Bert Berns

Bert Berns (born November 8, 1929 in New York ; † December 30, 1967 there ; actually Bertrand Russell Berns ) was an American music producer and composer who was successful in the genre of rhythm & blues and pop in the 1960s .

Career

As the child of Russian-Jewish emigrants, Berns grew up in New York's Bronx and studied classical piano music. In 1950 he founded the record label Magic Records with his friend Sid Bernstein , with the logo of which some records appeared without any particular publicity. This included Bert's first composition M & X (for ham and eggs , “ham and eggs” as a breakfast option), sung by Bob Manning and Eydie Gormé . In early 1958 he rented offices on 1650 Broadway, directly across from the famous Brill Building ; composers and music publishers were housed in both buildings. After a few unsuccessful attempts to convey further compositions directly to interpreters, he was hired by the music publisher Robert Mellin Music in 1960 . This is where the tenor Hoagie Lands I'm Gonna Cry Some Tears / Lighted Windows (Judi # 054; 1960), My Tears Are Dry / It's Gonna Be Morning (MGM # 13041; 1961) or Baby Come was created for the tenor, who is confusingly similar to Sam Cooke On Home / Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand (Atlantic # 2217; 1964), which did not hit the charts, however. From the collaboration with Phil Medley (from the singing duo Righteous Brothers ) the Caribbean-style Push Push was produced for the unknown Austin Taylor, released in November 1960, which only reached number 90 on the pop charts. Berns retained this Latin American sound and rhythm as the basis of his later hits.

A classic is created

Top Notes - Twist and Shout

There was a memorable recording session on February 23, 1961, led by the still unknown Phil Spector . The equally unknown Top Notes recorded Twist and Shout penned by Berns and Bill Medley on that day , which was only released on Atlantic # 2115 in September 1961 without hit parade resonance. The author Berns was present in the session and had to watch Spector ruin the song: "Guys, you broke my piece!" Berns later returned the favor with the help of the Isley Brothers , who released their cover version on June 16, 1962 reached number 2 in the rhythm & blues charts and number 17 on the pop hit parade and, with the first million-dollar seller for Berns, provided the template for a large number of other versions.

This breakthrough was eventually cemented with the Jarmels , for whom he composed and produced A Little Bit of Soap . The piece, held in the mambo rhythm, was released in July 1961, reached number 12 on the pop hit parade (number 7 on the R&B charts) and was the trademark for the musical style that Berns would prefer in the future.

Atlantic Records producer

At the end of 1961, the chief producer of Atlantic Records , Jerry Wexler , became aware of the aspiring Berns. Berns was commissioned to work with Solomon Burke . This R&B performer had just started at Atlantic and only had a medium hit there when Berns began his work. Under the direction of Berns, three songs were written on December 6, 1961, including Cry to Me , which Berns also composed and which, with a 5th place in the R&B charts, advanced to the second-best position for Berns to date. In the next recording session on April 4, 1962, Down in the Valley / I'm Hanging Up My Heart for You , among others , with a clear country sound. If You Need Me , which was recorded on March 15, 1963 and reached number 2 on the R&B charts, achieved the best ranking for the time being . Berns directed Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (recorded on May 28, 1964) and The Price (last recording session with Berns on August 28, 1964). Chief producer Wexler praised Berns' intensive studio work for Solomon Burke, which lasted until 1964: "With the soulful orchestration and creative intensity, Burke practically kept Atlantic Records alive".

In 1963 Berns brokered a recording contract with United Artists Records for the R&B formation Garnett Mimms & the Enchanters . In September 1963, Mimms took over Cry Baby, composed by Berns and Norman Meade, and led the prototype of a soul ballad to the top of the R&B charts; at the same time, Berns achieved a good crossover success for the first time with a number 4 pop hit . Mimms took over a number of Berns compositions, such as One Girl (May 1964), Look Away (October 1964) or I'll Take Good Care of You (April 1966), but could no longer repeat the first top position.

Berns takes over the Drifters and Ben E. King

When the leading composers and producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller lost their interest in this R&B formation after an extremely successful collaboration with the Drifters , Bert Berns was planned as his successor. The Drifters' first recording date with their new producer Berns was scheduled for December 12, 1963, when One Way Love / Didn't It was created. If this was not noticed in the hit parade, this improved with the single Under the Boardwalk / I Don't Want to Go On Without You, recorded on May 21, 1964 . The record, released in June 1964, reached fourth place on the R&B charts. Incidentally, a certain Dionne Warwick sang in the choir , who had accompanied the Drifters on recordings since January 22, 1963. After that, Berns did not achieve a better placement with the Drifters. Berns accompanied the Drifters until the session on October 12, 1966, in which Baby What I Mean was created. Since then, the group had survived some personal constellations, which, however, were also unable to regain their former success.

A former lead singer for the Drifters was Ben E. King , for whom Berns was responsible from January 15, 1964. But even this one had already passed its musical success point. Neither the That's When It Hurts / Around the Corner recorded in this first session nor the other 16 to 3 February 1966 recorded pieces could penetrate the top 10 of the R&B charts.

Single successes

Berns was more successful with some interpreters, for whom he has composed or produced individual titles in the meantime. His composition Tell Her was still ignored in the original version by Gil Hamilton in March 1962, but became a big hit as Tell Him for the girls' quartet Exciters in December 1962, produced by Leiber / Stoller (place 4 Pop). The Rocky Fellers took over his killer Joe (# 16 Pop) in March 1963 . For the Isley Brothers he produced 10 recordings for Wand Records from June 1962, and a total of 7 recordings for United Artists from June 1963. A session was scheduled for Lou Christie on January 8, 1964, in which Berns produced the songs Outside the Gates of Heaven and You May Be Holding My Baby (the latter co-composed by Berns).

Berns then traveled to London three times to work for Decca Records. On the second trip in October 1964 he composed for British rock singer Lulu Here Comes the Night (50th UK), which he then produced again with the Irish group Them . Their version hit the UK charts in March 1965 and made it to number two. He also produced Gloria and Baby Please Don't Go for Them . Their former lead singer Van Morrison had a total of 14 songs produced by Berns in New York from 1967, including the hit single Brown Eyed Girl , which appeared in July 1967 , all of which were released on Bang Records.

Berns produced Hello Walls for Esther Phillips in 1964 , and Barbara Lewis had him produce Baby I'm Yours and Make Me Your Baby in 1965 . The Strangeloves took over his composition I Want Candy in May 1965 , for Tammi Lynn he produced and composed the fast-paced I'm Gonna Run Away from You in April 1965, and he did the same for Erma Franklin (the sister of Aretha Franklin ) with Piece of My Heart in October 1967 (10th place R&B), while Edwin Starr took over the Berns composition 25 Miles in February 1969 (the latter two each place 6th R&B and Pop; BMI Award).

Cover versions

The most covered song is undoubtedly Twist and Shout , popularized by the Isley Brothers. BMI counts 30 versions of these, the most successful of which were the versions of the Beatles (LP Please Please Me from March 1963) and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes (July 1963, 4th place UK). Them successfully covered Here Comes the Night in March 1965 (2nd place UK). In addition to Twist and Shout , the Kingsmen also took over Killer Joe in 1966 . Janis Joplin successfully presented her version of Piece of My Heart at the Woodstock Festival on August 17, 1969 .

Own record labels

McCoys - Hang On Sloopy

In March 1964 Bert Berns founded the short-lived Keetch Records label , which was discontinued after only a few records. In April 1965, Berns called Bang! Records a slightly more durable label into life. The owners of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegün , Nesuhi Ertegün and Jerry Wexler helped him to establish the company financially . The first release in May 1965 (Bang # 501) with the Strangeloves, I Want Candy , co-composed by Berns, immediately reached number 11 on the pop hit parade. Another five plates later, the smash hit of the label, which appeared McCoys with Hang On Sloopy , the No. 1 on the charts reaching and was sold over a million copies. In May 1966 Neil Diamond released his first single (Bang # 578) here with Solitary Man / The Time Is Now .

Shout Records was launched as a subsidiary label of Bang , on which pure rhythm & blues was published. Freddie Scott was most successful with the Berns composition and production Are You Lonely for Me in December 1966, because this hit reached the top position on the R&B charts on February 11, 1967. Apart from Erma Franklin and a few other performers, Scott was the label's main artist. Berns did not live to see Freddie Scott's success, because he died unexpectedly on December 30, 1967 in New York of heart failure.

statistics

The producer Berns allowed his performers to stay close to their natural possibilities, and some of his compositions even inspired performers to go beyond their normal means of expression. A total of 232 compositions are registered with BMI for Berns , 6 of which received a BMI Award.

In 2015, Rolling Stone listed Berns 64th of the 100 best songwriters of all time .

literature

• Joel Selvin: Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues , Berkeley 2014, ISBN 1619023024 .

Web links

• Bert Berns at Allmusic , English
• Musicspage about Bert Berns with further links , English

Individual evidence

1. ^ Charlie Gillett, Making Tracks - The Story Of Atlantic Records , 1988, p. 180
2. ↑ Peter Guralnick, Sweet Soul Music - Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom , 1986, p. 84
3. ↑ BMI entry for twist and shout  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Coverinfo even lists 57 versions
5. ↑ the name Bang is the abbreviation of the first names B ert, A hmet, N esuhi and G erald for Jerry
6. ^ Charlie Gillett, The Sound Of The City - The Rise Of Rock And Roll , 1996, p. 231
7. ↑ BMI entry for Berns ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 7, 2017 .