Chris Blackwell, who built Island Records into one of most tasteful, artist-friendly and successful labels in music history, will quickly admit that, along the way, he made some grave mistakes.
After seeing a formative Pink Floyd perform, he commented to a colleague “that’s the worst thing I ever saw in my life.” Upon meeting a young Elton John (then going by his birth name, Reg Dwight), he couldn’t imagine how such a shy and self-conscious kid could possibly become a viable live performer. And when Procol Harum tried to grab his attention with their unreleased song Whiter Shade of Pale, he thought its 5-min length made it unmarketable. More, he hated the use of the word “fandango” in the lyrics.
