A GLOBAL IMAGE | ||||
Internationally-it all began on August 1, 1968, when the very alert Monument Licensee in France, Disques Barclay, and their ever-energetic Bernard de Bosson cabled our office requesting that we rush tapes, photo and bio material on Tony Joe White as a result of "TREMENDOUS REACTION" to his "Soul Francisco" record sample they had been playing for the local radio DJ's and retailers in Paris! | ||||
Once the record was issued, Barclay's Sales Promotion Manager Philippe Rault reported enthusiaslically that... "within 30 minutes after 'Soul Francisco' had been played on Radio Monte-Carlo, more than 100 telephone requests poured into the station asking for repeat plays, etc!!" There began a Monument-al wave of Tony Joe White happenings troughout France - Belgium in particular, where discotheques, TV, etc., began clamoring for local appearances by this Houston-based Soul singer/composer. | ||||
The newly-launched French trade paper, JOURNAL DU SHOW BUSINESS - via Frank Lipsik, reported the following:
"One of the best records of the week - and it will bring joy to all the clubs in France and to all those who
appreciate the U.S. variety and quality. An extraordinary sound, a remarkable voice! Should be a hit!" - This is the way they described Tony Joe's "Soul Francisco". |
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This was followed by a most unusual event - Tony Joe received a request from one of the foremost disk jockies in France - a top radio personality, Pierre Lattes - to call him (Pierre) collect (are you listening Monsieur DeGaulle?!) - with the result that France-Inter (the national French radio network) aired a 30-minute live, Houston-to-Paris interwiew!! | ||||
Bobby Weiss, Vice President & Director International Division, Monument Record Corporation, 1968. |
The rest is now - history - as Germany, Spain, Japan, the Philippines, etc., etc., all began to "follow the
French leader" - and the hopped on the Tony Joe White guitar - and now, Monument's newest singing-composing
talent will be playing to audiences around-the-world as a result of hefty schedule of personal appearances. It appears that internationally our friends across the oceans may have discovered Tony Joe White long before the American neighbors have - but this doesn't bother Tony Joe... he figures it will all happen... "in time". You know something - we agree. |
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