Reborn in America

Chapter 29: Colonel Parker

After the two songs of theirs were broadcast on the radio, suddenly, when they were walking on the street, someone would come over to say hello.

Many people are very curious, they want to see what kind of people the Carpenter brothers are. Almost everyone knows that there is a pair of brothers in the Carpenter family who sing very well, and their songs are already very popular.

The people who knew the Carpenter brothers were even more proud. They proclaimed to the people around them how they watched the two brothers grow up, and how they saw how the Carpenter brothers were extraordinary. Especially acquaintances like Paul and the others, they simply talked about the two brothers when they saw people.

Paul, Old Joe, and Dill will come to them if they are okay, and ask to rehearse songs together or perform in public.

There are more people who don't know, they also follow behind the Carpenter brothers. They do what the Carpenters do. These people are just curious about them and want to know everything about them.

At the beginning, the two brothers still found it interesting. Over time, they gradually became disgusted. Especially Alex, when he was in school, people from other grades would always come to see him.

Among these people who disturb their peaceful life, there are all kinds of people. There are whites and blacks, ordinary people and musicians, old people and children, and at best music managers.

They followed the Carpenters family, wherever they went. Constantly lobbying them, trying to sign the Carpenter brothers. These agents waved the contracts in their hands and kept selling to the Carpenter family, shouting one by one: "Sign with me, sign with me. I will bring you huge benefits."

Among so many people chasing the Carpenter brothers, a short, fat, bald middle-aged man is the most active. He calls himself Parker, and everyone else calls him "Colonel" or "Colonel Parker"!

"Hey! Listen to me, as long as you are willing to sign a contract with me, I can let your sons appear on TV. Go to Hollywood to make movies and have your own entertainment company!" Colonel Parker spoke to Capone with a clever tongue. The couple promoted their contract.

Few people know the true details of Parker. Those newcomers he brought out knew that he was not a colonel, nor was he born in Huntington, West Virginia.

His real name is not Tom Parker, he is not even American. He is very smart and ambitious, and has always kept his secrets firmly.

On the one hand, he wants to avoid the eyes of the US Immigration Service, and on the other hand, he wants to realize his dream of achieving both fame and fortune—for the average person, these two goals seem to be in conflict with each other.

The Carpenter brothers are underage, and they have to go through their parents or guardians if they want to sign them! This is required by American law and cannot be violated. They have the right to reject all companies trying to make money with the Carpenters, but they have no right to take the money earned by the Carpenters as their own.

However, the Carpenters can represent the income of the brothers, which is also required by law. This gave them many ways to embezzle the money earned by the Carpenter brothers. After many child stars grew up, they suddenly found that the money they earned was possessed by their parents, so they went to court. This kind of thing happens from time to time.

The Carpenter brothers had already signed a contract with the "Teana" company, and they entrusted the company to help sell the record. After all, it's just to release a record, of course it is appropriate to maximize the benefits. According to Bart's estimation, this record alone can bring tens of thousands of income to the Carpenters.

The question now is who they want to sign a long-term contract with. It is also a problem when there are too many choices.

If Alex were to choose, of course, he would choose the company with the highest offer. If possible, he would like to take Rudy's company down. As long as they can pay off their debts, they will be able to maximize their profits with every record they release in the future. Being a wage earner is exploited by the boss, it is better to be a boss to exploit the wage earner.

This is a truth that everyone knows, but to be a boss is to take risks.

The Carpenters consider that their sons are still under adulthood, and they need to study and grow healthy and happily before then. So they put forward various restrictions to those who came to the door, these conditions will definitely harm the interests of the record company.

It was precisely because of these conditions that some large companies were dissatisfied. After some bargaining, these companies retreated in unison. In their view, the potential value of the Carpenters is huge, but before the potential value is turned into cash, any investment is risky.

If the restrictions are added, they are likely to lose money. In that case, it is better to wait for the Carpenters to grow up before finding a way to sign in. As for now, let the brave people eat the first crab. Smart people, that is what everyone wants to be.

As for small companies, there are a lot of brave people, and the prices offered are not bad. As for the restrictions, they basically agreed. It's just that the company is too small, and it is estimated that there will be great restrictions on future development. In addition, Alex has been opposed to it, and he still wants to have his own record company.

Because of this, the Carpenters rejected one small company after another. Many times, Alex wanted to yell directly: "It's so annoying, I just signed it, just like that!"

But sometimes he was worried about selling himself cheaply. After all, he was still young and the future was full of countless possibilities. He has more ambitious goals and doesn't want to just hold a generous contract and work for people for a lifetime.

According to his idea, he should directly take Rudy's record company, the debt is a bit high. But once you have your own record company, all the money you earn from releasing records is yours, and you don't need to share it with others. It is a pity that Barthes has concerns about this, worrying about bankruptcy if he cannot pay his debts.

When Colonel Parker appeared in front of him, Alex couldn't help but feel happy: "A person with vision has vision. No matter where you go, you will find gold."

This Colonel Parker is the hand that really pushed Elvis Elvis to the altar. Although Colonel Parker is both greedy and vicious, he has to admit that he does have vision and is very capable.

Elvis Elvis was dug in the recording studio by a record company owner Phillips. When Elvis was famous for his song "That’sallright," Parker bought it for a contract for $35,000.

This bold investment allowed Colonel Parker to own Elvis Elvis. As Elvis’ agent, Colonel Parker immediately cooperated with the powerful rca company to promote and distribute records nationwide. At the same time, he also successfully arranged for Elvis to be selected on TV, making Elvis immediately become a national star. Since then, every record of Elvis has been ranked at the top of the charts.

It can be said that without the efforts of Colonel Parker, it would take many years for Elvis to become Elvis.

It was also Colonel Parker, the agent who arranged continuous performances when Elvis Elvis was at his weakest, which led to the death of Elvis due to his health collapse. And all of this is because of Colonel Parker's own greed, and adopted an squeezing economic strategy, driving Elvis to a dead end.

Now Colonel Parker is trying to use his powerful persuasive ability to persuade the Carpenters, but unexpectedly, all his details are clearly seen by the kid next to him.

Facing a poisonous snake like Colonel Parker, Alex didn't dare to let the opponent stick to it. Once he was bitten, he couldn't get rid of it. He told his parents, don't trust people like Colonel Parker, otherwise you will definitely suffer a big loss.

Colonel Parker quickly noticed Alex’s hostility towards him, and the Carpenters’ attitude towards him was very unfriendly every time the child was present. So he quickly changed his strategy and negotiated while Alex was in school or performing.

His strategy soon had an effect. The Carpenters couldn't stand this stalking negotiation method, and slowly began to listen to his plan. On this day, he came to Carpenter's house again, explained the benefits of signing with him, and carefully flattered Bart and Angel.

"Mr. Carpenter, don't you think about it anymore? Think about it, as long as you sign this contract, your family will be able to usher in a big opportunity and a big change immediately!"

"Mr. Parker, please let us think about it again!" Bart's attitude first showed signs of softening.

"No need to think about it, Mr. Carpenter!" Colonel Parker continued to tempt: "Think about it. As long as you sign this contract, as soon as you wake up tomorrow, the nationwide record stores will have your sons' copies. Works! What a glorious thing this is!"

"This..." Bart began to shake, he turned his gaze to Angel, and tried to ask his wife for help.

Colonel Parker immediately turned his face to Angel's side, looked straight into Angel's eyes and said, "Mrs. Carpenter, don't you want to be proud of your child?"

Angel also felt that the conditions that Colonel Parker gave were very good, which was many times better than other companies. At the beginning, Angel still felt that Colonel Parker had bad intentions. After these days of contact, her attitude slowly softened. She even wanted to agree just now, but when she thought of Alex, she was a little worried.

"Oh, I really don't know why you are afraid of this. It's just a contract, and it's not for you to give me the money. What can I lose. Now I give you the money!" Colonel Parker seems to have read The same mentality, I saw the Carpenters' worries.

"Then, then you leave the contract, let's consider it again?" Angel didn't have any excuses, so she planned to delay for a while so that Alex could make a decision when he returned.