Source: https://missioncityrecord.com/
Mission resident Graham Wood has worked with some of music’s most iconic artists during a long career in the industry. The 83-year-old from Torquay, England helped book and manage artists like Paul Simon and witnessed the ascent of other legends. In over 30 years in the music business, Wood worked with Simon, Art Garfunkel, Al Stewart, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and more. While in London, he crossed paths with the likes of Elton John, Rod Stewart, the Rolling Stones, and Jimmy Page before they found mainstream success.
“You got all these future superstars who were just guys wandering around the business. You’d say ‘Hi, how are you going?’ and that was it,” Wood said. Wood said he was always happiest when doing something related to music. As an 18-year-old in London, Wood was working as a buyer for an iron ore mining company who were based in Sierra Leone. He started promoting dances in the evenings at the local hall. Wood booked acts like Manfred Mann and Long John Baldry which had the place “packed solid.”
After nine months of running the dances, he started working in the music industry full-time. A large agency in London offered him a job as a manager and booker. Wood worked with American artists such as Johnny Cash and Jesse Fuller before branching out to a theatrical agency as well where he worked with Diana Dors. In addition to his duties at the agencies, he was kept busy by running folk and blues clubs.
“I had a pretty packed dance card between working all day and then finding groups and artists for my clubs and keeping the whole lot going in the air. I was earning good money, but I was up until two in the morning sometimes. So it wasn’t easy street – it was a lot of hard work putting it together,” Wood said. After being introduced to Paul Simon, Wood asked Simon to come to his club to audition. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought this guy is incredible,” Wood said. Wood signed Simon and began promoting his music in England, where he was largely unknown at the time. After a few months, Simon’s partner Art Garfunkel wanted to come to England for some gigs while off from university, and Wood booked them at a Birmingham university for the first show. Before the gig, Wood was afraid and unsure about how adding another person to the act would impact the show. It didn’t take long to realize the fears weren’t warranted. “They started and I could not believe it. The hair went up on the back of my head. I thought, these guys are fantastic. They did all the early stuff like Sound of Silence. I couldn’t believe it – I’ve got a gold mine here. And of course, the university went crazy. The guy came back at the break and said I want to book him again immediately,” Wood said. Garfunkel stayed for two months before heading back to university. Wood booked Simon for shows throughout England and was present for the recording Simon’s “Paul Simon Song Book”. Simon wrote “Homeward Bound” after missing a train back to London following a set of shows Wood booked in North England. Shortly after, Simon wrote “I Am a Rock” and Wood booked a performance of the song on the pop music TV show, Ready, Steady, Go!, which went too long for the producers. When Simon went back to the States and reunited with Garfunkel, their careers took off. “This other guy took them over in the States, because I’m sitting in England and he’s in the States. And they went from big to bigger to even bigger to monstrous. And that was basically that. It was very good for my career and helped me a lot, obviously,” Wood said. “Because from then on, people were coming to me for advice and help.” Wood went on to split his time between working in England and managing entertainment at a new night club in Benidorm, Spain. The club featured a massive bar and a helicopter from the Spanish Air Force where the DJ set up. He booked acts for the club that included Little Richard, the Johnny Otis Show, and Manfred Mann “I hung in there with that for a couple of year and then I got kind of fed up with. I really wanted to be back in England. It was too much time away from the family,” Wood said. The British tax department wanted Wood to pay taxes both in the UK and Spain and his accountant advised Wood he could either stay and fight, or leave. That’s when Wood made the move to Vancouver. He was quickly introduced to Red Robinson, who he partnered with to form Redwood Records. While sifting through Robinson’s old tapes, Wood came across a collection of unheard interviews with Elvis Presley. Presley died just months after Wood moved to Canada, and Redwood Records put the tapes out. They sold well and the profits were put back into the business. Redwood Records also released the Vancouver Whitecaps anthem, “White is the Colour” which became popular. “We did pretty well with Redwood Records. And then as records began to sort of go downstream, I got into the video market and formed a video company,” Wood said. Wood met his wife Wyn in 1994 and they moved in together in Mission in 1998. “The business is difficult on relationships and stuff. You’ve got to have somebody who really likes it and understands it. The problem is, it’s a demanding business because you’re not only dealing with the people – there’s a lot of other issues,” Wood said. In 1998, Wood had the idea for The Boogie & The Beat TV show to tell some of the real stories behind the music business. He managed to secure $100,000 in local funding to shoot the first programs and went to the southern United States with Wyn, Ronnie Hawkins and the crew. “We got to see a lot of the original legends. We went to New Orleans and Nashville and all over and we got to know them as people, and we got to see it was great in some ways, but sad in others,” Wood said. One full show about Memphis was completed but the purchase of a 12-part series fell through. “Now I’m holding all this invaluable film material – people that are dead, artists, rhythm and blues artists – I mean it’s unbelievable, the artists we have. I’ve got them all on film at home, and they’re just gathering dust,” Wood said. Although Wood has crossed paths with some music legends, he didn’t make an effort to keep in touch and hasn’t been driven by money, “I’m one of these funny guys that, if (an artist) made it, they’ve made it. I don’t like being a hanger-on,” he said. Wood currently hosts a podcast called “Music In My Soul” where he tells stories from his time in the industry, available on Spotify.
Many thanks to Mary Hohulin for the info regarding this article.
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