Sid Bernstein

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Sid Bernstein (2009)

Sidney ("Sid") Bernstein (born August 12, 1918 in Manhattan , New York City ; † August 21, 2013 ibid) was an American music producer , manager and concert promoter.

Life

Bernstein was adopted by Jewish-Russian immigrants. During the Second World War he served in the US Army during the Battle of the Bulge in France . After the end of the war he ran a nightclub for US soldiers there, after returning to the USA he first organized dance events for singles and then headed the Trocadero Club in the Bronx . In 1950 he founded the record label Magic Records together with Bert Berns . In 1961 he was temporarily in charge of the Newport Jazz Festival , albeit with less success . In the 1960s, Bernstein had a major impact on the American rock music scene by bringing British groups to the United States, initially as an employee of the booking agency General Artists Corporation , which was initially skeptical of his proposal, which contributed to the so-called British Invasion . This came about because Bernstein had attended an English language course and read British daily newspapers there, which reported on the enormous success of a band called The Beatles on the other side of the Atlantic, particularly in the USA . After negotiations from March 1963 with their manager Brian Epstein , who at that time was not yet convinced of a market success in the USA, the Beatles finally gave their first famous TV show in February 1964, a few days after their first appearance on Ed Sullivan's TV show US concert at Carnegie Hall . Bernstein later described the performance as "unhearable" (inaudible), because the deafening screeching of the fans barely noticed the music. Other artists were The Rolling Stones , Herman's Hermits , The Moody Blues and The Kinks . Bernstein also booked the Stones' first US concert in the venerable Carnegie Hall. Since their fans behaved improperly towards the ushers, stepped on the seats with their feet and generally left a mess, Bernstein was not allowed to book there for years and had to switch to the Paramount Theater and the Academy of Music. During five years of working together as their manager, he was instrumental in making the Rascals known . He promoted the careers of Judy Garland and Ray Charles as well as ABBA and Tony Bennett . Other performers for whom he organized concerts or tours were for example Lenny Kravitz , Frank Sinatra , Jimi Hendrix , Laura Branigan , Melanie , Sly & the Family Stone , The Animals , Tito Puente , Miles Davis , Nina Simone and Ruth Brown . He gave numerous Israeli musicians their first appearances in the USA in the early 1960s.

Bernstein was the first to organize rock concerts in sports stadiums: The Beatles performed in New York's Shea Stadium in 1965 ; he was also the organizer of the first concerts at Madison Square Garden .

Sid Bernstein wrote several books on the music history of his time as a sole or co-author. At the age of 93 he released his singing debut album on the Internet in 2012, on which he interpreted some of his favorite songs. His life is told in the documentary Sid Bernstein Presents ... , which premiered in 2010.

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personal data
SURNAME Amber, Sid
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bernstein, Sidney
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American music producer and manager
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH August 21st, 2013
Place of death New York City