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
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
,
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
,
and
Styx
In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...
.
[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
''Homo sapiens'' is a distinct species of the hominid family of primates, which also includes all the great apes. Over their evolutionary history, humans gradually developed traits such as Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism, bipedalism, de ...
and group behavior: ''The Genius of the Beast'', ''Global Brain'', and ''
The Lucifer Principle.''
Early life
Bloom was born to a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
.
[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
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
and
microbiology
Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...
,
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
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and, at the age of twenty-five, veered from his scientific studies to work as an editor for a
rock magazine. Bloom would go on to found one of the largest
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
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 bef ...
. 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
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
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 (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...
in how to appeal to "more staid magazines" such as the ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' and ''
People
The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' and so make them mainstream.
[Whitaker, Serling. (2007) ''Styx: The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story of Styx''. Booksurge] He was hired by
to make
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
"more media friendly".
[Smith, Bill (2007). ''I Go To Extremes: The Billy Joel Story''. Robson Books.]
Bloom was also a publicist for
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
[Aaron Hicklin (February 18, 2001). "Starbucking the trend;manhattan transfer". '' The Sunday Herald''.][Anna Sommerville (January 17, 2000). "The truth is out there and it is much stranger than fiction" '']The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
''. Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
,
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.[Talking Heads](_blank) ,
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 the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
,
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
,
[Aaron Hicklin (February 4, 2001). "Wise guy;manhattan transfer" '' The Sunday Herald''.] Bette Midler
Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...
,
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
,
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...
,
[Susan R. Lisman, Karla Dougherty (2007) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Dummies, Wiley] John Mellencamp
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...
,
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...
, and
Kiss
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
.
He handled
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
during his
Uprising Tour.
Bloom has been described in a biography of Billy Joel as "the public relations
spinmeister 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
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...
,
KISS
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
,
Hall and Oates,
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
, and
Run DMC
Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as ...
".
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 or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant.
Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...
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
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City.
Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
'' 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 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''. His books discuss ideas ranging from
human nature
Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...
to what makes
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
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'' 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
Peter Andrew Corning (born 1935) is an American biologist, consultant, and complex systems scientist, Director of the Institute for the Study of Complex Systems, in Seattle, Washington. He is known especially for his work on the causal role of ...
and science fiction writer
Greg Bear
Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American science fiction writer. His work covered themes of Interstellar_war, galactic conflict (''The Forge of God, Forge of God'' books), parallel universes (''The Way (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
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...
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 (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) 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 ma ...
's Office refused to issue him a marriage license 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
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
''. 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
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
.
Bloom considers himself a non-militant yet "stone-cold atheist"
and lives in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York.
In 1986, Bloom joined with
Bob Guccione, Jr.,
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...
,
John Waite
John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English rock singer and musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single "Missing You (John Waite song), Missing You", which reached No. 1 on th ...
and
Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...
to form ''Music in Action'', an organization protesting the censorship against rock music being advocated for at the time by
religious fundamentalists such as
Jimmy Swaggart.
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 Slocum Sage, Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her re ...
. 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
*Udell, Jon (September 28, 2009)
"The Global Brain" Conversations Network.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Howard
1943 births
Living people
American atheists
American critics of Islam
American male non-fiction writers
American music people
American public relations people
American science writers
Evolutionary psychologists
Jewish American atheists
Jewish American non-fiction writers
People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
Writers from Buffalo, New York