6. A&M Records tour: This tour interested Eddie because of the legendary A&M recording studio located on the A&M lot. Everyone knows that Herb Albert and Jerry Moss have run one of the classiest labels of all time. The quality and uniqueness of the lot have been a direct result of these quality people at the helm. Of interest were the old Charlie Chaplin studio, the sound stage, the recording studio, and even the board room where every Thursday at around 3 p.m. the executives would meet and discuss strategies. Eddie wanted a run down of type of equipment in the studio, as well as the acoustics of the sound rooms. When I was in one studio, a couple of engineers where mixing a record for a local band called 'The Dig'. Down the hall we entered into a studio full of studio classical musicians such as violinists, etc. Just like the old days. Whose project was it? Well, no one else could have been at an A&M studio in the mid 80's with a group of studio musicians but Richard Carpenter. He was recording for his first solo album after the death of his sister, Karen Carpenter, in February of 1983. Maybe not for Eddie, but it was a thrill for me because I've always been in awe of his instrumental arrangements, not to mentions the music the two of them created in the early-mid 70's.

7. Single and Album Charts: Eddie was amazed at how the charts as we know are constructed for both the album and single charts. He was more interested in the album charts because the singles charts never really appealed to him a great deal. Not that he didn't care about them, but it was more important to him to sell a record as a compilation of work. Although Eddie, himself, had a small collection of 45's, he was more interested in buying albums. He bought some 45's just to get songs that weren't on the albums he purchased (B sides). It was interesting to learn that sales and air play were not the only factor in placement on the charts. Personal relationships between decision makers also played a role in when and where a song day-viewed on the charts. For example, if the airplay figures for a particular single were sluggish for the first week of its release, Tom Noonan would call the appropriate record company executive and give him the choice of leaving it off entirely until the next week. An embarrassing day-view on the charts for an established artist was often times avoided this way. The momentum and hype of a high debut was looked upon as necessary by record company executives in order to influence the playlist decision makers at radio stations. Eddie realized how important the 'buddy system' was in the music business. Favors were constantly being exchanged. As an eventual roady, Eddie's attitude was influenced by this fact. The more he helped other people in the business, the more likely he would, in return, get help from them.