Sea Chord

A Johnny Donohue Adventure

Sea Chord– Author's Note

Those of us who came of age during the early years of Rock ‘n’ Roll were part of a very special generation populated by millions of music lovers. As children, we watched the musical landscape change dramatically. Perry Como and Andy Williams were replaced by Mick Jagger and Chuck Berry.
Rock musicians learned to use their notoriety and talent to bare their musical souls to the world. They essentially ripped off the bandages of life with reckless abandon and poured what was left of themselves back into the studio.

Sea Chord is not a history of Rock ‘n’ Roll nor was it intended to be. That would be an impossible task deserving many hours of research. As the Sea Chord story unfolded, I could not disguise my love of the Beach Boys. Their upbeat harmonies and alluring lyrics will be with me forever.
Just as the Beach Boys became successful, they and dozens of other bands were threatened by unscrupulous criminals trying to make a killing in the music business. Sea Chord brings their illegal activities out into the sunlight.
As was the case with Rock music, Sea Chord is not a history of a certain mafia crime family. Suffice it to say that there were big players on the scene willing to take profit from all aspects of the business. Musicians and Mafia – It has a certain ring to it.
Those two worlds collided in the early days of Rock when the ‘Payola’ scandals surfaced. From that point on, a love-hate relationship has existed between the two. Musicians received exposure to a huge audience and the mafia guys got to stuff their pockets with cash.
The story behind Sea Chord story is strictly a product of my imagination. All passages citing Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell, and others are pure fiction.

“The Beat Goes On.”