Sid Bernstein

Sid Bernstein

Bernstein in 2009
Born Sidney Bernstein
(1918-08-12)August 12, 1918
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died August 21, 2013(2013-08-21) (aged 95)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation Rock promoter, music producer
Spouse(s) Geraldine Bernstein

Sidney Bernstein (August 12, 1918 – August 21, 2013) was an American music producer and promoter. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums.[1]

Biography

Sid Bernstein was born in New York City in 1918 and was adopted by a Russian Jewish family. He studied journalism at Columbia University before working in a ballroom and joining the US Army in 1943.[2] During World War II, he was stationed in Britain[2] and also served in France[3] with the 602nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion of the United States Army. After the end of the war he returned to New York and became the manager of mambo musician Esy Morales, as well as acting as a booking agent. He started work for the General Artists Corporation (GAC), and by the early 1960s was working as a booking agent for pop stars such as Dion and Chubby Checker.[2]

Bernstein helped start the British Invasion by first bringing The Beatles over to the United States from Britain.[4] An Anglophile, he contacted Brian Epstein in early 1963 after having read about the group in British newspapers, and, after persuading Epstein that they could be successful in the US, booked Carnegie Hall for their first appearance without informing the venue of their style of music.[2] In late December 1963, the unknown Beatles were introduced to the Tidewater area of Virginia. Almost every other song played by the area’s DJs were Beatle records, accompanied by giveaways of shirts, etc. The following month in very early January 1964, the same phenomenon occurred, as the Beatles were introduced to the New York City area complemented by all sorts of contests and gifts. They played at Carnegie Hall on February 12, 1964, after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Bernstein also booked them at Shea Stadium, a concert that Bernstein described as "inaudible."[5] After the group retired from touring and later split up, Bernstein made many attempts to persuade them to re-form, at one point taking out full-page newspaper articles asking them to perform together for charity.[2][6]

During the Beatles Shea concert, Bernstein had the phrase "The Rascals are coming!" displayed on the Shea Stadium scoreboard. "I had met the Rascals in the summer of '65 though Billy Smith (Amato) in Westhampton Long Island; I put their name up on the scoreboard (at Shea) - 'The Rascals are coming! The Rascals are coming!' A lot of people who hadn't seen pictures of them thought they were a black group. I sensed something big about them." He worked with the Rascals for five years, helping along their rise from obscurity, changing their name from "The Rascals" to "The Young Rascals" in an attempt to avoid controversy because of a similar named group.[7][8]

Bernstein also brought British bands including The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America.[1] He also organized concerts for Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Laura Nyro, Laura Branigan, Melanie and Sly & the Family Stone.[2][6] James Brown said that Bernstein "was in the forefront of race relations" by booking African-American musicians during the 1960s.[6] In 1964, he brought many Israeli singers to the United States for their first major concerts, among them Shoshana Damari, Shaike Ophir and Yaffa Yarkoni, who appeared at Carnegie Hall a year after the Beatles.[9] He was the first to stage a rock show at Madison Square Garden.[8]

Bernstein died on August 21, 2013 in Manhattan, aged 95. He was survived by his wife Geraldine Gale; and their four sons, two daughters and six grandchildren.[10]

Works

Books

Bernstein wrote or coauthored several books:

Musical works

At age 93, Bernstein released his first album as a singer. Sid Bernstein Presents... is a collection of some of his favorite songs, and was released on February 14, 2012 on compact disk and as a digital download.

Documentary

Bernstein is also the subject of Sid Bernstein Presents..., a documentary film by Jason Ressler that detailed his career and life. The film made its world premiere at the DocNZ film festival in Auckland, New Zealand in February 2010.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Noya Kohavi, "The man behind the British Invasion", Haaretz, February 9, 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2014
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dave Laing, "Sid Bernstein obituary - New York concert promoter who took the Beatles to the US", The Guardian, 22 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014
  3. ↑ Harabadian. "Not Just Sid Bernstein". Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  4. ↑ "The oldies.about.com Interview: Sid Bernstein". The oldies.about.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  5. 1 2 Galipault, Gary (2001-01-21). "SID BERNSTEIN: HE'S MORE THAN JUST THE BEATLES". Pause and Play. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  6. 1 2 3 BBC News, "Beatles promoter Sid Bernstein dies at 95", 21 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014
  7. ↑ "The Rascal's Biography". Last.fm. 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  8. 1 2 "Sid Bernstein Facts". Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  9. ↑ 18 Magazine, Another Israel Review
  10. ↑ "Sid Bernstein, Who Helped Import the Beatles, Dies at 95". NY Times. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  11. ↑ James, Gary. "Sid Bernstein Interview". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  12. ↑ Schulte, Thomas. "Sid Bernstein Interview on Outsight Radio Hours". Archive.org. Retrieved 2012-02-26.

Further reading

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