Dan LeRoy - For whom the cowbell tolls : 25 years of Paul’s Boutique

For Whom the Cowbell Tolls:

25 Years of Pauls Boutique

There is no labyrinth in popular music as dense and dazzling as Pauls Boutique . Beastie Boys 1989 classic still defies easy explanation. Its psychedelic samplescapes and lit-savvy rapping were years ahead of their time; only now, a quarter-century after it was unleashed upon an unsuspecting and largely indifferent public, can its full story finally be told.

For Whom the Cowbell Tolls: 25 Years of Pauls Boutique is the thread that will guide you through the albums day-glo, nighttime hip-hop maze. With input from the key players in its creation and delivery many interviewed for the first time this book reveals the reasons Pauls Boutique was made, why it first failed, and how it eventually succeeded, inspiring generations to come.

By Dan Leroy and Peter Relic

Foreword by Sage Francis

Cover photo by Justin Shannahan

Cover design by Dan McCormack for DMC Creative

Praise for

For Whom the Cowbell Tolls :

If you are a music fan, Dan LeRoys obsessive work covering the Beastie Boys most fascinating and complicated album, Pauls Boutique , is essential reading. And if you thought that his brilliant 33 1/3 book on the album was the end-all/be-all, you havent yet read his new collaboration with Peter Relic, For Whom The Cowbell Tolls . Its an even deeper and more captivating discussion about this hugely influential album in the hip-hop pantheon, conducted with the group and other key figures who helped usher it into the world in 1989. This book is a true gift for Beasties fans, as well as any music business history buff.

Brian Coleman , author of
Check the Technique and Rakim Told Me

Praise for

Dan LeRoys 33 1/3: Beastie Boys Pauls Boutique

The favourite book in the series of many people Ive met.

Dr. David Barker , founding editor of
Bloomsbury Academic/Continuums 33 1/3 series

recognized as a cultish, kaleidoscopic classica frequently illuminating and entertaining tale

Stevie Chick , Mojo

Simply put, the book is the owners manual which should have come with the album.

Beastiemania.com

For Whom the Cowbell Tolls:
25 Years of Pauls Boutique

By Dan LeRoy and Peter Relic

6623 Press

Akron Beaver Falls

Originally published 25 July 2014.

Paperback October 2014, with exclusive foreword and photographs.

6623 Press

www.PaulsBoutiqueBook.Tumblr.com

www.Twitter.com/6623Press

www.6623Press.com

Text copyright 2014 Dan LeRoy and Peter Relic

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers or their agents.

66 2/3 and 6623 Press are not affiliated with Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Academic, the 33 1/3 series, or Continuum.

Cover photo by and copyright Justin Shannahan .
Cowbell courtesy of the Danland Collection.

Photo of Matt Dikes apartment door by and David Black,
reprinted with permission.

Photos to accompany If Jerry Lewis Owned Pauls Boutique by Peter Relic, reprinted with permission, unless otherwise noted.

All images from the graphic novel Ask For Janice Jim Mahfood, reprinted with permission.

Original Pauls Boutique rhyme book and track sheet Matt Dike. Photos by Peter Relic; reprinted with permission.

The mailing tube pictured in the Dave Scilken chapter is also the property of Matt Dike, and was photographed by Peter Relic. Reprinted with permission.

Pauls Boutique promotional items pictured were photographed by Justin Shannahan, and are reprinted courtesy of the Danland Collection. The exception is the Pauls Boutique promotional flag, photographed by David Dengler from his private collection and reprinted with permission.

David Bromberg promotional photo David Bromberg, reprinted with permission.

Pimpin in Mellow cassette is the property of Jeremy Shatan. Photo by Carys LeRoy; reprinted with permission.

Solid Steel photos/cover art of Caught in the Middle of a 3-Way Mix Kevin Foakes, reprinted with permission.

Young Jean Lee photo Blaine Davis, reprinted with permission.

Patrick J. Ventura photo Patrick J. Ventura, reprinted with permission.

Lloyd Lindsay young photo Lloyd Lindsay Young, reprinted with permission.

KMD photo Rasheed Shakur, reprinted with permission.

Trim coordination, bleed research, and janky elements by D.X. Ferris

Paperback physical edition:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

LeRoy, Dan and Relic, Peter

p. cm (66 2/3)

For Whom the Cowbell Tolls: 25 Years of Pauls Boutique / LeRoy, Dan and Relic, Peter

Includes bibliographical references.

Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0692262375 (pbk..: alk. Paper)

Paperback ISBN-10: 0692262377

1. Beastie Boys (Musical group). 2. Pauls Boutique (album)

3. Hip-hop (Musical genre) 4. Rap (Musical genre)

5. Rock MusiciansUnited States. I. Title II. Series

Also by the authors:

Pauls Boutique by Dan LeRoy
(Bloomsbury Academics 33 1/3 series)
Paperback, audio book, Kindle, and iTunes e-book

The Greatest Music Never Sold by Dan LeRoy
(Hal Leonard/Backbeat)
Paperback, Kindle, iTunes e-book

This book is dedicated to the memories of Adam MCA Yauch, Tim Carr and Sean The Captain Carasov, and to their families.

The preferred style for Beastie Boys includes no definite article. When writing about the Beasties (see?), sometimes this works, and sometimes it leads to very awkward sentence constructions. They probably like it that way its a Beastie thing to do. We have taken the usual liberty of respecting this rule when it makes sense, and ignoring it when it doesnt. That seems like a Beastie thing to do, as well.

Chart positions, unless otherwise noted, are from Billboard . Chart positions are noted in caps (e.g. Number One).

If Jerry Lewis Owned Pauls Boutique : The Story of Beastie Boys Great Lost Single

Risk, Ridicule, Redemption: Capitol Records and Pauls Boutique

Boutique Bouillabaisse

Selected excerpts from Matt Dikes notebook

Renaissance Rascal and Beastie Booster David Bromberg

A Mike D Mixtape Masterclass with Jeremy Shatan

Arthur Africano on the Legendary Dave Scilken

How 3 DJs and No MC Reanimated Pauls Boutique

How Pauls Boutique Inspired Playwright Young Jean Lee

An Interview with Pauls Boutique Superfan Patrick J. Ventura

Its Always Sunny with Double L, Lloyd Lindsay Young

The Reverberating Legacy of KMD