LISTEN OUT LOUD: A Life in Music--Managing McCartney, Madonna, and Michael Jackson, by Ron Weisner, with Alan Goldsher, is an exciting, no-holds-barred, humorous, affectionate, and compelling first hand look at legendary music manager Ron Weisner's career working alongside Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Gladys Knight, Quincy Jones, and countless other superstars. "Listen Out Loud" will be released today, June 3 through Lyons Press, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.
Ron Weisner began his career in the 1960s at Buddah Records and then worked as a music manager with some of the most influential artists of the era. He also spent decades producing television shows and special events (Ron Weisner Entertainment) for the likes of Beyoncé and Chaka Kahn, as well as the annual Apollo Theater's Spring Gala and post-performance party; the BET 20th Anniversary Celebration (2000) and the BET Awards (2009 and 2006); "Michael Jackson: The Tribute" in Vienna, Austria, on September 26, 2009, and most recently the Apollo Theater's 80th Anniversary event in June 2014. An excerpt from LISTEN OUT LOUD: "Michael on drugs was a shadow of his sober self, and even after the way he dumped me, I still cared about the guy, so I called LaToya and told her, 'Let's do this. Let's get him fixed. I'll put together a team, I'll arrange for an airplane, I'll find the right facility. I'll put everything in place and pay for it myself'...On May 15, two days before the kidnapping - and yes, that's exactly what this was, a kidnapping - I got a call from LaToya, who was, to put it mildly, freaking out. 'You gotta stop it, you gotta stop it, you gotta stop it!' So I stopped it all: the airplane, the rehab facility, the team, everything came to a halt. I don't know if the snatching - or the kidnapping, or whatever you want to call it - would've lengthened Michael's life....but at the very least, it would've given him a chance." - Ron Weisner on Michael JacksonVideos