Sid Bernstein

Sidney ( " Sid " ) Bernstein ( born August 12, 1918 in Manhattan, New York City; † August 21, 2013 ) was an American record producer, manager, and concert promoter.

Life

Bernstein was adopted by Russian immigrants. During World War II he served during the Battle of the Bulge in France with the U.S. Army. After the war, he ran there a night club for U.S. soldiers, after his return to the U.S., he organized first dance events for single people and then led the Trocadero Club in the Bronx. In 1950 he founded, together with Bert Berns record label Magic Records. In 1961 he headed temporarily, but with less success, the Newport Jazz Festival. In the 1960s, Bernstein coined the American rock music scene immensely, because he - first as an employee of the booking agency General Artists Corporation, the only skeptical of his proposal - British groups brought to the United States, contributing to the so-called British Invasion. This occurred because Amber had attended an English language course, where British newspapers had to read that reported by the enormous success particularly in the United States still a relatively unknown band called The Beatles across the Atlantic. After negotiations, in March 1963, their manager Brian Epstein, who was also not convinced at this stage of a market success in the U.S., the Beatles finally gave in February 1964, a few days after a first appearance on Ed Sullivan's TV show, her first, now famous U.S. concert at Carnegie Hall. Bernstein described the appearance later as " unhearable " ( unanhörbar ), since one little mitbekam by the deafening screech of the fans of the music. Other artists were The Rolling Stones, Herman 's Hermits, The Moody Blues and The Kinks. The first U.S. concert of the Stones Bernstein also booked at the venerable Carnegie Hall. As their fans to unduly against the ushers were behaving, with your feet up on the seats and generally left disorder, Bernstein was allowed there for years not stay and had to resort to the Paramount Theater and the Academy of Music. During five years of working as their manager, he was much involved in the discovery of the Rascals. He promoted the careers of Judy Garland and Ray Charles, as well as ABBA and Tony Bennett. Other performers, for which he organized concerts or tours, for example, were Lenny Kravitz, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Laura Branigan, Melanie, Sly & the Family Stone, The Animals, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Ruth Brown. Numerous Israeli musicians he gave in the early 1960s, first appearances in the United States.

Bernstein was the first who organized rock concerts in stadiums: The Beatles came in 1965 at New York's Shea Stadium on; He was also the organizer of the first concerts at Madison Square Garden.

Sid Bernstein wrote several books on the history of music of his time as a sole or co-author. At the age of 93 years he published in 2012 on the Internet be vocal debut album, on which he sang some of his favorite songs. His life is in the documentary Sid Bernstein Presents ... told who had premiere in 2010.