I had the very good fortune this summer to meet the man who was largely responsible for bringing the Beatles to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during their first US tour. This would end up being the Beatles one and only appearance in the "steel city", and was near the beginning of Pat DiCesare's legendary career in the concert business.
Pat DiCesare started out as a songwriter and Doo Wop performer in the 1950s and later moved on to booking shows and concerts. In time, he and his partner Rich Engler became the single most powerful force in the Pittsburgh area concert business. It wasn't long before DiCesare-Engler Productions became one of the top grossing concert companies in the entire US. Their dominance in that industry would continue for over 3 decades. During that time, Pat and Rich would go on to produce and promote concerts by legendary artists including Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Janis Joplin, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin and many, many more.
My wife and I both were fortunate to meet Pat this past August during a Quantum Leap conference (nope, its not about the very cool TV show, but instead it's an incredible training and mentoring program). It turns out Pat took his lifetime of experiences and stories and turned them into an amazing book "Hard Days, Hard Nights" and was there like us learning how to promote his book. This amazing book of musical journeys tells many of Pat's own personal stories of working with and promoting many of the legendary artists we all grew up with.
To honor Pat and his incredible career, the governor of Pennsylvania just announced that the week of Sept 14th was The Beatles week to honor the Fab Four visit to our state 50 years ago on their inaugural US tour. In addition, the governor named the day of the Beatles concert, Sept 14th, as Pat DiCesare Day in Pennsylvania. I can't believe I met someone who has a day named after them how cool is that! In talking with Pat, both in person and on the phone, you can tell he's just about the nicest and most genuine person you will ever meet, especially in this crazy music business. If you are a music fan like me, I highly recommend you head over to Amazon or Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy of "Hard Days, Hard Nights". You will absolutely enjoy the experience!
That's all for today kiddies. I will be back tomorrow with another post, but that topic will be a mystery until I put my writing hat on tomorrow :) Have another great nite and we'll see you soon!
Music, Love & Laughter,
Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com
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