MIKE APPEL
Mike Appel (born October 27, 1942) is an American music industry manager and record producer, best known for his role in both capacities in the early career of Bruce Springsteen. (More from Wikipedia)
Songwriter and drummer Alan Gordon was playing in an inter-racial Greenwich Village band called Tex and the Chex; other members included Mike Appel (guitar) – who was later the manager for Bruce Springsteen early in the Boss’s career – and Everett Jacobs (bass). Gordon had co-written “An Invitation to Cry” with Jimmy Woods (who was not in the band), and Tex and the Chex had recorded the song. They were discovered by record producers Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus; the producers wanted a stronger vocalist, so they brought in Garry Bonner.
The band, now redubbed the Magicians, added Allan “Jake” Jacobs (guitar and vocals) and John Townley (guitar and bass) when Mike Appel and Everett Jacobs left the band. The band became better known when they replaced the Lovin’ Spoonful as the house band at the Night Owl nightclub in the Village. At one point, Felix Pappalardi – later of the hard rock band Mountain – was interested in joining up as the bass guitarist, but it didn’t work out. They even managed to score an appearance on a local CBS television show called Eye on New York – quite a coup considering that they did not have a hit song or an album.
(December 2011)
