Upon learning that I was an assistant manager for the band "Black Rose Garden," the publisher asked if I would be willing to start a band management business with her. Naturally I said "Yes." This became "Flair Management."
We did this for a couple of years and toward the end - in the mid and late 90's - I began to write song lyrics. I sold some of these lyrics to bands in the Boston area and a couple bands in the midwest. I sold all rights - which means I would not be eligible for accreditation or royalties on any song.
A band manager/producer in Boston asked me for several songs. I interviewed the manager/producer (Robin) to establish a feel for the band so I could tailor songs to their style and taste.
Robin had a very androgynous voice, I couldn't tell if Robin was a he or she. By discreet questioning I established that Robin was a female from Russia. And then she assured me she was a female. I needed that info because Robin suggested that she might sing with the band from time to time and I didn't want a male singing a song I had written for a female or vice versa.
One day, I sold a few songs to Robin and I knew that at least a couple of them were really good. We talked about two of the songs and I hummed and thumped to relay the melody and percussion I imagined for each song.
Robin bought a handful more songs over the next year - long after my association with Flair Management had ended - and then I moved to Phoenix (1997) severing my ties with Massachusetts and Boston bands.
A few years later, in 2005, a friend and I were driving home from work and a song came on the radio. I immediately began singing the song without ever "hearing" it before - because I had written it! It was one of the songs I had sold to "Robin" years before. They had left the song exactly as I had written it along with my humming melody and my thumping version of the percussion.
The song was "Wait" by Earshot. And "Robin," I found out, was a male.
You can watch the music video for "Wait" on Youtube - "Wait"
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