Edward Kassner

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Edward Kassner (28 February 1920 – 19 November 1996) was an

Britain and the United States
.

Life and career

He was born in

Auschwitz. He initially worked in London cutting felt for hats, but began working as a songwriter with lyricist Peter Mulroney.[1] He was then deported as an alien to Australia but, after being allowed to return to the UK, joined the British Army in which he served as an interpreter attached to a Canadian tank corps regiment in France and Germany.[1][2]

He married in 1944, and with his wife Eileen set up his own music publishing company, the Edward Kassner Music Co. Ltd, at 25

Rock Around The Clock", which became one of the most recorded songs of all time and reportedly sold over 170 million copies.[1]

In 1955, he and his business partners formed President Records in New York, but it had little success and was amalgamated into a larger company by 1961. He then formed another company, Seville Records, which had hits with "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)" by Ernie Maresca and "Bobby's Girl" by Marcie Blane, but failed to capitalise on its early successes.[2] He decided to reactivate the President label, partly inspired by the memory of John F. Kennedy after his assassination. Soon afterwards, in 1964, his London office acquired a management and publishing deal with a new group, the Kinks, who had a string of successful releases in both the UK and US starting with "You Really Got Me".[1]

With the

UK no. 1 which also made the US chart and was followed up by a string of hits for the group in the UK. The company also set up a subsidiary label, Jay Boy, for releasing US singles on the TK and other labels in the UK, and had a series of hits in the 1970s with recordings by George McCrae and KC and the Sunshine Band. From the 1980s onwards, Kassner's company had particular success through its association with Rick Wakeman.[1]
In 1987 Edward Kassner signed up a young English band leader, Graham Dalby and his band the Grahamophones. Four albums followed plus a Children in Need single on the President label. One of the published songs by Dalby was used as the title of a BBC 2 documentary I'd Sooner Be A Crooner in 1988.

Edward Kassner continued as head of his companies until his death in London in 1996 at the age of 76.[1][4] His family, in particular his son David Kassner, continue to operate the companies.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Kassner Music: Kassner Associated Publishers". Kassnermusic.com. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b c David Taylor, Label Profile: President Records, The Independent, 9 June 2008
  3. ^ Watts, Peter (2023). Denmark Street: London's Street of Sound. Paradise Road.
  4. ^ Nigel Hunter, Obituary, "Publisher Kassner dead at 76", Billboard, 21 December 1996, pp.6, 87

External links

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