career in entertainment
during book promo tour
Sid Bernstein recalls
career in entertainment
during book promo tour
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Legendary music promoter Sid Bernstein of New York City related stories of rock ’n’ roll legends past and present during an appearance at Barnes & Noble, Freehold Township.
There are icons in the music industry, there are legends in the music industry and then there’s Sid Bernstein, who has managed to become both.
The old adage "Behind every successful man is a successful woman" may not go over so well these days, but it’s probably still a safe bet to assume that behind every successful musician stands a successful promoter.
This statement may have been invented for Bernstein, who in his decades-long career has helped to promote entertainers who have come to be known as icons.
Bernstein, 84, came to Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Freehold Township on Oct. 17 to promote himself this time — or rather a book containing his memoirs. It’s Sid Bernstein Calling…, published by Jonathan David Publishers, recounts stories of Bernstein’s career, of the stars he helped to create and of the ups and downs of his professional and personal journey.
JERRY WOLKOWITZ The picture of Sid Bernstein on the cover of his book almost matches his mannerisms during a talk at Barnes & Noble, Freehold Township. Bernstein talked about his career in entertainment and signed copies of his book.
But the real story isn’t so much on the pages of his book as in the author’s eyes, in his voice, in his memory.
His efforts have ranged from revitalizing the careers of Tony Bennett and Judy Garland to initiating, organizing and promoting the Beatles concerts at Carnegie Hall and Shea Stadium.
Other musicians touched by Bern-stein’s magic read like a veritable "Who’s Who" in music. Groups like the Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits and the Moody Blues. Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, James Brown and Elvis Presley were also beneficiaries of Bernstein’s intuition and wisdom.
He took a risk when he made a telephone call to Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, and booked the Beatles at Shea Stadium in February 1964, in what was virtually the first stadium rock concert. His vision and intuition helped to quite literally change the direction of rock ’n’ roll and to alter the course of music forever.
Sitting in a bookstore in Freehold Township listening to Bernstein drop names like Paul McCartney, John Lennon, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones gave the atmosphere an almost surreal effect. Bernstein also spoke with a hint of sadness about his chart-topping group, the Young Rascals, a group he said he felt would have become the "American Beatles."
He remembered many of his friends with a nostalgic fondness, expressing deep sorrow and genuine sadness when he spoke of the death of his friend John Lennon.
"John was one of the greatest men in the history of music," Bernstein said. "His song ‘Imagine’ says it all to me."
Bernstein said quietly that he still "sheds a tear now and then" when he hears the song.
"I think the world would be a different place if John were still alive today," he said.
A decade after promoting the Beatles at Shea Stadium and seven years after the band broke up, Bernstein made news when he took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times on Sept. 19, 1976 and addressed a letter directly to Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. His offer was to promote a Beatles reunion and raise money for charity.
"Let the world smile for one day. Let us change the headlines from gloom and hopelessness to music and life and a worldwide message of peace," he wrote. "You four are among the very few who are in a position to make the dream of a better world come together in the hearts of millions in just one day."
Bernstein laid out a plan in which concertgoers at every facility around the world that would have shown the event on closed circuit television would bring to the show food and clothing that would then be given to needy people around the world.
The Beatles did not respond publicly to the offer and never reunited to perform in public.
Bernstein told the audience at Barnes & Noble that music turned his life around.
"One day I was a poor kid from The Bronx and then suddenly people were asking me for my autograph," he said with an unassuming grace, still apparently overwhelmed by this fact.
In looking back, Bernstein said he had no idea the Beatles would have had such an influence on the world of music but said he knew when he saw the "four kids from Liverpool," whom he referred to as a "phenomenon," that he’d struck musical gold. He knew something amazing was about to happen.
With gentle humor, Bernstein told the audience at Barnes & Noble that the price of a ticket to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1964 was $3.50.
The stadium sold out 55,000 seats.
"If I had charged a dollar or two more, I could have retired right then," Bernstein laughed. "It was an amazing time in my life."
The cost to get the Beatles to perform in February 1964 was $6,500, according to Bernstein.
"People have no idea of the power music holds," he said. "Music gives us the possibility of doing incredible things."
In fact, Bernstein believes in the power of music so much that he wants to use it to heal a nation. He said he wants to bring music to a place that could really use the healing message — behind enemy lines.
"Instead of dropping bombs on Baghdad, we should be dropping cassettes and recorders," he said. "We should be dropping letters and flowers rather than bullets."
Bernstein spoke of music that would sing of peace, of living, of children and of sharing — music that spoke of life rather than death.
"You can reach a great many people with music," Bernstein said. "It’s the most powerful instrument we have in the world to communicate with each other."
Bernstein is not traveling alone on this promotional tour. His friend, the reason he’s back in the music industry, is also along for the ride.
Lee Elvis has been performing for 25 years. Although the two men have been friends for years, Bernstein said he’d never seen Elvis perform. After seeing the entertainer in concert last summer in Bayonne, he was apparently hooked enough to give up retirement and get back into the business he knows so well.
Looking absolutely authentic in his likeness to Elvis Presley, Lee Elvis came to Barnes & Noble packing "look-alike" shades, a huge golden belt and the jewelry and persona of the legendary king of rock ’n’ roll. It’s a mutual admiration society as Bernstein promotes the music of the entertainer and Elvis helps to promote the memoirs of his friend.
Helping people and creating peace in the world is high on the list of goals for Bernstein at this time in his life, and he said his book will give him the ability to say things he wants to say and reach out to many people with his words.
Bernstein’s return to the music industry has included promoting music for cancer research, a cause that is very dear to his heart. He already had a concert in Liver-pool the year before last to help with cancer research, and he’s working on an event that he wants to be worldwide. He’s looking to the United States to provide him with the location this time around.
"Cancer has touched so many people," Bernstein said. "The continuation of life is so much more important than the disruption and destruction of life."
After discussing his book, his friends, his many years of being in the industry, the lifestyle he said he would not have had any other way, Bernstein became momentarily quiet, reflecting on a word to describe it all.
It wasn’t luck, it wasn’t even something he planned for. Bernstein said it was beshert, which in Hebrew means a gift from God, something that was fated to happen. Many in the music industry are likely very glad it did.