Milt Gabler
Milt Gabler (Milton Gabler, born May 20, 1911 in New York City; † July 20, 2001 ) was a famous jazz producer in the 1940s and 1950s. He also had from April 1954 through his compositions with Bill Haley, and later with Buddy Holly and Brenda Lee decisive role in the global establishment of a new musical genre known as rock ' n ' roll ushered in a new musical era from the end of 1955.
Career
In 1926, Gabler began at the Commodore Music Shop, the record store of his father in New York to work. In 1937, he founded the record label in addition to load Commodore Records. In a nearby jazz club Jimmy Ryan's, he took jam sessions on the most important jazz musicians of that era, including Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Jelly Roll Morton and Eddie Condon. Billie Holiday changed disappointed by Columbia Records in 1939 to Gabler's new label Commodore, where her career really began ( The Complete Commodore Recordings). For this label Gabler adopted on 20 April 1939 on her single Strange Fruit.
The time at Decca Records
First productions were Love Is Just Around the Corner for Eddie Condon And His Windy City Seven (recorded on January 17, 1938) and Them There Eyes for the Kansas City Six of 27 September 1938.
Become aware by this success, offered him the major label Decca Records in 1941, the job of the producer, while his brother Jack Crystal took over the function of the label bosses at Commodore until the end in 1954. When Decca Milt Gabler produced then Jimmie Lunceford Blues in the Night (July 1942), in the same month Lionel Hampton signature song Flying Home, the Calypso Rum And Coca Cola Andrews Sisters ( December 1944 ), Billie Holiday's Lover Man (May 1945) or Lucky Milli DERs Who Threw the whiskey in the Well? (June 1945, with Wynonie Harris as vocalists ). With Rum and Coca -Cola for the first time reached a Gabler production, the # 1 on the U.S. pop charts. He was the first producer, the Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald brought in April 1946 for a duet. Gabler also produced with Hey There in August 1954, the recording debut for the entertainer Sammy Davis Jr..
In the meantime, went up to Vice President, Decca gave him the musical supervision of the subsidiary label Coral Records. Here he produced the first single of the later Country & Western legend Red Foley ( Smoke on the Water, August 1944 ), which equals 13 weeks both sat at # 1 on the country charts. Then Gabler turned to the jump- boogie specialist Louis Jordan, whose biggest hit Choo Choo Ch'Boogie (June 1946), was produced and co-written by Gabler. Jordan was the most successful artist of the label, which he left in 1954. Over time, the music autodidact Gabler developed a keen sense for talent and hits: Guy Lombardo Enjoy Yourself ( January 1950 ), Pearl Bailey Takes Two to Tango ( September 1952 ), Peggy Lee's million-selling Lover (June 1952), the million-selling The Glow the -Worm Mills Brothers ( September 1952 ), the classic Three Coins in the Fountain of the Four Aces (May 1954), all of which were with Decca Records.
Then his instinct for success led him to a white group that had already been adopted in several regional record labels around Philadelphia and a name with the title Crazy, Man, Crazy was able to place in the nation 's Top Twenty charts in the summer of 1953. Although Bill Haley and his Comets in their repertoire even country and western swing had, since 1951, they were already focusing its emphasis on a synthesis of country, jazz and rhythm & blues, a mix that was only 4 years later called rock and roll.
On April 12, began in 1954 for Bill Haley & His Comets in the Pythian Temple Studio in New York, the first recording session for Decca. Milt Gabler had the title Thirteen Women chosen for this first studio recording. The idea Gabler, Haley band for Decca in another, not so aggressive rhythm system to present, so as to make the band and their Decca singles for the predominantly white clientele of the label appealing, was the only bad decision of the successful jazz producers in the now impending five years of successful collaboration with Bill Haley. Because not be consuming einzustudierter and six Takes rehearsed title was a hit, but brings along by Bill Haley song he and his Comets grossed in only 40 minutes and two takes at the end of the recording day in your current lifestyle heavy backbeat rhythm. Thirteen Women managed initially only a # 23 before the B-side was used with the title Rock Around The Clock as film music in the youth - revolt -movie Blackboard Jungle. The film as a vehicle brought Rock Around the Clock on the # 1 on the pop charts and made it with over 25 million records sold to one of the best-selling hit singles of all time. For Gabler and Decca song for main plate and the subsequent collaboration with Bill Haley sold over 60 million Decca recordings in the 50s to one of the most successful partnerships of a label with an American music band ever was.
In an interview about the collaboration with Haley Gabler commented later as follows: "All the tricks that I applied with Louis Jordan, also worked at Haley. The only difference was the rhythm, because in Jordan we have the swing era used while Haley was underlaid with a heavy backbeat. " With this statement, Gabler played elegantly his original intention to miss the successful Haley sound a new image. In the second recording session on June 7, 1954 Haley was his title Shake, Rattle and Roll import in the normal rhythm style as the A- side and thus made his first million-seller. Henceforth, produced Gabler all Haley sessions until the last day of admission, 24 September 1959, when Haley recorded his last five songs for Decca and then changed the label. All his disappointment at Haleys decision and the end of this joint success series is recognizable by Gabler's statement in an interview: " The band was musically increasingly weaker, perhaps due to the extensive touring and the insufficient sample music ". But after the disappointment of the separation Haley and Gabler came after a few years closer and buried the dispute. So opened for Bill Haley even once on 16 June 1964, the doors to the Decca studios in New York and he took with the musicians Johnny Kay ( lead guitar ), Nick Masters ( steel guitar ), Rudy Pompilli (saxophone), Joey Welz ( piano ), Al Rappa (bass guitar) and Dave Halley (drums) his final two last plates the Green Door and Yeah, She 's Evil for the label Decca.
But other interpreters of new music era from the mid-50s were produced by Gabler for Decca. His Buddy Holly arrangements from 1956 had initially not as successful as expected, what Holly then prompted to go to the Coral label. Only after the death of Buddy Holly brought Gabler 1959 these recordings with a much better sales result on the market again.
With the then only 11 -year-old Brenda Lee, he launched on 7 July 1956 with the title Jambalaya an extraordinary five-year winning streak with numerous hits that were placed from 1959 in the Top Twenty charts. His greatest success with the petite young pop singer succeeded in 1960 with two # 1 hits in the U.S. charts. The In May 1960, produced by Gabler song I'm Sorry was a worldwide hit, in September of the same year followed by I Want To Be Wanted her second number -one hit.
1956 brought Gabler the 26 -year-old Caterina Valente to New York. There, in the studio of the Decca was created under the guidance of bandleader Sy Oliver with Plenty Valente! the first English-language studio album of the young artist.
Bert Kaempfert
The German big band leader Bert Kaempfert could already point to moderate, not hit parade quoted plates successes in Germany, before he tried to gain a foothold in the U.S.. Interlocutor of Kaempfert's in New York was Milt Gabler, long since ascended to the A & R director of Decca. The production professional recognized the talent of the German, who is also self-composed instrumental recordings. Gabler had wonderland at night as Wonderland By Night publish and made from Berthold Kaempfert " Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra ". Kaempfert's first single in the U.S. was published in November 1960 and reached # 1 on the pop charts, the first U.S. top hit by a German artist. The instrumental tracks quickly sat firmly at the top of all relevant international charts. From now on, the hamburger was known with his orchestra in the United States. In many of his compositions Milt Gabler has also simultaneously be registered as a composer: Danke Schoen by Wayne Newton (July 1963), LOVE by Nat King Cole ( September 1964 ), Goodbye or Candlelight Cafe.
Retreat
Until 1971, Gabler was still working for Decca Records, now 60 years old, and was able to an uninterrupted 30 years of service delivering on this record company. He was inducted into the category of non- performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. He died on 20 July 2001 in his hometown of New York.