EXCERPT: The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood By Thomas R. King

Roxy Night Club, Los Angeles, CA
Photo by "Billboard" Magazine - Issue #22, September 1973
(via Rusted Moon - Click photo to enlarge)

A fascinating story about Neil Young’s Roxy opening show with Bob Dylan, Cher, Robbie Robertson and David Geffen all sharing a table.

Here is an excerpt from The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood by Thomas R. King (Broadway; ISBN: 0-7679-0757-4), Chapter One - "I GOT YOU BABE" (Thanks Cliff!):

The Roxy had its grand opening on September 20, 1973. It was to be a major success and broke Doug Weston's monopolistic hold on the Los Angeles club scene. It was quite an achievement for a man who was only thirty years old.

But on that night, something happened to Geffen that was far more important than any business deal he had ever consummated. He found true love, but one that would eventually almost crush him.

The Roxy's partners were besieged with requests for tickets to the sold-out opening with headliner Neil Young. "I made more enemies today than in my whole life," Geffen told the Los Angeles Times. Geffen's own group that night included Bob and Sara Dylan and Robbie and Dominique Robertson.

Although Neil Young had demanded that the majority of the tickets be made available to the general public, the crowd gathered that night included some of the biggest stars in the record business. Geffen stood outside and greeted Elton John and Carole King as they arrived amid a flurry of flashbulbs.

One glitch sent the Roxy partners into a momentary panic that afternoon: Nils Lofgren, the opening act, developed laryngitis. Lou Adler hooked his clients Cheech & Chong, and Geffen pulled in Graham Nash to open the show instead.

Geffen, with the Dylans and the Robertsons, had an early dinner before heading to the Roxy, well in advance of the nine o'clock curtain. The club had a capacity of only a few hundred, and it was indeed the kind of place where the performers were nearly on top of the audience. Geffen and his group took their seats at a table right in front of the stage. As the club filled up and the last few people squeezed inside, the temperature in the room rose to an uncomfortable level.

Just after Neil Young started his set, something magical happened to Geffen. Cher, wearing a straw cowboy hat with a big feather in it, stepped into the club. Seeing an empty seat at Geffen's table, she asked the group if she could join them. Geffen looked up and stared into her eyes. To him, it seemed as though violins, not electric guitars, had started to play. Suddenly, he could not concentrate on Young's performance.

More on The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood by Thomas R. King (Broadway; ISBN: 0-7679-0757-4)

Also, see Reassessing Neil Young's Life on Geffen Records.

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