Jack Fishman. Hit Songwriter. Spy Catcher & The Master of The Sting. Read The Full Story Is In My Book " There Ain't No Rules In Rock n Roll"

Jack Fishman was a songwriter, journalist, spy catcher, and bestselling author whose career spanned music, film, and investigative reporting. As a songwriter, he co-wrote major hits including If Paradise Is Half as Nice, If I Only Had Time, and Help Yourself, with total record sales exceeding ten million. A tireless workaholic, he was also credited with exposing Kim Philby, one of the Cold War’s most notorious spies. Because British libel laws blocked publication of the story in the UK, Fishman worked with contacts at the New York Daily News to break it in the United States. Fishman also managed the gifted composer Roy Budd, collaborating with him on film themes for Soldier Blue and Get Carter. Knowing there was virtually no music budget for Get Carter, Jack persuaded a reluctant Budd to compose and perform the score with his trio for expenses only. The gamble paid off: the soundtrack became a cult classic and propelled Budd toward major film success. I first met Jack when he booked studio time to edit the quarter-inch master tape of the Get Carter soundtrack album. I knew of him by reputation—he was in his late forties, slim, with receding hair and an intense manner of speaking. Midway through the session, I offered to fetch tea and sandwiches from a nearby café. Jack insisted on paying. Despite earning far more than my £7/10 a week, he handed me a single shilling—5p—though tea cost around 7p and sandwiches about 10p. Too embarrassed to correct him, I accepted the coin, made up the difference myself, and returned with the order, even giving him tuppence change. In later years we worked together often, became good friends, and even wrote songs. In 1973, after returning from America, Jack excitedly told me about The Sting, which featured The Entertainer by Scott Joplin. Unable to secure the European rights, Jack booked studio time and had Roy Budd record a cover of the hit arrangement by Marvin Hamlisch. Budd preferred not to use his own name, so Jack invented the credit “The Ragtimers” and secured a rush release on Pye Records. Since Joplin had died more than fifty years earlier, the composition was in the public domain. On Jack’s release, the writing credit read “Joplin and Fishman,” not “Joplin and Hamlisch” as in the U.S. version. The record quickly climbed the charts, alarming the American company preparing to release Hamlisch’s recording with the film. Furious at Fishman’s claim to a share of the credit, they launched legal action—only to discover they were effectively suing Leeds Music, a publishing company they themselves owned. With no practical alternative, they paid Jack his royalties in full. Shrewd, relentless, and commercially astute, Jack Fishman had a formidable business instinct, always determined to maximise his percentage in every deal.

Read The Full Story Is In My Book " There Ain't No Rules In Rock n Roll"

Thank for taking the time to visit my Podcast. Kenny Denton