Ernest Kohl is Topping the Charts Again
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Ernest Kohl made his name in Dance Music, carrying
the torch of late ’70s Disco, and embracing the Hi-NRG sounds of the
early ’80s when he recorded his first records. Thirty years later, he
not only keeps that spirit alive in his music, he also preserves the
memories of the movers and shakers he’s encountered along the way. This
is the first part of our recent conversations. Kelly Wayne Hughes]
“It’s
more flattering to be voted on by the fans. Unlike a certain industry
publication where you can pay for chart position through a promoter. Get
your record into the top 30, you pay. Then get it in the top 10, pay
even more. The labels pay. And it’ll go higher and higher. And they pay
thousands to these promoters. It’s outrageous. The only true charts
there are the sales charts.”
with his three decades in the recording industry. And accepts the low
points as the price for the highs.
“I love musical theatre. I did
my first show at age seven. I auditioned at the Imperial Theatre. And
the next thing you know I’m in South Pacific playing little Jerome with Howard Keel and Jane Powell, singing ‘Dites-moi, pourquoi…’ Then Annie Get Your Gun. Then Camelot. Then Mame playing young Patrick. A national tour of Godspell. Music Man. Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. I played one of Joseph’s evil brothers. My best friend, Christian,” says Kohl with a smile, “would call that typecasting.”
