Denny Somach, rock entrepreneur and author, reads at Main Point Books

For decades, Denny Somach, rock entrepreneur, author, and collector, has lived the life Jay Z so memorably described: "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man."

He has a new book, Get the Led Out: How Led Zeppelin Became the Biggest Band in the World, which he'll read from on Thursday at Main Point Books in Bryn Mawr. He's also on a quest to start an International Classic Rock Society website and museum (perhaps in Philadelphia). And that's just the beginning.

"I had no idea any of this would work, but figured it's a great way to earn money, meet girls, and have fun until I found a real job," says Somach, an Allentown native with offices in Havertown. "And I was planning on becoming a stockbroker."

A graduate of Moravian College, Somach left his life as WYSP-FM jock and music director in the mid-1970s for NBC radio network The Source, where he produced much of its rock-related programming. The self-production and syndication bug bit him hard.

"I realized in 1981 that I might make a living doing this," he says, "and with great risk, quit my WYSP job to start a production company out of my apartment." Success happened just about right away. That was the year MTV started up. So Somach re-pitched one of his earliest ideas. It became The News That Rocked '81, making him the growing network's first outside producer.

Other gigs included co-creating Friday Night Videos for NBC TV, launching Rolling Stone's Continuous History of Rock and Roll radio series, consulting on rock's first "oldies" infomercials, and many other Somach-owned-and-syndicated interview programs with rock legends.

In 1984, he co-created and produced Ticket to Ride, a Beatles-themed weekly radio series. It ran for 10 years, prompting him to assemble his recorded interviews for his first book, of the same name, in 1989.

As the 1990s came up, Somach was turning his "passion as a collector and fan" into another business, licensing and marketing classic album art and worthy ephemera. Since album art was disappearing with the advent of the CD, he started selling limited-edition, artist-signed lithographs, first through a deal with Apple Corp to release Beatles covers, then a similar deal with the Rolling Stones, and so on. "We were a little ahead of our time," he says. There was no Internet when he started. "There's still no organized marketplace, and with social media it could take off." As music goes online, Somach worries that "album art will become a lost art if not preserved."

With the CV outlined above, it may come as little surprise that Somach cherishes Led Zeppelin. He once spoke of the band as being its own "religion." Thus the authoritative Get the Led Out. It's full of interviews with Zep members, managers, label CEOs, and famous fans. It first appeared in 2012, then again this year in an expanded, updated version with rare photos.

For Somach, holy rocking bands such as Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, and Pink Floyd have done something singular: "They've become cross-generational, as a whole new generation has embraced this music. It didn't happen with Sinatra. It didn't happen with Elvis."

Somach owns one of rock's largest interview libraries - more than 5,000 hours of audio and video. He hopes to make that treasury the basis for his International Classic Rock Society website/museum. His live appearances turn into a cross between Pawn Stars and Antiques Roadshow. "I've become somewhat of a recognized expert in rock collectibles and their value," says Somach. "I know their stories."

Denny Somach:

"Get the Led Out"

7 p.m. Thursday at Main Point Books, 1941 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr. 610-525-1480, www.mainpointbooks.com.

EndText