by Richard Skelly » Sat Mar 31, 2018 7:04 pm
Thanks drmusic for indirectly mentioning the ad. I was initially tempted to get into its nitty gritty, but didn’t want to detract from Jerry Doucette. Still, how different things might have unfolded for Jerry if his label had continued to print money with Heart atop the roster.
About that notorious ad.
May Mushroom label boss Shelly Siegel rest in peace...But...how in God’s name did he devise or sign off on, hands down, the dumbest print ad in the history of rock music? Take Heart sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson—Mushroom’s two most famous personages—do a mock tabloid photo of them looking very sexy, and then add the unbelievable cutline “It was our first time.” Then, if you’re running Mushroom Records, act surprised when readers—including the Wilson siblings—conclude lesbian incest is going on. And shite hits the fan.
Still, even with the egregious ad, Heart must have employed a pretty good legal team to extricate itself from the Mushroom contract. The court ultimately freed the band, while allowing them final production and mix control over Heartless which Mushroom released to follow Dreamboat Annie.
Many rock-music pathologists traced the eventual demise of Mushroom to the unexpected death of Shelly Siegel in early 1979. I think the label’s end was preordained when Heart left the bunker building near Granville Island. Without steady cash flow, there was no way to pay staff salaries, a network of independent promoters and properly support remaining talent like Chilliwack, Iain Matthews and Jerry Doucette.