Introducing Steve Rowland by Richard Niles Around the middle of the 20th Century a profound change occurred in America which affected world culture. In a way, people finally let go of the Victorian values of the 1800s. Though this started as early as the ‘20s with the excesses of the ‘jazz age’, it wasn’t until after World War 2 that the general public began to change their basic beliefs. Though we usually think of the ‘60s (flower power, sex, drugs and rock & roll) when we chronicle this revolution of spirit, it could not have happened without the transitional period of the ‘50s which are far more rarely remembered. In both cases, the venue was the scene of the Gold Rush, the end of the rainbow, the fertile soil of California. Ever since Cecil B. DeMille and Jesse Lasky accidentally made Hollywood the center of the film industry in 1913, public imagination all over the world had been inspired by the home of the movies. The laid-back lotus eaters who lived in this quiet town lazing in the perpetual sunshine of Southern California influenced fashions and morals from Houston to Hong Kong. During WW2 governments had seen the effectiveness of using Hollywood for propaganda. The ‘mean streets’ of Los Angeles were made famous in books by Raymond Chandler and Nathaniel West. The music industry began to move from New York to L.A.. By the ‘50s Hollywood could be said to have become the pop-culture capital of the world. Today, when the ‘50s are discussed or depicted in drama, “grease is the word” as the period is stylized into a cartoon pastiche of slicked back pompadour hair-dos, electric pink skirts with puffy petticoats, cut-down customized cars, doo-wop groups in sharkskin suits, dreamy girls in pointy bras, Doris Day and pre-gay Rock Hudson, Wally and Beaver, Ozzie and Harriet, and Eisenhower and McCarthy. In fact, important developments were taking place that would alter our collective consciousness forever. Although already marginally exposed to ‘black’ music through jazz, white American popular music was now being cross-pollinated with black rhythm & blues styles. Much of this integration was effected by white entrepreneurs like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Hollywood producers and writers of hits for both black acts like the Coasters and white acts like Elvis Presley. When the ‘50s began, segregation was the norm. By 1960 the voices of dissent were loud and clear. The ‘coffee house’ folk music scene saw a similar transformation - Bob Dylan could not have existed without Woody Guthrie, as the Beatnicks preceded the Hippies. In film, a new voice was being heard influenced by the European ‘art house’ and the Stanislavski Method which still influences actors today. Even mainstream films began to be seen as more than just spectacle or entertainment. Real life situations began to be depicted: prejudice, rape, prostitution, drug addiction and inter-racial sex. We are rarely given a chance to get inside the skin of someone who actually was at the epicentre of the ‘50s cultural earthquake, to hear what they were thinking at the time, to see and consider events as they did. Steve Rowland gives us that opportunity, and for anyone interested in how our past informs our future, browsing through these pages will be a fascinating ride. Growing up in luxurious Beverly Hills, the years 1950 to 1960 marked a young man’s coming of age, from 11 to 21. His father, Roy Rowland had been one of Hollywood’s most respected directors since the late ‘30s. His mother Ruth was a writer and Louis B. Mayer was her uncle. This put the teenage Steve in a kind of maelstrom of magnificence, where stars witnessed at close hand quickly lost their shine. Wanting to be part of the world his parents created for him, he became an actor, a columnist and a singer. He cruised the Sunset Strip like Candide in leather jacket and jeans (as worn by his friend James Dean) in search of some elusive, unholy Hollywood grail that contained fame, fortune and fun. Like the rest of the world, Steve looked to Hollywood for his values. And despite repeated betrayals, like the rest of us, he held on to the dream even when it became a nightmare. Despite a career that never quite mirrored his Hollywood dreams, Steve was always surrounded by hot and cold running women. Was this because he was the son of a famous show-biz family? Possibly. Was it because he had the kind of photogenic face that made him ideal fodder for the fan magazines? As we look at the mass of photographic evidence in this book, that is undeniable. But perhaps the main reason was the self-deprecating charm that Steve shows on every page. Always ready for fun at any hour of the day or night, always a perfect gentleman even when he was acting like the devil, what self respecting starlet could resist this guy? His star-studded lifestyle inspired his five monthly columns in various fan magazines, “The View From Rowland’s Head” being the most famous. Excerpts from these columns appear in these pages exactly as they were originally printed. In addition, his monthly record reviews tied in with his weekly radio broadcast on Hollywood station KGIL which included music, reviews and interviews. The thing that strikes us as we read the excerpts from “The View From Rowland’s Head” is the overpowering innocence of the times. Hard to believe in our era of total ethical bankruptcy, here was a time when people called each other Miss and Mister until they knew each other well; a time when only prostitutes slept with a man on the first date; a time when you could go to a club and not come out with your ears ringing; when smoking was considered harmless; when drug use was extremely rare, even among actors and musicians; when ‘parking and petting’ was the big dating objective and parents expected their daughters to be virgins when they married. Steve’s articles similarly speak in the innocent street vernacular of the time. In a style which is a cool cocktail of Beatnick slang with Sunset Strip hip, Steve puts you right there - in the car with Elvis - nervously negotiating a date with a starlet - sincerely digging the music at the most happening clubs in town. Having done his thesis on Jazz, Steve allows you to witness the birth of West Coast Cool at the famous Lighthouse in Redondo Beach, and dig Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker at the Haig off Wilshire Boulevard. We also get to hang out with Steve’s pals like Jimmy Dean, Bob Wagner and Tony Curtis, and go on dates with 50’s babes Natalie Wood, Tuesday Weld and Jean Seberg. We feel with him the terrible pressure to be considered ‘hip’, to be accepted as part of ‘the scene’. And despite the necessity to be ‘cool’ at all times, Steve bravely and honestly exposes all his insecurities. He was muscularly good looking, intelligent with a great sense of humour, talented and the son of an important director. This gave him entrée to a dazzling social life. The fact that he qualified for the Olympics as a high-diver confirms his prowess as an athlete. But he also had some handicaps which made him feel slightly out of the ‘in crowd’: he was ‘vertically challenged’ at a time when leading men and ‘hunks’ had to be over six feet tall (like sheep-in-hunk’s-clothing Rock Hudson). Having a famous father had negative effects, as some said he only got parts because of nepotism (which Hollywood could be said to have invented!) Though known for his abilities as a singer, actor and writer, he lacked the success of a big hit record or a leading part in a successful movie. Talent in New York is appreciated as an end in itself, but in L.A. you’re only as good as your last success (and the car you drive). And if you don’t have the big hits, you experience the ‘Hollywood Shuffle’. This term originally referred to the ‘dance’ showbiz people do to avoid talking to you as you approach them on the street (if you don’t have the hits). Despite this, Steve Rowland survived the ups and downs of an amazing career. In 50’s Hollywood, he went on to act in 35 TV shows like “Bonanza”, “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and a two year role in “The Legend of Wyatt Earp”. Film appearances included co-starring roles in “The Battle of the Bulge” with Henry Fonda, “Gun Glory” with Stuart Granger, “Crime in the Streets” with John Cassavetes and Sal Mineo, and the original “The Thin Red Line” with Kier Dullea and Jack Warden. This book will give you intriguing private glimpses of all of them. Steve will take you racing cars with James Dean, riding dirt bikes with Steve McQueen, playing touch-football with Elvis Presley and getting drunk with Robert Mitchum. You’ll see photos of a few of the sultry starlets who appeared at L.A.’s hotspots and film premieres hanging on Steve’s arm. Other friends included the cream of 50’s Hollywood elite including Debbie Reynolds, Harry Belafonte, Jayne Powell, Ed ‘Kookie’ Burns, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Tony Curtis and his wife Janet Leigh. You’ll hear how soul legend Sam Cooke inspired Steve to form his first group. You’ll joyride to Tijuana and visit Las Vegas as Steve performs at the (now defunct) Thunderbird Hotel. And you’ll attend the recording session of the world-wide hit “Tequila” where he met his sax playing pal Chuck Rio, and together with Budd Albright they later formed the famous Hollywood band The Exciters. During the making of five films in Spain, Steve enjoyed Spanish chart success with the tastefully named group, Los Flaps. The lure of the exciting British music scene of the ‘60s brought him to London where he produced 13 Top 5 hits for Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Titch. Among those worldwide hits were “Hold Tight”, “Zabadak”, “Bend It” and “The Legend of Xanadu” (a million selling British Number One). He also discovered Peter Frampton and the Herd, and with “Way Of Life” had a #2 British hit with his own group The Family Dogg (named after his obsessive love of animals). He produced hits for other 60’s icons including P.J. Proby and The Pretty Things. In the 70’s he won a gold album and ASCAP award for producing “Jerry Lee Lewis (the London Sessions)”. When I met him in 1976, he was Creative Manager /A &R for Hansa/Ariola where he discovered and signed The Cure and The Thompson Twins, and handled Boney M and Japan. As his musical arranger, I had a lot of fun making records with Steve for the disco scene including the million selling “I Lost My Heart To a Starship Trooper” with Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip. We became friends because we were both from Hollywood, with parents in the film industry – my Stepfather Jesse Lasky Jr. knew Roy and Ruth in ‘the old days’. Steve’s production style has always been to make records as if he was making a Hollywood movie – action packed! Never a dull moment on the record or in the studio, which was always filled with opportunistic, underdressed, oversexed girls and barking dogs! (Actually, it was Steve who was barking!) In 1985 he produced “The Lost Opera” with Kimera and THE L.S.O. which remained in the Top 5 of the French charts for 20 weeks selling 1.5 million albums. In 1986 he discovered, demoed, and developed MEL & KIM, and signed them to Supreme Records. In 1988 he ran his own dance label Dr. BEAT, and later became Creative Director of Wham Records. Steve has also written, produced and collated music for the TWI TV series “Hi Five” broadcast in 38 countries. At the end of 1993 Steve became a director of Pavillion Studios forming a production company working with a number of young D.J.s, Producers, Artistes and Programmers. During this time he auditioned and tried to sign the then-unknown Spice girl Geri Halliwell. In 1995 Steve became Managing Director of Media Bank U.K. a Hong Kong based international production company. Now you’ve been introduced, sit back and enjoy this web site with my crazy friend Steve, who is still racing, dating, laughing and barking after all these years. Richard Niles is a composer, producer, arranger, journalist and BBC broadcaster living in London.