Bihari brothers

Last updated

The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. [1] They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers were significant figures in the process that transformed rhythm and blues into rock and roll, which appealed to white audiences in the 1950s. [1]

Contents

Origins

The brothers' parents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary to the U.S. [2] Edward Bihari (1882–1930) was born in Budapest. Esther "Esti" Taub (1886–1950) was born in Homonna, Hungary (now Humenné, Slovakia). They were married in Philadelphia (U.S.) in 1911. The couple had four sons:

Lester Louis Bihari (May 12, 1912, Pottstown, Pennsylvania – September 9, 1983, Los Angeles)
Julius Jeramiah Bihari (September 9, 1913, [3] Pottstown – November 17, 1984, Los Angeles)
Saul Samuel Bihari (March 9, 1918, St. Louis, Missouri – February 22, 1975, Los Angeles)
Joseph Bihari (May 30, 1925, Memphis, Tennessee – November 28, 2013, Los Angeles) [1] [4]

In addition to their four sons, they had four daughters: Florette, Rosalind and Maxine, all of whom worked in the Bihari brothers' business, and Serene, who did not. Serene married the New York real estate developer Irving M. Felt.

Careers

After living for a period in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Bihari family moved to Los Angeles in 1941. Jules gained a job servicing and operating jukeboxes in the Watts district, [5] and found difficulty in locating and stocking the blues records his customers wanted to hear. [5] He and his younger brothers, Saul and Joe, founded a new label, Modern Records, in 1945. [5] They built Modern into a major blues and R&B label, their first success coming with "Swingin' the Boogie", by Hadda Brooks. They bought a pressing plant and divided tasks among themselves, with Jules responsible for talent spotting and recording, Saul for manufacturing, and Lester for distribution. Joe worked with Ike Turner as a talent scout in the Memphis area, discovering Johnny "Guitar" Watson, among others.

In the early 1950s, the Biharis launched several subsidiaries: RPM Records, Flair Records, and Meteor Records, which was based in Memphis in 1952 and was headed by Lester Bihari. [5] Saul Bihari founded and ran the short-lived (February to October 1952) 'Rhythm And Blues' Records. [6] [7] Artists on the Biharis' labels included B.B. King, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lowell Fulson, Rufus Thomas, Donna Hightower and Charlie Feathers. [5]

The companies always remained small and personally run. B.B. King has said that he always felt the brothers were accessible: "The company was never bigger than the artist. I could always talk to them." [8]

Later they launched more subsidiaries: Crown Records (featuring artists such as Johnny Cole, Vic Damone, Trini Lopez with Johnny Torres, Jerry Cole, the Dave Clark Five) and United/Superior Records. In the 1960s, they launched a subsidiary, Yuletide Records, which specialized in Christmas records (mostly with Johnny Cole and the Robert Evans Chorus).

In the mid 1960s, Modern Records entered bankruptcy and ceased operating, but the catalogue followed the management into what would become Kent Records. After the deaths of Saul, Lester and Jules Bihari, the label's catalog was licensed to Ace Records in the mid-1980s and purchased by a consortium led by Ace in the 1991. [5]

The Bihari Brothers appear as characters in the 2019 Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name : Aleksandar Filimonovic plays Joe, Ivo Nandi plays Julius, Michael Peter Bolus portrays Lester, and Kazy Tauginas portrays Saul.

Pseudonyms and royalties

Though they were not songwriters, the Biharis often purchased or claimed co-authorship of songs that appeared on their own labels, thus procuring songwriting royalties for themselves, in addition to their other sources of income.

Sometimes these songs were older standards renamed. B.B. King's rendition of "Rock Me Baby" was such a tune; anonymous jams, as with "B.B.'s Boogie" or songs by employees, such as bandleader Vince Weaver. The Biharis used a number of pseudonyms for songwriting credits: Jules was credited as Jules Taub, Joe as Joe Josea, and Saul as Sam Ling. One song by John Lee Hooker, "Down Child" is solely credited to "Taub", with Hooker receiving no credit for the song whatsoever. Another, "Turn Over a New Leaf" is credited to Hooker and "Ling". Taub was the Biharis' mother's maiden name.

The Biharis added their name to writing credits when they had had no input into the writing of the music or lyrics. B.B. King said: "The company I was with knew a lot of things they didn’t tell me, that I didn’t learn about until later... Some of the songs I wrote, they added a name when I copyrighted it,"..."Like 'King and Ling' or 'King and Josea.' There was no such thing as Ling, or Josea. No such thing. That way, the company could claim half of your song." [9] Ike Turner was a young talent scout for the Biharis and was also a session musician and production assistant. Turner, unaware of royalties, wrote songs as well which the Biharis copyrighted under their pseudonyms. Turner estimated he "wrote 78 hit records for the Biharis." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ike Turner</span> American musician (1931–2007)

Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his wife Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern Records</span> Defunct American record label

Modern Records was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee Hooker. The label released some of the most influential blues and R&B records of the 1940s and 1950s.

Kent Records was a Los Angeles–based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was a subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records, which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, including recordings by B.B. King. By 1964, Kent had signed acts such as Ike & Tina Turner and released new material. Other acts signed to the label included Z.Z. Hill, Johnny Otis, and Lowell Fulsom. Modern Records was revived in 1964 with successful singles from the Ikettes.

RPM Records was an American Los Angeles–based record label launched in 1950. This is not the same RPM used by Tony Bennett, nor is it related to labels in the UK and South Africa.

<i>Live at the Regal</i> 1965 live album by B.B. King

Live at the Regal is a 1965 live album by American blues guitarist and singer B.B. King. It was recorded on November 21, 1964, at the Regal Theater in Chicago. The album is widely heralded as one of the greatest blues albums ever recorded and was ranked at number 141 in Rolling Stone's 2003 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, before dropping to number 299 in a 2020 revision. In 2005, Live at the Regal was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosco Gordon</span> American singer-songwriter

Rosco N. Gordon III, sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted," (1952), "No More Doggin'" (1952), and "Just a Little Bit" (1960). Gordon was a pioneer of the Memphis blues style. He played piano in a style known as the "Rosco rhythm," with the emphasis on the off-beat. This rhythm was an influence on later musical styles such as Jamaican ska and reggae.

<i>Completely Well</i> 1969 studio album by B.B. King

Completely Well, released in 1969, is a studio album by the blues guitarist B. B. King. It is notable for the inclusion of "The Thrill Is Gone", which became a hit on both the R&B/soul and pop charts and which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1970.

<i>Blues on the Bayou</i> 1998 studio album by B.B. King

Blues on the Bayou is the thirty sixth studio album by B.B. King, released in 1998.

<i>Live at San Quentin</i> (B. B. King album) 1990 live album by B.B. King

Live at San Quentin is a 1990 live album by blues guitarist B.B. King performed at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California.

<i>Singin the Blues</i> 1957 compilation album by B.B. King

Singin' the Blues is the first LP album by American bluesman B.B. King, released in 1957 by the Bihari brothers on their Crown budget label. It is a compilation album whose songs were issued between 1951 and 1956 on singles by RPM Records and most had reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Race/R&B singles charts. King continued to perform and record several of the songs throughout his career, such as "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Woke Up This Morning", and "Sweet Little Angel".

<i>Now Appearing at Ole Miss</i> 1980 live album by B. B. King

Now Appearing at Ole Miss is a live album by B. B. King, recorded in 1979 and released as a double album on MCA Records in 1980. The live recordings were augmented with overdubs, most notably with percussion instruments. This has been criticized by reviewers as making the album stale, and it is widely regarded as B.B. King's weakest 'live' album. One notable feature, is that the album contains the first use of the bass style of playing known as "slap" by Russell Jackson, who would go on to play in the posthumous "B.B. King Experience Band" with another B.B. King band veteran James "Boogaloo" Bolden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Know I Love You (B. B. King song)</span> 1952 single by B.B. King and his Orchestra

"You Know I Love You" is a song written and recorded by B.B. King. Released on RPM Records in 1952, it was King's second No. 1 single on the Billboard R&B chart. King's friend and collaborator Ike Turner played piano on the original recording. The song was included on King's debut album Singin' The Blues in 1957.

<i>The Essential Johnny Winter</i> 2013 compilation album by Johnny Winter

The Essential Johnny Winter is a two-CD album by guitarist and singer Johnny Winter. It is a compilation of songs from previously released albums, many of them from the late 1960s and the 1970s. It was released by Columbia Records on April 30, 2013.

<i>Rocks the Blues</i> 1963 studio album by Ike Turner

Rocks The Blues is the first album credited to musician Ike Turner. Released in 1963 from Crown Records, it contains mostly previously released singles from the 1950s.

<i>Howling Wolf Sings the Blues</i> 1962 compilation album by Howlin Wolf

Howling Wolf Sings the Blues is a compilation album by blues musician Howlin' Wolf, which was released by Crown Records in 1962. The original album included eight songs recorded for Modern Records between 1951 and 1952, including those tracks that were released as singles by the RPM, and an additional two instrumentals by Joe Hill Louis. The album was re-released in 1970 by United Records with the alternative title Big City Blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Lane (musician)</span> Musical artist

Ernest Ray Lane was an American blues pianist. He played various blues musicians and bands, including with Pinetop Perkins, Robert Nighthawk, Ike Turner, George "Harmonica" Smith, and Canned Heat. Lane also released singles and album as a solo artist.

Earl Forest was an American musician and a member of the Memphis-based R&B coalition called the Beale Streeters, which included Johnny Ace, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, and Roscoe Gordon. Forest had a hit record in 1953 with "Whoopin' And Hollerin'" on Duke Records. He also recorded for Meteor Records and Flair Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm in the Mood (John Lee Hooker song)</span> 1951 single by John Lee Hooker

"I'm in the Mood" is a blues song written and originally performed by John Lee Hooker, and first recorded by him in 1951. The original recording is reportedly one of the highest-selling blues records of all time.

Johnny O'Neal was an American R&B singer best known as a member of Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm. He also sang with blues guitarist Earl Hooker. O'Neal used various pseudonyms such as Brother Bell, Burntface Brother, and Scarface Johnny. As a solo artist he recorded for King Records and Sun Records in the 1950s. He also formed his own group called Johnny O'Neal and the Hound Dogs.

The Beale Streeters were a Memphis-based R&B coalition of musicians, which at times included John Alexander, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, Earl Forest, Willie Nix, and Rosco Gordon. Initially, they were not a formal band, but they played at the same venues and backed each other during recording sessions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Yardley, William (December 11, 2013). "Joe Bihari obituary". The New York Times . Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Schoenbrun Family Tree". Stanford.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  3. ↑ Most sources state that Julius was the eldest brother, but from the genealogical evidence cited here, this appears to be an error
  4. ↑ "Joe Bihari obituary". Los Angeles Times . December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Colin Larkin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 42. ISBN   1-85227-937-0.
  6. ↑ "Biharis Add New Label" (PDF). Billboard. February 16, 1952. p. 22.
  7. ↑ "Illustrated Blues & Rhythm Records discography". Stefan Wirz' American Music.
  8. ↑ Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters . New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. p.  223. ISBN   0-02-061740-2.
  9. ↑ "Talking to the Boss: His Majesty Mr. King". Blues Access. Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
  10. ↑ Turner, Ike (1999). Takin' Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner. Cawthorne, Nigel. London: Virgin. ISBN   1852278501. OCLC   43321298.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.