Howard Bloom
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Howard Bloom (born June 25, 1943) is an American author. He was a music publicist in the 1970s and 1980s for singers and bands such as Prince,
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
, and
Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...
.End of the World is Less than 2 Billion Years Away Predicts Howard Bloom
December 18, 2012
He has published a book on Islam, ''The Muhammad Code,'' an autobiography, ''How I Accidentally Started The Sixties'', and three books on human evolution and group behavior: ''The Genius of the Beast'', ''Global Brain'', and ''
The Lucifer Principle ''The Lucifer Principle'' is a 1995 book by American author Howard Bloom, in which he argues that social groups, not individuals, are the primary "unit of selection" on genes and human psychological development. He states that both competition bet ...
.''


Early life

Bloom was born to a Jewish family in Buffalo, New York.Psychology Today: "The God Problem: An Interview with Howard Bloom - How does the universe account for its own creation?
August 28, 2012
He became interested in science, especially cosmology and
microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...
, as early as the age of ten. By age sixteen Bloom was working as an assistant researching the immune system at the Roswell Park Memorial Research Cancer Institute. Bloom graduated from New York University and, at the age of twenty-five, veered from his scientific studies to work as an editor for a
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
magazine. Bloom would go on to found one of the largest public relations firms in the music industry.


Career


Public relations

In 1974 Bloom was made the head of public relations of
ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...
. He also was briefly head of Gulf+Western's music publicity department. In 1976, he founded The Howard Bloom Organization. In 1980, Bloom suggested to Prince and his management that he "aggressively pursue the rock and new wave audience ... Consequently, Prince's management put together a series of performances designed with racially mixed audiences in mind".Nilsen, Per (2003) Dance Music Sex Romance: Prince: The First Decade. SAF Publishing He tutored the band
Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...
in how to appeal to "more staid magazines" such as the '' Wall Street Journal'' and '' People'' and so make them mainstream.Whitaker, Serling. (2007) ''Styx: The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story of Styx''. Booksurge He was hired by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
to make
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
"more media friendly".Smith, Bill (2007). ''I Go To Extremes: The Billy Joel Story''. Robson Books. Bloom was also a publicist for Michael Jackson,Aaron Hicklin (February 18, 2001). "Starbucking the trend;manhattan transfer". ''
The Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre- ...
''.
Anna Sommerville (January 17, 2000). "The truth is out there and it is much stranger than fiction" '' The Scotsman''. Cyndi Lauper, Talking Heads,
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...
, ZZ Top,Aaron Hicklin (February 4, 2001). "Wise guy;manhattan transfer" ''
The Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre- ...
''.
Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
,
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
,
Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
,Susan R. Lisman, Karla Dougherty (2007) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Dummies, Wiley John Mellencamp, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Kiss. He handled Bob Marley during his
Uprising Tour The Uprising Tour was a concert tour organised to support the album ''Uprising'' by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was Marley's last tour and the biggest music tour of Europe in that year. The tour started at the Hallenstadion in Zürich, Swi ...
. Bloom has been described in a biography of Billy Joel as "the public relations
spinmeister In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...
to have on your payroll in the seventies and eighties if you were a musician and your image needed to be authenticated to the masses". With his company he had successfully transformed and launched the careers of many rock stars including John Mellencamp, KISS, Hall and Oates,
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
, and Run DMC". He has also been described as "one of the most successful publicists of his generation, a star maker whose client list was a Who's Who of rock and roll ...
hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called ''pipes'' (the word ''pipe'' usually refers to a rigid tube, whereas a hose is usually a flexible one), or more generally '' ...
nbsp;... interest in rock and roll had more to do with the study of mass psychology in action than furthering the aggrandizement of spoiled rock stars. He approached PR as an applied science". In 1979, '' New York Magazine'' put him in the "Hot 100 plus" as one of its "Big Dealmakers" and observed, "His brain is a vinyl storage system: the most thorough and efficient". According to Derek Sutton, manager of the Styx, he was "probably the greatest press agent that rock and roll has ever known." In 1986, the Howard Bloom Organization was reported to be "one of the most successful independent public relations firms in the music business.
n 1985 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
his acts grossed $333 million."


Books

Bloom has written a number of books, including: ''The Genius of the Beast'', ''Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century'', and ''
The Lucifer Principle ''The Lucifer Principle'' is a 1995 book by American author Howard Bloom, in which he argues that social groups, not individuals, are the primary "unit of selection" on genes and human psychological development. He states that both competition bet ...
''. His books discuss ideas ranging from human nature to what makes rock and roll artists successful. According to Bloom: "Everything from the wolf-pack behavior of music business executives to the lemming-like conduct of hypocritical journalists helped shape my insights" and that " e real magic of rock happens at a concert, where if the performers are successful, individuals ... merge in a pulse of common emotion ... This consolidation mirrors the force that create much of both human good and evil".Adcroft, Patrice (February 1995
Giving Beelzebub equal time: Howard Bloom's journey to the heart of darkness in the Lucifer Principle.
''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' vol 10 (11) p. 86.
He founded the International Paleopsychology Project, an Internet group "to study the development of the universe from its conception to the present". Individuals crediting him with inspiration include the scientist Peter Corning and science fiction writer Greg Bear. His fourth book, ''The God Problem: How A Godless Cosmos Creates'', was issued August 24, 2012. His memoir, ''How I Accidentally Started The Sixties'', was published in 2017.


Personal life

Bloom developed
chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...
in 1988, which left him housebound. The 2007 book '' Chronic Fatigue Syndrome For Dummies'' lists Bloom as one of the ten most famous people with CFS. In 2001, the New York
City Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...
's Office refused to issue him a
marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...
in his home, though marriage licenses can be arranged for those unable to attend its office, for those confined to hospitals, nursing homes and prisons.Montero, Douglas (June 4, 2001). "Red tape gums up trip down aisle". '' New York Post''. After this decision was publicized, a personal visit was made by the city clerk to Bloom's house to issue the license. '' The New York Times'' observed that regulations in regard to obtaining licenses at the city clerk's office were likely in breach of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Bloom considers himself a non-militant yet "stone-cold atheist" and lives in Brooklyn, New York. In 1986, Bloom joined with
Bob Guccione, Jr. Robert Charles Guccione Jr. (born September 19, 1955) is an American publisher and the eldest son of late ''Penthouse'' founder Bob Guccione. He founded the music magazine '' Spin''. Publishing career In 1978, after two attempts at going into t ...
, Ted Nugent, John Waite and Sheena Easton to form ''Music in Action'', an organization protesting the censorship against rock music being advocated for at the time by
religious fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...
s such as
Jimmy Swaggart Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostalism, Pentecostal televangelism, televangelist, southern gospel, gospel music recording artist, pianist, and Christian author. His television ministry, which began in 1971, an ...
. An article by Bloom published in '' Omni'' magazine, "The importance of hugging", suggested that "Islamic cultures treat their children harshly, they despise open displays of affection ... the result is violent adults", and as a consequence, "An entire people may have turned barbaric for the simple lack of a hug." This claim led the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee to organize a sit-in at ''Omnis New York head office. His article has been described as "not unlike some forms of religious anti-Semitism", and together with similar comments in his book ''The Lucifer Principle'', "an example of Orientalist (and racist) literature".Louise Cainkar (2009). ''Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11''.
Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her recently deceased husband, rail ...
.
Bloom has written that "Arab pressure groups asked ever so politely ... that nothing that I write be published again. They offered to boycott my publisher's products — all of them — worldwide. And they backed their warning with a call for my punishment in seventeen Islamic countries."


Books

* * * * * Bloom, Howard K. (2010). ''The Genius of the Beast : A Radical Re-vision of Capitalism''. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. . . * Bloom, Howard K. (2000). ''The Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century''. New York, N.Y.: Wiley. . . * Bloom, Howard K. (1995). ''The Lucifer Principle : A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History''. New York, N.Y.: The Atlantic Monthly Press. . .


References


External links

*Houle, David (September 6, 2007)
"Howard Bloom On The Future Of Energy: Turn Poisons Into Pleasure And Excrement Into Energy"
Science 2.0 Science 2.0 is a suggested new approach to science that uses information-sharing and collaboration made possible by network technologies. It is similar to the open research and open science movements and is inspired by Web 2.0 technologies. Scienc ...
*Udell, Jon (September 28, 2009)
"The Global Brain"
Conversations Network. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Howard 1943 births Living people Writers from Buffalo, New York Jewish American atheists American music people American public relations people American science writers Evolutionary psychologists Jewish American writers People with chronic fatigue syndrome American critics of Islam