Shulman, Derek - Giant Steps

An eyeopening memoir of an incredible life in music, first as the leader of progrock pioneers Gentle Giant, then as the recordlabel executive who signed Bon Jovi, Dream Theater, Slipknot, and more. A fascinating insider’s account of the ins and outs of the music world from the 1960s to the present day, featuring encounters with everyone from The Beatles to Elton John to Ozzy Osborne to Suge Knight. In Giant Steps, Derek Shulman chronicles a truly incredible life and career in music—first as the leader of the progressiverock pioneers Gentle Giant, then as the recordlabel executive responsible for cultivating and signing the likes of Bon Jovi, Dream Theater, and Slipknot and orchestrating comebacks by AC/DC, Yes, and more. Beginning with a young Shulman confidently telling his schoolteacher that he would grow up to become a pop star, this eyeopening memoir explores a Zeliglike existence on both sides of the music industry. Shulman found fame first as a teenager in the 60s group Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, then took rock music to the outer reaches across eleven albums with Gentle Giant. In the 80s, he switched gears to become a record executive, first at Polygram and then at Atco and Roadrunner, working with everyone from Black Sabbath to Dr. Dre to Pantera to Men Without Hats. Along the way, Gentle Giant would become a defining influence on hiphop, their music sampled by many of the genre’s leading lights—including J. Dilla, De La Soul, and dozens more—and the band acclaimed by The Roots bandleader and filmmaker Questlove as his favourite rock act of all time. Cleanliving and careerdriven in a world of debauchery and excess, Shulman is perfectly placed to explore and explain the major developments in popular music and youth culture from the 1960s to the present day, making Giant Steps a mustread for fans of prog, rock, hiphop, and more.