Bernard Besman

Bernard Besman (October 8, 1912 – January 10, 2003) was an American record producer and distributor who established Sensation Records, an early

In late 1948, Besman heard demo records by local blues musician John Lee Hooker, and as a result produced Hooker's first recording session with engineer Joe Siracuse. The session yielded the hit single "Boogie Chillen'". Hooker was recorded as a solo performer, and in order to produce a stronger sound, Besman said:

I knew I had to do something. So first we amplified his guitar. He had an old Stella and no amp. We put a mike onto his guitar, and we put a speaker—this was a tiny two room studio, remember—we put it in a toilet bowl next door, actually in a toilet bowl. Then we put a mike under that so the sound would bounce off the water—I wanted an echo effect. Then the sound went back into a speaker in the studio, came out of that, and got picked up along with his voice. I put a board under his feet to make his tapping louder, and put a mike down there.^[2]

The resulting record was leased to Modern Records in Los Angeles for release and distribution, and became a million-seller.^[4] As with Hooker’s other recordings, Besman gave himself a co-writer credit – though Hooker strongly rejected the idea that Besman was creatively involved in writing the songs – as well as the publishing rights. Some of Hooker's other early recordings, including "Burnin' Hell" and "Huckle Up Baby", were released on the Sensation label and became modestly successful. Besman retained the rights to all Hooker's recordings on the label.^[1]

The Sensation label issued its last records in late 1950. After the success of £Boogie Chillen£, Besman continued to record Hooker, including "

In the early 1970s, Besman began to license many of his unreleased John Lee Hooker recordings to various labels including Specialty Records, United Artists and the small Greene Bottle label. He later sold the remainder of his tapes and acetates to Ace Records in the early 1990s.

In 1992, Besman filed a lawsuit against the members of ZZ Top, alleging that their 1973 song "La Grange" infringed on "Boogie Chillen'" by John Lee Hooker. A federal judge dismissed the case in 1995.^[7]

All of Hooker's recordings with Besman on Sensation Records between 1948 and 1952 (not including the material issued on United Artists and Greene Bottle), remastered and including some alternate and unedited takes not previously issued, were released as a

Besman died in Los Angeles on January 10, 2003, aged 90.[4]

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