Sid Bernstein (impresario)
Sid Bernstein | |
---|---|
New York City, New York, U.S. | |
Died | August 21, 2013 New York City, New York, U.S. | (aged 95)
Occupation(s) | music promoter, talent manager, author |
Spouse | Geraldine Bernstein |
Children | 6 (4 sons and 2 daughters) |
Sidney Bernstein (August 12, 1918 – August 21, 2013) was an American
Life and career
Bernstein was born in New York City in 1918 and was
Bernstein helped jump start the British Invasion as the first concert promoter to bring the Beatles over to the United States from Britain.[4] An Anglophile, he contacted Beatles manager Brian Epstein in early 1963 after reading about the group in several British newspapers. Persuading Epstein that they could be successful in the US, he booked Carnegie Hall for their first appearance without informing the venue of their style of music and never hearing a note of their music.[2] In late December 1963, the still unknown Beatles were introduced to the Tidewater area of Virginia. Almost every other song played by the area's DJs were Beatle records, accompanied by giveaways of shirts and other promotional items. By the first week of January 1964, as the Beatles were introduced to the New York City area, the same phenomenon occurred complemented by all sorts of contests and gifts. On February 12, 1964, the Beatles played two concerts at Carnegie Hall, three days following an historic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. On August 15, 1965, Bernstein also booked them at Shea Stadium, a show that Bernstein described as "inaudible."[5] After a final world tour, including another Bernstein produced Shea Stadium performance, the group retired from touring in 1966 and split up in April 1970. Bernstein made many attempts to persuade them to re-form, at one point taking out full-page newspaper articles asking them to perform together for charity.[2][6]
During the Beatles Shea concert, Bernstein had the phrase "the Rascals are coming!" displayed on the Shea Stadium scoreboard. "I had met the Rascals in the summer of '65 though Billy Smith (Amato) who actually discovered this group in Westhampton Long Island playing at a nightclub called the Barge. I put their name up on the scoreboard (at Shea) - 'The Rascals are coming! The Rascals are coming!' A lot of people who hadn't seen pictures of them thought they were a black group. I sensed something big about them." Brian Epstein demanded the Shea scoreboard plug be cut off before the Beatles hit the stage but that didn't stop Sid from working with the Rascals over the next five years. He helped the New Jersey-based quartet in their rise from obscurity, changing their name from "the Rascals" to "the Young Rascals" in an attempt to avoid controversy because of a similar named group.[7][8]
Bernstein also brought British bands including
Bernstein died on August 21, 2013, in Manhattan, nine days after his 95th birthday. He was survived by his wife Geraldine Gale; and their four sons, two daughters and six grandchildren.[11]
Books
Bernstein wrote or coauthored several books:
- It's Sid Bernstein Calling (Jonathan David Publishers)[12]
- Not Just the Beatles ... (Jacques & Flusster Publishing)[5][13]
Musical works
At age 93, Bernstein released his first album as a singer. Sid Bernstein Presents... is a collection of some of his favorite songs, and was released on February 14, 2012, on compact disk and as a digital download.
Documentary
Bernstein is also the subject of Sid Bernstein Presents..., a documentary film by Jason Ressler that detailed his career and life. The film made its world premiere at the DocNZ film festival in Auckland, New Zealand in February 2010.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Noya Kohavi, "The man behind the British Invasion", Haaretz, February 9, 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2014
- ^ a b c d e f Dave Laing, "Sid Bernstein obituary - New York concert promoter who took the Beatles to the US", The Guardian, 22 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014
- ^ Harabadian. "Not Just Sid Bernstein". Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ "The oldies.about.com Interview: Sid Bernstein". The oldies.about.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ a b Galipault, Gary (2001-01-21). "SID BERNSTEIN: HE'S MORE THAN JUST THE BEATLES". Pause and Play. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ a b c BBC News, "Beatles promoter Sid Bernstein dies at 95", 21 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014
- ^ "The Rascal's Biography". Last.fm. 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ a b "Sid Bernstein Facts". Archived from the original on 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ 18 Magazine, Another Israel Review
- ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Sid Bernstein, Who Helped Import the Beatles, Dies at 95". NY Times. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- ^ James, Gary. "Sid Bernstein Interview". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ Schulte, Thomas. "Sid Bernstein Interview on Outsight Radio Hours". Retrieved 2012-02-26.
Further reading
- Harry, Bill. The Beatles Who's Who, Putnam Publishing Group, 1982.
External links
- Emmerson, Glyn (May 2001). "Sid Bernstein: The man who brought America to the Beatles". NYRock. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- Digger. "Digger's interview with Sid Bernstein - The man who brought The Beatles to America and triggered the 'British Invasion'". Retrosellers. Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- "Sid Bernstein Presents... (2005)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- Falco, Sue (2001-02-23). "Lenny Kravitz May Play Shea, Promoter Says". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 2008-12-14.