On My Own Again

In 1975 I form the Artie Wayne Organization and have six albums produced for me by David Foster, Jack Conrad, Art Munson and Joe Klein... I travel around the world and lease the masters country by country until someone in Germany bounces a $15,000 check on me. I track him down from London to Paris to Munich to the Bavarian Alps to get my money... but I'm disillusioned with the whole business.

Neil Bogart, who I've known since he was a dancer on the Alan Freed TV show, convinces me to give all that up and become an artist for him at Casablanca.

He gives (rather, leases) me a Cadillac Seville and promises to make me a male Donna Summer.

Because I made a very pop record, some execs at Casablanca felt I shouldn't put my picture on the album, lest someone should find out I'm black.

My Casablanca Records publicity photo