No they are not all dead.......but these greats of late 60's and 70's were all managed at some point by legendary music operator Danny Fields, probably the most influential person in the punk rock movement, whose work still resonates in the industry.
Little did I know that I would meet him this summer, at a small local literary and music festival in Hampshire, UK. Lovely, Comfortable and Middle Class, 'The Curious Arts Festival' was probably the last place I expected to meet a counter culture icon, but Mr Fields was visiting these shores celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Ramones' first gig in the UK (which itself detonated the punk scene in Britain).
The event was poorly attended (less than 20 in the audience - but remember that this was a literary festival and I don't think the organisers fully understood Mr Fields stature and background). He began his life's tale of how, as a teen magazine editor, he published the article in the US in which John Lennon stated that the Beatles 'Are bigger than Jesus'. During the furor John Lennon had to make an interview explaining himself. 'We sell more records than Jesus' he was quoted. Danny Fields was subsequently fired, only to re-emerge and manage a whole string of artists who would come to shape music for the next two decades.
Although in the autumnal years of his life, one sensed a fiercely burning flame in Danny's heart. The hour talk showed him as funny, witty, and having of a wealth of outrageous music industry stories. It dawned on me that he is probably one of the most famous and interesting people that no one has ever heard of.
Should you wish to know more, there is a documentary 'Danny Says' which tells his life story.