âFred Goodman makes this world come alive, and any fan of rock or insider tales of the music industry will be in heaven reading about this fascinating, troubling character.â â Judd Apatow, Omnivoracious
âWriting about contracts, percentages, and deals can be tedious, but Goodman makes it as exciting as reading about an artistâs sex life. The book explodes with inside dope.â âNew York Daily News
Allen Klein was like no one the music industry had seen before. Though he became infamous for allegedly causing the Beatlesâ breakup and robbing the Rolling Stones, the truth is both more complex and more fascinating. As the manager of the Stones and then the Beatlesânot to mention Sam Cooke, Pete Townshend, Donovan, the Kinks, and numerous othersâhe taught young soon-to-be legends how to be businessmen as well as rock stars. While Klein made millions for his clients, he was as merciless with them as he was with anyone, earning himself an outsize reputation for villainy that has gone unchallenged until now. Through unique, unprecedented access to Kleinâs archives, veteran music journalist Fred Goodman tells the full story of how the Beatles broke up, how the Stones achieved the greatest commercial success in rock history, and how the music business became what it is today.
âFred Goodman is a superb writer . . . and his account here of one of rock ânâ rollâs most polarizing figures could not be more readable. The even-handed tone, the supposition that readers are moderately intelligent and sophisticated, and the rather astounding involvement Allen Klein had with pop musicâs largest legendsâput all that together, and youâve got one highly engrossing read.â âYahoo! Music
âSucceed[s] both as a compelling work of rock ânâ roll history and as a cautionary business primer.â âWall Street Journal