decided to embrace blockchain and use private, but my message to the audience today was, if you have to start now, then don't do it in the way I did with the  use of public, use Bitcoin SV, because that is the right choice today.”Giovanni is impressed with BSV's capability to do 50,000 transactions per second and compares it to Ethereum which can only do an average of seven transactions per second, he says. He then compares the two blockchains to modes of transport saying BSV is like a Ferrari while Ethereum is like a little bike. As for discussions on using private vs public blockchain, Giovanni says, “now is the time to go public.” He supports public blockchain by saying that private blockchains are for the most part centralized, costly and it don't exploit the full capabilities of blockchain technology.

In the third episode of "The Wise and The Wiseguy" podcast, Chazz Palminteri and Michael Franzese delve into the captivating book titled "Ultimate Gift" by Jim Stovall. Chazz and Michael discuss individuals who possess extraordinary gifts despite their personal challenges. Drawing from their own personal experiences, they share how these obstacles became stepping stones towards achieving their own "Ultimate Gifts." Their inspiring stories serve as a reminder that adversity can be transformed into an advantage on the path to accomplishing remarkable feats.

Prepare yourself for a captivating episode of The Wise and The Wiseguy, featuring the dynamic duo of Chazz Palminteri and Michael Franzese. In this episode, they dive deep into the eternal debate of Money versus Power, exploring the intricacies and revealing insights that can only be gained through their vast experiences. Join them as they share the invaluable knowledge they've acquired from their own journeys and the wise individuals who have shaped their perspectives. Discover the secrets behind their wisdom and the transformative life lessons that have guided their paths. Buckle up as they challenge conventional notions of happiness and pleasure derived from wealth, offering a fresh perspective on the true essence of a meaningful life. Get ready to be enlightened and inspired as The Wise and The Wiseguy unravel the complex relationship between money and power.

Carman and Lima's Emerging Podcast Scene - Tuesday May 31 - Episode 178. "Michael Franzese's A Mob Story" is coming to the Lorain Palace Theatre, Saturday June 24th at 7pm. Franzese is the Dr. Phil of organized crime. Ken and Lima talked with Franzese about the Mafia lifestyle and the history of the Mafia in Cleveland and Ohio. Check out the entire podcast below and tune in live on Tuesdays and Thursdays immediately following the Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima for live editions of the show on the 92.3 The Fan XTRA stream.

Carman and Lima's Emerging Podcast Scene - Tuesday May 31 - Episode 178. "Michael Franzese's A Mob Story" is coming to the Lorain Palace Theatre, Saturday June 24th at 7pm. Franzese is the Dr. Phil of organized crime. Ken and Lima talked with Franzese about the Mafia lifestyle and the history of the Mafia in Cleveland and Ohio. Check out the entire podcast below and tune in live on Tuesdays and Thursdays immediately following the Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima for live editions of the show on the 92.3 The Fan XTRA stream.

Sonny Franzese was one of the most formidable mobsters in America. With a career spanning over the course of 80 years, Franzese rose through the ranks of the Colombo Crime Family, ultimately earning the title of "underboss." Much of the family's success was due to the oath of Omertà, a sacred vow of silence which new recruits were ordered to take to prove their loyalty. When Sonny Franzese was sentenced to 50 years in prison, his son, Michael took it upon himself to make that vow and enter into the Colombo syndicate. Former Colombo Caporegime Michael Franzese shares the details of his life in the mafia, the impact it had on his family, and why he ultimately chose to walk away from the life of crime.   After leaving behind his career with the Colombo Crime Family, Michael Franzese has since become an author and motivational speaker. In his book, I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse, Franzese shares business lessons he learned during his time as a mob boss. Follow Emily on Instagram: @realemilycompagno Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our friend Michael Franzese joins us again! We're discussing the Cleveland Mafia, Goodfellas, Irish gangsters, criminal justice reform and more!!

Depending on who you listen to, Enterprise Blockchain is either thriving or dead. Giovanni Franzese gives us his informed view on where we REALLY are...As Ericsson's Global Head of Enterprise Blockchain, Giovanni has been at the core of many of the world's most cutting edge Blockchain projects, solving enterprise problems that most people didn't even know existed!Giovanni's role is to enable large organisations to adopt Blockchain and DLT technologies, creating, deploying and managing end-to-end solutions across Private and Public Clouds. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Corda Foundation. So he's seen some things!...On the show, we discuss:- How he first found his way into Blockchain and Web3- The story of building and growing Blockchain within Ericsson- The opportunity for Blockchain tech in Telco and other key industries- Use cases with a focus on Finance and Trade- General advice to enterprises building with Blockchain

Our friend Michael Franzese called in to promote his appearance in Detroit this weekend. We also discussed his thoughts on Jimmy Hoffa and the passing of his legendary father Sonny Franzese.

Divine love through you guides, heals and prospers, adjusts every inharmony, casts out all fear, creates freedom and happiness, goodwill and peace. You can let go of your excessive carefulness. Let the spirit guide you. On this episode, Darrell and Ed remind each other and listeners that when we let God do the worrying, we find many possibilities open up. And, during the second segment, free-flying Johnny Franzese, encourages us to wing it with today's reading, “Trust”.

On this special episode of Deep Cover, Leo Rossi and Joe Pistone are joined by ex-Colombo crime mobster turned motivational speaker Michael Franzese. He shares his personal testimony about the ways in which “the life” negatively impacted him and his family. Son to the notorious former underboss, Sonny Franzese, Michael was not only born into the life but contributed for nearly 20 years prior to incarceration which prompted his uncharacteristic exit.  Michael and Joe met in their separate endeavors along the way and detailed the extent of their relationship then and now. Tune in for a true tale about the Mafia life from one of their very own.Have a question about this episode, a tape, or a past episode? Ask it here.Connect with us on social using the links below: Instagram: @deepcoverpodFacebook: @deepcoverpodcast Twitter: @deepcoverpodcast Episode Notes:[00:47] Intro with Leo Rossi and Joe Pistone [01:07] Introduction to Michael Franzese [03:09] Franzese speaks on his meeting with Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano [05:00] Joe remembers his first time meeting Michael Franzese in “the life” [06:32] Michael Franzese breaks down how he and his family were impacted by the mob life. [09:04] Franzese shares the story of his father, Sonny Franzese, who was imprisoned until 100 years old. [11:36] What defines a leader? [12:35] Franzese, Joe, and Leo discuss the relationship between crime mob and cops [15:03] Franzese shares his relationship with Bernard “Bernie” Welsh [16:47] Sonny Black's girlfriend relays a message to Joe post-trial [18:14] Franzese gives Joe his flowers [20:09] How did Carmine “Junior” Persico run the family from prison? [23:22] Michael Franzese's dad agreed with the mob's decision to put a contract on his son's life [24:37] Nicky “Glasses” Marangello has a message for Donnie [26:52] Leo shares a story about Carlo Gambino and the new age of mobsters [29:47] The old neighborhoods just aren't the same [31:26] Michael Franzese speaks on his recent book, “Mafia Democracy” [35:02] Franzese shares the similarities between the government and the mob [38:04] Franzese went into business with an Armenian vineyard [40:00] Outro [40:26] Questions from the motion lounge

After the Andrew Tate with  @Mohammed Hijab   video https://youtu.be/diqgTxR99JE . Interesting commenters on Islam and Feminism. https://youtu.be/G6Ocr3_650c  @Jonathan Pageau  released a video on masculinity. https://youtu.be/-bEf2XRNpf4 . The  @The Critical Drinker  released a video on why movies suck lauding James Bond as the masculine archetype https://youtu.be/F2ngB-zjVmM which Dr. Jim and I touched on https://youtu.be/JxZPp7y_wbg. Then  @Jordan B Peterson  had an amazing talk with  @Michael Franzese  https://youtu.be/RzKM-VwriK0 which I think really distilled a sort of Christian late 20th century version. Paul Vander Klay clips channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX0jIcadtoxELSwehCh5QTg My Substack https://paulvanderklay.substack.com/ Estuary Hub Link https://www.estuaryhub.com/ If you want to schedule a one-on-one conversation check here. https://paulvanderklay.me/2019/08/06/converzations-with-pvk/ There is a video version of this podcast on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/paulvanderklay To listen to this on ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-vanderklays-podcast/id1394314333  If you need the RSS feed for your podcast player https://paulvanderklay.podbean.com/feed/  All Amazon links here are part of the Amazon Affiliate Program. Amazon pays me a small commission at no additional cost to you if you buy through one of the product links here. This is is one (free to you) way to support my videos.  https://paypal.me/paulvanderklay To support this channel/podcast with Bitcoin (BTC): 37TSN79RXewX8Js7CDMDRzvgMrFftutbPo  To support this channel/podcast with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) qr3amdmj3n2u83eqefsdft9vatnj9na0dqlzhnx80h  To support this channel/podcast with Ethereum (ETH): 0xd3F649C3403a4789466c246F32430036DADf6c62 Blockchain backup on Lbry https://odysee.com/@paulvanderklay https://www.patreon.com/paulvanderklay Paul's Church Content at Living Stones Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7bdktIALZ9Nq41oVCvW-A To support Paul's work by supporting his church give here. https://tithe.ly/give?c=2160640

Dr. Peterson's extensive catalog is available now on DailyWire+: https://utm.io/ueSXh Dr. Jordan B. Peterson and Michael Franzese discuss being raised in a mafia environment, having a high-ranking father within the crime family, the schemes and successes of his career, and the ultimate reasons for why he walked away. Michael Franzese is an American former mobster once affiliated with the Colombo crime family. Most notable for his gas-tax scheme from the mid 80's, it is estimated that Franzese at one point was personally making eight million dollars a week. At his height Franzese had achieved the rank of Caporegime, or the equivalent of a captain or general within the mob ranks, and was nicknamed the “Yuppie Don” as well as the “Prince of the Mob,” by his contemporaries. In 1986, Franzese was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy charges, and despite being released early, spent the next decade in and out of jail. In 1994 he was finally released, chose to retire from crime, and bought an estate in Florida. Since then he has traveled the world as a public speaker, and has written many books about his life and crimes, such as 1992's Quitting the Mob, or his most recent 2022 publication, Mafia Democracy. —Links— For Michael Franzese Michael Franzese on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xuh0pSLRLhzWGUnpOlvXwOn Twitter https://twitter.com/MichaelFranzese?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorOn Instagram https://www.instagram.com/michaelfranzese_/?hl=enMichael's newest book, Mafia Democracy https://www.amazon.com/Mafia-Democracy-Republic-Became-Racket/dp/1544530811 - Sponsors - Birch Gold - Text "JORDAN" to 989898 for your no-cost, no-obligation, FREE information kit Masterworks -Invest in art today with Masterworks at http://masterworks.art/jbp.See important disclosures at https://masterworks.com/cd. — Chapters — (0:00) Coming Up(1:23) Intro(3:28) Raised in the Mafia(11:25) Early exposure to violence(13:00) A father behind bars(14:00) The five families, Lucky Luciano(16:00) Racketeers and gangsters(18:00) The infamous gas-tax scheme(21:58) Keeping cool under intense pressure(25:15) When your father is the mob, Sonny Franzese(33:00) A dangerous meeting(43:45) Why we romanticize criminality(45:45) Responsibility and change(49:00) When Family Breaks(58:22) Turning points, Miami Gold Films(1:04:40) Love, the mafia, and God(1:11:30) 29 days of solitary confinement(1:14:00) Divine intervention(1:22:56) Christ and loyalty(1:30:24) The need for a new mindset(1:32:13) Showing change through action(1:36:27) Illegal versus immoral(1:39:00) White lies, living in truth   // SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL //Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jordanbpeterson.co...Donations: https://jordanbpeterson.com/donate // COURSES //Discovering Personality: https://jordanbpeterson.com/personalitySelf Authoring Suite: https://selfauthoring.comUnderstand Myself (personality test): https://understandmyself.com // BOOKS //Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life: https://jordanbpeterson.com/Beyond-Order12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: https://jordanbpeterson.com/12-rules-...Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief: https://jordanbpeterson.com/maps-of-m... // LINKS //Website: https://jordanbpeterson.comEvents: https://jordanbpeterson.com/eventsBlog: https://jordanbpeterson.com/blogPodcast: https://jordanbpeterson.com/podcast // SOCIAL //Twitter: https://twitter.com/jordanbpetersonInstagram: https://instagram.com/jordan.b.petersonFacebook: https://facebook.com/drjordanpetersonTelegram: https://t.me/DrJordanPetersonAll socials: https://linktr.ee/drjordanbpeterson #JordanPeterson #JordanBPeterson #DrJordanPeterson #DrJordanBPeterson #DailyWirePlus #podcast #politics #republican #government #gingrich #newtgingrich

ROCKETMONEY: https://rocketmoney.com/shaun  Like a scene from The Godfather, Anthony Ruggiano Jr conspired to whack his brother-in-law for beating his mother. While in rehab for cocaine addiction, Ruggiano found out his mother was beaten by his brother-in-law for confronting him about running up a $700 bar tab. After receiving approval from his father "Fat Andy" and John Gotti, Ruggiano arranged the hit by luring his brother-in-law to a social club to discuss a score. The body was disposed of and never found. ROCKETMONEY: https://rocketmoney.com/shaun  Don't fall for subscription scams. Start cancelling today at ROCKETMONEY: https://rocketmoney.com/shaun Go right now - https://rocketmoney.com/shaun - it could save you THOUSANDS a year. 

7-7-22: Kim, Brim and Mr. Greer. Apart from all the usual shenanigans, The gang talks about all the things going on in pop culture. The crew is joined by friend of the show and of the convention circuit Robert Franzese also known as Real Life Peter Griffin! So sit back..relax..and remember GHR ITS WHERE ITS AT! Wherever you listen to podcasts & www.thegrindhouseradio.com https://linktr.ee/thegrindhouseradio The Grindhouse Radio FB: @thegrindhouseradio TW: @therealghradio Instagram: @thegrindhosueradio

7-7-22: Kim, Brim and Mr. Greer. Apart from all the usual shenanigans, The gang talks about all the things going on in pop culture. The crew is joined by friend of the show and of the convention circuit Robert Franzese also known as Real Life Peter Griffin! So sit back..relax..and remember GHR ITS WHERE ITS AT! Wherever you listen to podcasts & www.thegrindhouseradio.com https://linktr.ee/thegrindhouseradio The Grindhouse Radio FB: @thegrindhouseradio TW: @therealghradio Instagram: @thegrindhosueradio

Watch the Full Episode for FREE:  https://londonreal.tv/mafia-democracy-former-mafia-captain-michael-franzese-on-how-governments-became-a-mob-racket/ 

Watch the Full Episode for FREE:  https://londonreal.tv/mafia-democracy-former-mafia-captain-michael-franzese-on-how-governments-became-a-mob-racket/  

Watch the Full Episode for FREE:  https://londonreal.tv/mafia-democracy-former-mafia-captain-michael-franzese-on-how-governments-became-a-mob-racket/  

On this episode of NIGHTSHIFT, Mike The Cop and Eric Tansey get the chance to sit down with former mafia capo Michael Franzese. Franzese recently released his best selling book "Mafia Democracy: how our republic became a mob racket." At one point, Michael was names the #18 on Fortune's richest 50 mobsters and is one of only two left alive. If you're a fan of the mob genre and movies like Godfather, Donnie Brasco and a Bronx Tale or shows like the Sopranos, then come hear from someone who has actually lived it. After serving time in prison, Michael has now dedicated his life to sharing his story of redemption at leadership events, churches, prison ministries, etc. We were so grateful for the time he gave us and hopefully we can get him back for even more! Maybe we will figure out where JIMMY HOFFA is or who dumped the bodies into Lake Mead. Thanks for listening to the Failure to Stop Podcast! SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Watch the Full Episode for FREE:  https://londonreal.tv/mafia-democracy-former-mafia-captain-michael-franzese-on-how-governments-became-a-mob-racket/  

Watch the Full Episode for FREE:  https://londonreal.tv/mafia-democracy-former-mafia-captain-michael-franzese-on-how-governments-became-a-mob-racket/  

Watch the Full Episode for FREE:  https://londonreal.tv/mafia-democracy-former-mafia-captain-michael-franzese-on-how-governments-became-a-mob-racket/