Gliders Over Hollywood tells the exhilarating true story of a blue-collar kid nicknamed ‘Rap’ who grew up in thrall to rock’n’roll, then found himself right in the middle of many of his heroes’ lives as he became the most renowned rock promotion man in the USA. Paul Rappaport enjoyed a storied thirty-three-year career at Columbia Records, where he was instrumental in the careers of everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello to Billy Joel, Judas Priest to Alice In Chains, and many, many more. The music business from the late 60s through the 90s was an exciting time that mirrored the music and the musicians making it. It was also a time of new and creative ideas on how to market this groundbreaking cultural phenomenon. Eccentric characters were everywhere, and often the managers, promoters, disc jockeys, and record company staff were just as big a show as the performers themselves. ‘I wrote this book to capture the magical times,’ says Paul, ‘so that people wouldn’t forget but also to show the many behind-the-scenes folks whose lives were so colorful they brought a warmth and laughter to the world. If you want to know what it felt like to be there, to experience the whole scene first hand, to get the inside track on how it really all went down, these stories are for you. I welcome you to follow me down the rabbit hole to a magical place that will bring you laughter and reveal the inner workings of the music biz that you may have often wondered about.’ From creating the Pink Floyd airship to sword-fighting with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and receiving a guitar lesson from Keith Richards, Gliders Over Hollywood is packed full of extraordinary adventures with some of the biggest names in rock.

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