> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.hypebot.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Derek Shulman: From Gentle Giant to Bon Jovi, Slipknot & More
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/derek-shulman-from-gentle-giant-to-signing-bon-jovi-slipknot-and-more/
- Published: 2025-09-18T15:33:40.000Z
- Updated: 2025-09-18T19:10:24.000Z
- Description: In his book “Giant Steps,” Derek Shulman chronicles an career in music – first as the leader of the progressive-rock pioneers Gentle Giant, then as a record-label executive responsible for cultivating and signing Bon Jovi, Dream Theater, and Slipknot and orchestrating comebacks by AC/DC, Bad Company
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: Uncategorized, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 11:15

In his book “Giant Steps,” **Derek Shulman** chronicles an career in music – first as the leader of the progressive-rock pioneers **Gentle Giant,** then as a record-label executive responsible for cultivating and signing **Bon Jovi, Dream Theate**r, and **Slipknot** and orchestrating comebacks b**y AC/DC, Bad Company,** and more.

**Michael Brandvold** and **Jay Gilbert** interview Shulman on their **[Music Biz Weekly Podcast](https://www.hypebot.com/tag/podcast-music-biz/)** about his eye-opening memoir and life on both sides of the music industry.

Derek Shulman first found fame first as a teenager in the 60s group **Simon Dupree & The Big Sound**, then took rock music to the outer reaches across eleven albums with Gentle Giant. In the 80s, he switched gears to become a record executive, first at **Polygram** and then at **Atco** and **Roadrunner**, working with everyone from **Black Sabbath** to **Dr. Dre** and **Pantera** to **Men Without Hats**.

Along the way, **Gentle Giant** would become a defining influence on hip-hop, their music sampled by many of the genre’s leading lights – including **J. Dilla, De La Soul**, and dozens more—and the band acclaimed by **The Roots** bandleader and filmmaker **Questlove** as one of his favourite rock acts of all time.

Clean-living and career-driven in a world of debauchery and excess, Shulman is perfectly placed to explore and explain the major developments in popular music and youth culture from the 1960s to the present day, making Giant Steps a must-read.

Purchase **“Giant Steps: My Improbable Journey From Stage Lights To Executive Heights”** here: [https://a.co/d/f1Z062I](https://a.co/d/f1Z062I?ref=hypebot.com)

**Listen and watch here or on your favorite podcast app.**

**FIND MORE FROM MUSIC BIZ WEEKLY & OTHER GREAT MUSIC BUSINESS AND INDIE MUSICIAN PODCAST EPISODES [HERE](https://www.hypebot.com/tag/podcast-music-biz/)**