Luther Vandross once told Barry Krutchik the meaning behind his middle name: Ronzoni (yes, like the pasta). Vanilla Ice was the first cover story he ever wrote, and he was paid $200. R. Kelly revealed the time he almost fainted when he met his idol Stevie Wonder in the men\u2019s room, and he sang for him on the spot.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s a person to do with so many spoken treasures \u2014 verbal gems collected over a lifetime of interviewing celebrities? During the pandemic, when life slowed to a standstill, Krutchik decided to move into high gear and compile his sessions into a book: \u201cClassic Conversations: \u201990s Hip Hop & R&B.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krutchik has lived a \u201ccrazy, interesting,\u201d celebrity-filled life, one that he could never have imagined growing up in North Miami Beach, Florida. After attending college in the Midwest, he decided on a whim\u2014responding to what he called a gravitational pull \u2014 to move to Los Angeles. He had big plans to be a screenwriter . . . until, he explained, \u201creality stepped in and you kind of have to go with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was 21 and scored a lucky break at his first job at Mom\u2019s Saloon in Brentwood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a bouncer there, and he commented that I knew every song that they played,\u201d said Krutchik. \u201cHe said, \u2018I work at a music magazine during the day. They\u2019re hiring. You may want to check it out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That magazine was HITS Magazine, and Krutchik was hired by the marketing department.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the only one there with a college degree,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s in a band. Everyone\u2019s got long hair. It\u2019s the late \u201980s. It was a magazine founded by guys who were in the radio promotion industry. I was taking phone calls from BB\u2019s Records in Detroit to see how many units they moved of Luther Vandross\u2019s record \u2014 we were creating charts. That was my start in the entertainment industry. I got sidetracked into the music industry by this magazine.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The beginning of his career started off with a bang. Celebrities like Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire would stop by the office. Not long after, another friend who was doing interviews with rock and movie stars called with an opportunity: an employee at their small production company, LEG productions, was fired without notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my start into interviewing high-profile artists,\u201d Krutchik said. \u201cIt was for syndicated radio programming, which was different than print, so I had to mic people up and find a quiet area. For an hour or more I would talk to them about their new record, movie or television show. Back then, you had to book the interview, do the interview, cut the interview.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a 21-year-old kid, and I\u2019m interviewing Martha Reeves, Doris Troy, the original \u201950s, \u201960s hit makers,\u201d he continued. \u201cI interviewed Little Richard, The Temptations, The O\u2019Jays, Glen Campbell, Vanilla Ice, Stevie Wonder. You learn how to do an interview. I was doing five to 10 interviews a week. You get thrown in, and it was crazy, fun and a learning experience. I\u2019m at the Stevie Nicks EPK shoot and the Phil Collins album release party at Spago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krutchik credits his parents with his love for music, movies and mayhem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother had such a passion for music that indirectly it must have been instilled in me,\u201d he shared. \u201cMy dad always used to hang up the phone and say, \u2018Have fun.\u2019 My joke is, you should have said, get a job. But I went the fun route, and it hasn\u2019t disappointed since.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a kid born in Brooklyn and raised in Florida, who never thought they would be hobnobbing with the stars, Krutchik has made it. He was the former head of talent relations for Premiere Radio \u2014 the world\u2019s largest producer of audio content at the time and which is now the production arm for iHeart \u2014 and spent a decade immersed in Hollywood\u2019s movie junket circuit. He is a founding member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (now Critics\u2019 Choice) and remains an emeritus member of its film branch.<\/p>\n
After sitting on the sidelines for years \u2014 booking instead of interviewing \u2014 Krutchik shared his comeback story. A few years ago, he got a call from a publicist saying, \u2018I\u2019d love for you to interview Lady Gaga.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember saying to them, I haven\u2019t done an interview in 20 years,\u201d said Krutchik. \u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018We know, your name is on the approved list. Will you do it?\u2019 That was a big year because she was doing House of Gucci. She was up for Grammys with Tony Bennett. I went, and they give you 6 minutes in a room with Lady Gaga. I walked in, and it was like riding a bike. We laughed. We cried, literally, she laughed and cried in the interview. I walked into the hospitality suite, and there were two young publicists, and they said to me, \u2018You were the best interview today.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the pandemic, Krutchik began digitizing his interviews. As he was listening, he could not help but think, \u201cI\u2019m sitting on gold. People should hear this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my superpower,\u201d he said, \u201cbeing able to sit in a room and just have a conversation. When you\u2019re listening to the TLC interview, and they haven\u2019t had a hit yet. They just had \u2018Ain\u2019t 2 Proud 2 Beg\u2019 and that wasn\u2019t the biggest hit. They\u2019re so fun, and they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing. But they do. I\u2019ve been having a lot of fun because at the end of every one of my interviews I always ask the future question. For every R. Kelly, TLC, Jay-Z or Vanilla Ice, there\u2019s probably 10 artists that that were on majors that just never made it. And that\u2019s an interesting story, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with his book, which was released in 2025, Krutchik has been posting his old interviews with celebrities like Paris Hilton, Marilyn Manson and Luke Perry and Courteney Cox when \u201cFriends\u201d was No. 1 on his YouTube channel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI literally am sitting on over 1,000 digitized interviews in all genres,\u201d he continued. \u201cI can do a classic conversation book on comedians with John Candy, George Carlin, Mel Brooks and Bobcat Goldthwait. When it came time to write a book, I was like, I have to go with 90s hip-hop and R&B because BET has been my client for 22 years. I get to look back, and I didn\u2019t realize how special it was at the time. I think my next book is going to be guitar gods, because I have great interviews with Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Peter Frampton. I don\u2019t think classic conversations is going away.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n