Knowing the Who’s Who in Music

John F. Kennedy once said, “We can’t know where we’re going unless we know where we’ve been.”  There’s an application for that in the music industry too.

I remember one time walking out of church and saying to the priest, “I notice that you always mention Saint Philomena.”  I more or less asked him what the deal was with him always including her.  He responded with, “Do you know who she is?”  I honestly admitted to him, “No.”  And he looked at me and said, “Go home and look her up.”

I walked away feeling like maybe I should’ve known the answer but also wondered why he didn’t just tell me her story.  I later realized it was because he wanted me to do a little research and studying to learn it on my own.

Similarly, in the music business, it’s important to know the names that you should know.  For example, last week the industry lost a longtime singer, songwriter, and producer in Freddy Powers.  While I never met him, I was at a couple songwriters festivals that he was at and it was plain to see that he was someone who you needed to know about.  I don’t wear all black with a white collar, but, I will tell you that if you don’t know him, look him up.

Imagine sitting down with people in the music business and them talking about someone that you don’t know but who it sounds like you should know.  You’d probably start getting scared and nervous that you might be found out to not know who it is.

I remember one time sitting in a lunch meeting in Hollywood with a bigtime songwriter who talked about David Foster as though he were talking about a sibling.  In other words, he said the name as though it was no big deal, while I certainly knew that Foster is a very big deal.  I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear a major name like that being brought up, what with the caliber of company I was keeping in that meeting, but it was the comfort in knowing who he was referring to that washed over me.

I later mentioned to a client of mine that my lunch appointment mentioned David Foster.  I got a “Who’s that?” response, which disappointed and worried me.

Sure, in this day and age there is something like Google that you can consult when someone’s not sitting in front of you.  But the more your career grows, you should be rubbing elbows with people who will be referencing key people in music that you will be expected to know.  The approach of “honesty is the best policy” probably won’t apply when one or more of those people hear you apologetically admit, “I don’t know who that is” a couple times.  And yes, I mean, a couple.  You’ll be on a short rope before they decide to let you go because you “didn’t even know who (insert big name here) is.”

Spend some time delving into music history and learn those names that you just have to know.