Allan Pepper’s career as a music entrepreneur began in his early 20s when, in 1965, he and childhood friend Stanley Snadowsky founded a non-profit devoted to expanding awareness of jazz’s contributions to American culture. Thus began a partnership that by 1974 found the two young promoters realizing a lifelong dream by opening their own nightclub, The Bottom Line. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, their 400 seat cabaret would forever change the face of live music in New York City. Over its thirty year existence, more than three million music fans witnessed often career-defining performances by an unparalleled roster of iconic and up-and-coming artists from all points of the musical compass. Along the way, Pepper and Snadowsky also produced such original shows as Leader of the Pack, which would go on to Broadway and help pioneer the “jukebox musical,” as well as the nationally touring songwriter’s series, In Their Own Words. While they took an amazing journey together, even more impressively the two remained best friends until Snadowsky’s death in 2013. Allan Pepper lives in Englewood, New Jersey.Billy Altman is a Grammy-nominated journalist, critic, and historian whose work covering the worlds of music, popular culture and sports has appeared over the years in such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Spin, Esquire, GQ, People, Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice. A former senior editor of Creem magazine, he was a founding curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and a consultant to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, and most recently he served as chief scriptwriter for both the National Blues Museum in St. Louis and the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. A recipient of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, he is a longstanding faculty member of the Humanities Department at New York City’s School of Visual Arts, where he teaches courses in rock, jazz and folk music as well as non-fiction writing. He lives in the lower Hudson Valley region of Westchester County, New York.

• INTRODUCTION 1 A Devotion to Music, and a Devoted Friendship, Grows in Brooklyn2 Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars, a Dream, and a Match Made in theCollege Library 3 Tastes of the Big Time, Bitter and Sweet4 From a Red Garter to a Bottom Line: We Built it, and They Came5 Hell’s Angels, a Jazz Devil, and New York Dolls6 Born to Kill: The Boss Raises the Bar7 A Punk Priestess, a Rock Transformer, a Country Darling – and a“Formula” for Success8 Meat Loaf Burns, and No-Show Jones Finally Arrrives9 The Chairs Hold Firm: Do-Woppers, Rock ‘n’ Roll Prisoners, andthe Great French Fry Caper10 I Got My Job Through the…Village Voice? Working at The Bottom Line11 Leader of the Pack: A Village Smash, a Broadway Bust 12 Fast Folks: From the Cool, Cool, Cool to the Hot, Hot, Hot13 Talkin’ Songwriting; Square Toe Boots and Hats Optional14 ‘Tis the Season: Caroling Carollers, Hallelujah Chrouses, and New Year’s Hi-Jinx15 Stanley16 The “Bottom Line” Sinks the Bottom LineEPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINDEX

Positively Fourth and Mercer mixes star tales with loving memories of lesser known characters like George the bouncer. We read nuts-and-bolts recollections from waitresses and bookkeepers, all in a chatty tone reminding us that on-stage lives aren’t the only lives that are interesting.

Allan Pepper’s career as a music entrepreneur began in his early 20s when, in 1965, he and childhood friend Stanley Snadowsky founded a non-profit devoted to expanding awareness of jazz’s contributions to American culture. Thus began a partnership that by 1974 found the two young promoters realizing a lifelong dream by opening their own nightclub, The Bottom Line. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, their 400 seat cabaret would forever change the face of live music in New York City. Over its thirty year existence, more than three million music fans witnessed often career-defining performances by an unparalleled roster of iconic and up-and-coming artists from all points of the musical compass. Along the way, Pepper and Snadowsky also produced such original shows as Leader of the Pack, which would go on to Broadway and help pioneer the “jukebox musical,” as well as the nationally touring songwriter’s series, In Their Own Words. While they took an amazing journey together, even more impressively the two remained best friends until Snadowsky’s death in 2013. Allan Pepper lives in Englewood, New Jersey.Billy Altman is a Grammy-nominated journalist, critic, and historian whose work covering the worlds of music, popular culture and sports has appeared over the years in such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Spin, Esquire, GQ, People, Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice. A former senior editor of Creem magazine, he was a founding curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and a consultant to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, and most recently he served as chief scriptwriter for both the National Blues Museum in St. Louis and the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. A recipient of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, he is a longstanding faculty member of the Humanities Department at New York City’s School of Visual Arts, where he teaches courses in rock, jazz and folk music as well as non-fiction writing. He lives in the lower Hudson Valley region of Westchester County, New York.

• INTRODUCTION 1 A Devotion to Music, and a Devoted Friendship, Grows in Brooklyn2 Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars, a Dream, and a Match Made in theCollege Library 3 Tastes of the Big Time, Bitter and Sweet4 From a Red Garter to a Bottom Line: We Built it, and They Came5 Hell’s Angels, a Jazz Devil, and New York Dolls6 Born to Kill: The Boss Raises the Bar7 A Punk Priestess, a Rock Transformer, a Country Darling – and a“Formula” for Success8 Meat Loaf Burns, and No-Show Jones Finally Arrrives9 The Chairs Hold Firm: Do-Woppers, Rock ‘n’ Roll Prisoners, andthe Great French Fry Caper10 I Got My Job Through the…Village Voice? Working at The Bottom Line11 Leader of the Pack: A Village Smash, a Broadway Bust 12 Fast Folks: From the Cool, Cool, Cool to the Hot, Hot, Hot13 Talkin’ Songwriting; Square Toe Boots and Hats Optional14 ‘Tis the Season: Caroling Carollers, Hallelujah Chrouses, and New Year’s Hi-Jinx15 Stanley16 The “Bottom Line” Sinks the Bottom LineEPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINDEX

Positively Fourth and Mercer mixes star tales with loving memories of lesser known characters like George the bouncer. We read nuts-and-bolts recollections from waitresses and bookkeepers, all in a chatty tone reminding us that on-stage lives aren’t the only lives that are interesting.

Allan Pepper’s career as a music entrepreneur began in his early 20s when, in 1965, he and childhood friend Stanley Snadowsky founded a non-profit devoted to expanding awareness of jazz’s contributions to American culture. Thus began a partnership that by 1974 found the two young promoters realizing a lifelong dream by opening their own nightclub, The Bottom Line. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, their 400 seat cabaret would forever change the face of live music in New York City. Over its thirty year existence, more than three million music fans witnessed often career-defining performances by an unparalleled roster of iconic and up-and-coming artists from all points of the musical compass. Along the way, Pepper and Snadowsky also produced such original shows as Leader of the Pack, which would go on to Broadway and help pioneer the “jukebox musical,” as well as the nationally touring songwriter’s series, In Their Own Words. While they took an amazing journey together, even more impressively the two remained best friends until Snadowsky’s death in 2013. Allan Pepper lives in Englewood, New Jersey.Billy Altman is a Grammy-nominated journalist, critic, and historian whose work covering the worlds of music, popular culture and sports has appeared over the years in such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Spin, Esquire, GQ, People, Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice. A former senior editor of Creem magazine, he was a founding curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and a consultant to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, and most recently he served as chief scriptwriter for both the National Blues Museum in St. Louis and the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. A recipient of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, he is a longstanding faculty member of the Humanities Department at New York City’s School of Visual Arts, where he teaches courses in rock, jazz and folk music as well as non-fiction writing. He lives in the lower Hudson Valley region of Westchester County, New York.

• INTRODUCTION 1 A Devotion to Music, and a Devoted Friendship, Grows in Brooklyn2 Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars, a Dream, and a Match Made in theCollege Library 3 Tastes of the Big Time, Bitter and Sweet4 From a Red Garter to a Bottom Line: We Built it, and They Came5 Hell’s Angels, a Jazz Devil, and New York Dolls6 Born to Kill: The Boss Raises the Bar7 A Punk Priestess, a Rock Transformer, a Country Darling – and a“Formula” for Success8 Meat Loaf Burns, and No-Show Jones Finally Arrrives9 The Chairs Hold Firm: Do-Woppers, Rock ‘n’ Roll Prisoners, andthe Great French Fry Caper10 I Got My Job Through the…Village Voice? Working at The Bottom Line11 Leader of the Pack: A Village Smash, a Broadway Bust 12 Fast Folks: From the Cool, Cool, Cool to the Hot, Hot, Hot13 Talkin’ Songwriting; Square Toe Boots and Hats Optional14 ‘Tis the Season: Caroling Carollers, Hallelujah Chrouses, and New Year’s Hi-Jinx15 Stanley16 The “Bottom Line” Sinks the Bottom LineEPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINDEX

Positively Fourth and Mercer mixes star tales with loving memories of lesser known characters like George the bouncer. We read nuts-and-bolts recollections from waitresses and bookkeepers, all in a chatty tone reminding us that on-stage lives aren’t the only lives that are interesting.