Cleveland Rocks

Perhaps only challenged by the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Cleveland hasn't to date rocked harder than it did in the '70s, when a record industry survey showed that more records were sold per capita in Cleveland than any place else in the country. During the early to mid-'70s, former Clevelander, Steve Popovich was having tremendous success working in promotion, then A&R for Epic Records in New York. By the mid-'70s, he was ready to step out on his own and returned to Cleveland, a city he loved, to set up his new Cleveland International Records. His intent was to discover and market artists to appeal to a grass roots, midwestern sensibility. Epic offered the departing executive a production deal—Cleveland International would find the artists and make the records, and once Epic approved the project, they would finance and distribute them. Ronnie Spector's cover of Billy Joel's Say Goodbye To Hollywood, was the label's initial release, and featured back-up by Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. The production, by E Street guitarist Miami Steve Van Zandt, sold 70,000 copies. At the same time, wheels were turning for what would become the label's first album release, first smash, and one of the best-selling records of all time—Meat Loa's Bat Out Of Hell. In the summer of 1978, Cleveland International moved on to its second major project, Too Wild To Tame, an album by a no-frills hard rock band from Illinois called The Boyzz. Other releases followed in the next few years, including a solo effort from Meat Loaf songwriter Jim Steinman, three albums by Ellen Foley, who had served as Meat Loa's female foil on the opus 'Paradise By The Dashboard Light' and releases from Euclid Beach Band (produced by Raspberries' Eric 2 Carmen.) From Pittsburgh, a gritty, blue-collar town with a vibe similar to Cleveland's, came Joe Grushecky and the Iron City Houserockers, an album with English pop star Mike Berry, and a couple from The Rovers, whose 'Wasn't That A Party' became a radio staple. Cleveland International also served as a marketing and management consultant for a number of acts, including Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes and former Mott The Hoople vocalist Ian Hunter, whose 'Cleveland Rocks' became part of a weekly Friday evening ritual on local radio, and eventually the theme to The Drew Carey Show. This compilation, initially released in 1995, captures that initial first rush of success and is a succinct look at what Popovich heard and saw on that midwestern landscape. It features some of the artists and songs that have come to define the first chapter of Cleveland International Records proving once and for all that Cleveland, does indeed, rock.

CD

1. Ronnie Spector & The E Street Band - Say Goodbye To Hollywood
2. Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - I Don’t Want To Go Home
3. Just Us Girls - Time Warp
4. Iron City Houserockers - Have A Good Time (But Get Out Alive)
5. Euclid Beach Band - There's No Surf In Cleveland
6. The Boyzz - Too Wild To Tame
7. Jim Steinman - Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through
8. Ellen Foley - We Belong To The Night
9. Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light
10. Essence - Sweet Fools
11. Mike Berry - I Am A Rocker
12. The Rovers - Wasn't That A Party
13. Ian Hunter - Cleveland Rocks