At an artists and repertoire department of Atlantic Records.
New York City. August 5, 1981.
Phone rang. A young assistant poked its head into the office of artists and repertoire representative Bobby Klein.
The assistant asked, "Hey Bobby, you caught that Cornell kid on MTV this morning? The circle of life song?"
Bobby looked at the assistant while he sipped his coffee, "Barely, it was 5 freakin' AM, but yeah, I saw the tail end. That voice... The kid sounds like he's been smoking Camels since birth. Raw, but man, it sticks."
The assistant replied, "Sub Pop's the label. Some weird indie thing outta Washington. Jem's pushing the tapes."
Bobby had his eyebrow curled up, "Jem, huh? They're usually ahead of the curve. I'll call Rick on the radio, see if anything's bubbling."
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At Warner Brothers Records in Los Angeles's Lunchroom. A few artists and repertoire scouts and promo guys were huddled over sandwiches.
One of the people asked, "Anyone else catch that Cornell kid on MTV?"
A woman answered, "You mean the sweaty, long-haired teen screaming on stage? Yeah. It was like watching a lion cub try to be a full-grown beast, and almost nailing it."
Another man in the room chimed in, "I thought it was a full band at first. But no, solo act. Kid's like sixteen!"
The woman's facial expression changed to a surprised one, "Sixteen? Get outta here. That voice? I thought he was 30. Felt like Sabbath met Morrison in a garage fire."
The man before added, "Apparently the label's Sub Pop. Never heard of 'em before this week. We should flag it."
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At Columbia Records. An executive, who was smoking a cigar, was watching a high quality grainy tape on his office TV.
He asked, "...Now that's something. Looks like trashy but fun scenes at their gigs and shows, he sounds like gold. Who's got this kid?"
A junior representative answered, "Sub Pop. Independent. But Jem's distributing nationally, so we're already seeing calls in smaller markets."
The executive wondered, "MTV got guts airing this. Reminds me of when we pushed Springsteen with those old street clips. That same kind of fire."
Junior representative asked, "Should we reach out?"
The executive smiled and answered, "Hell no, not yet. Let the kid cook a little. But keep your eye on him. If Sub Pop fumbles, we swoop."
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At RCA Records.
An executive was on the phone, "...Yeah, we saw it. Grainy but high quality live footage scenes, dubbed over the album's vocals. It looked good."
On the other line, "His crowd energy was insane. Feels authentic, raw enough for punk kids, melodic enough for classic rock holdouts."
The executive answered, "If the kid writes his own stuff, we have a problem. That means he's not just a pretty scream."
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At the Motown Office.
A younger "artists and repertoire" staff member walked into an older exec's office with a VHS tape.
The staff said, "Sir, you should check this out. He's not our usual sound, but this guy Cornell... there's something timeless in his voice."
The executive nodded, "Music's shifting again. We felt it with disco, funk, now this... grunge or whatever they call it. Let's keep this tape on the shelf."
The staff nodded and left the office.
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The buzz was getting louder for Chris Cornell and Sub Pop Inc nationwide, it was without a doubt a positive thing for Jems Record as they kept getting more album orders from their partners nationwide. They even got requests from their connections in the European side!
With these conditions, they pumped up the re-prints of "Ultramega OK" album and with Joseph Kennedy Sr and James' support plan to have at least 1,000 cassette tapes and vinyl records bundled up with Chris Cornell's extended play (EP) "Screaming Life/Fopp" as promotion, Jem Records kept printing out as demand ensued.
As for Chris Cornell, he had been rehearsing with the original hired band members for the upcoming United States tour!
Lenny Russo, the Sub Pop's hired tour and booking manager for Chris Cornell, has been working hard to get tour dates, fortunately, with the August 5 airing of "Circle of Life" music video on MTV, many venues opened up.
From September to December 1981, Chris Cornell was fully booked along with Sub Pop's coordination with the bands The Fartz and U-Turn. All three would go on tour with these dates:
Sept 1 at Seattle, WA in The Showbox.
Sept 4 at Portland, OR in Pine Street Theatre.
Sept 7 at San Francisco, CA in Mabuhay Gardens.
Sept 10 at Los Angeles, CA in Whisky a Go Go.
Sept 13 at Phoenix, AZ in The Mason Jar.
Sept 16 at Denver, CO in Mercury Cafe.
Sept 19 at Dallas, TX in The Hot Klub.
Sept 22 at Austin, TX in Raul's.
Oct 1 at New Orleans, LA in Tipitina's.
Oct 4 – Atlanta, GA – 688 Club
Oct 7 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat's Cradle
Oct 10 – Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club
Oct 13 – Philadelphia, PA – Ripley's Music Hall
Oct 16 – New York City, NY – CBGB
Oct 19 – Boston, MA – The Rathskeller (The Rat)
Oct 22 – Detroit, MI – Harpo's
Oct 25 – Chicago, IL – Tuts
Oct 29 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
November 1981.
Nov 2 – St. Louis, MO – Mississippi Nights
Nov 5 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In
Nov 9 – Miami, FL – 27 Birds
Nov 12 – Orlando, FL – The Edge
Nov 16 – Pittsburgh, PA – Electric Banana
Nov 20 – Cleveland, OH – Pirate's Cove
Nov 24 – Indianapolis, IN – Vogue Theatre
December 1981.
Dec 1 – Kansas City, MO – Parody Hall
Dec 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – Speedway Cafe
Dec 8 – Boise, ID – The Crazy Horse
Dec 12 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
Dec 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Santa Monica Civic Auditorium