Herb Abramson
Herb Abramson | |
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![]() Abramson and his wife, Miriam Bienstock, c. 1947 | |
Background information | |
Born | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. | November 16, 1916
Died | November 9, 1999 Henderson, Nevada | (aged 82)
Occupation(s) | Record producer, record executive |
Labels | Jubilee, Atlantic, Atco |
Herbert Charles Abramson (November 16, 1916 – November 9, 1999) was an American record executive, record producer, and co-founder of Atlantic Records.[1]
Life and career
Abramson was born in 1916 to a Jewish
In 1953, Abramson was drafted. Jerry Wexler filled in and joined Atlantic as a partner, though Abramson retained the title of president. When Abramson returned from the Army in 1955, he found Atlantic a changed company. Ertegun's brother, Nesuhi, joined Atlantic in 1955 as a partner and was enjoying great success in selling jazz albums. Ertegun and Wexler were recording R&B hits which crossed over into pop. His failing marriage to Miriam would end in divorce.[3] Abramson returned home from Germany with a pregnant girlfriend who became his second wife.[4]
Ahmet Ertegun and Abramson formed Atco Records in 1955 as a division of Atlantic. Abramson ran the label on his own. He found success with The Coasters but was unable to get a hit with Bobby Darin. When he announced that he was dropping Darin from the label, Ertegun recorded three tracks with Darin and two of them turned into hits: "Queen of the Hop" and "Splish Splash". Abramson left Atlantic Records in December 1958, selling his stake in the company to ex-wife Miriam Bienstock, (who married music publisher Freddy Bienstock) and Nesuhi Ertegun.[5] Ahmet Ertegun became president of the company. Abramson started new record labels including Triumph,[6] Blaze, and Festival.[7] His most successful post-Atlantic recording was producing "Hi-Heel Sneakers" by Tommy Tucker (released on Checker Records) still able to compete in the industry as an independent label.[8]
Abramson developed a method of cutting concentric grooves for a record so a different recording could be heard depending on which groove the tonearm landed on. That process was used on a series of "Magic Records" that Abramson produced which were marketed for children.[9] After leaving Atlantic, Abramson sold the patent to Mattel which used the process to develop the Chatty Cathy talking doll.[9]
Abramson set up his own recording studio in the early 1960s, A-1 Sound Studios (Atlantic-1) at 234 West 56th Street in Manhattan. With engineer Jim Reeves he produced: Sidney Barnes,
In 1998, he received the Pioneer Award from the
References
- ^ White, Adam (27 November 1999). "Herb Abramson, Atlantic's 1st president, dies at 82". Google Books/Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-8156-0705-2.
- ^ Edwards, David; Callahan, Mike (20 February 2000). "The Atlantic Records Story". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ Cornyn, Stan (16 May 2013). "Atlantic Spreads Up". Rhino.com. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-252-03290-5. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Abramson Starts Triumph Label". Google Books/Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 15 December 1958. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Abramson Heads Festival Diskery". Google Books/Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 14 August 1961. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-203-48427-2. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4165-5840-8. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-5840-8. Retrieved 21 May 2014.