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Most people have probably never heard of Sid Bernstein, certainly few under the age of 40, however he is arguably the most influential promoter in the history of modern music. He changed the music world forever by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and rest of the British Invasion to America. In addition, he organized concerts for a multitude of artists over the years including James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Frank Sinatra.  We caught up with Sid during his appearance on Sunday at NYC bar Rockography and got the story of how he brought The Beatles to American in his own words.

MMB: How did you get you start in the music business as a promoter?

Sid: I was born in Harlem, and at that time most of the good music was coming from Harlem. I was involved early watching a lot of the jazz musicians play. I liked this music. And it was after the war, little by little, that I knew I wanted to work in music.  One job led to another…

MMB: How did you hear about The Beatles?

Sid: A flyer friend from the Air Force, also a soldier, came up to me one day and said, “Sid, listen, have you heard about The Beatles?”  And I said, “No. What label are they on?”  He said, “Well, they play in Liverpool. They’re not on a label yet.”

By the way you’re the first one to hear this story that I’m telling you. I’ve never told this story before. So you’ve got a bead on everyone else (Thanks for the inside scoop, Sid!).

I didn’t hear their music, but I was reading about it. I used to pick up English newspapers from the out of town newsstands in Times Square.  I lived in the Bronx and used to come into the city to pick up the English newspapers to see what was going on.

MMB: They weren’t writing about them in the US newspapers?

Sid: No, not at all initially, only in England. I picked up an English newspaper every couple weeks and one day, one of the papers, The Daily Mail, had a headline, in big letters: BEATLEMANIA HAPPENING ALL OVER ENGLAND. That’s when I knew.  And I hadn’t heard their music at all!

MMB: And you ended up bringing them here soon after. Were you involved in the Ed Sullivan performance?

Sid: Before Ed booked them on television, he had heard that The Beatles had been booked for the first time at Carnegie Hall, which I had been involved with. I still hadn’t heard them, was still reading about them, there were no records yet. I was reading that they were playing more and more out from Liverpool, to Brighton, one city after another.

Ed read or heard that they were coming to America and heard that I had booked them at Carnegie Hall. Ed Sullivan’s secretary called me and she said, “Mr. Bernstein, Ed would like to know what you think of them.” And I said to her, “They’re a phenomenon!”  And that got him interested!

MMB: [laughter] I bet!

Sid: One of Ed’s guys in England said, “Something’s happening.” They’re going to be big. I still couldn’t answer “Have you heard them?”, but only “What do you think of them?” I still hadn’t heard them. And then they were booked on the show.

Do you remember the Ed Sullivan Show? You might be too young to remember.

MMB: I remember the show although I think it was off the air by the time I was born.

Sid: So that’s the story, they were a phenomenon!

 

 

MMB: Did you get to know The Beatles personally?

Sid: Absolutely, I got to know them after a while. After Shea Stadium, we became very good friends.

MMB: That’s great. You were the first person to organize a concert at a sports stadium. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Sid: After the show at Carnegie Hall sold out, 2,800 seats, I called Brian Epstein, who worked on the Carnegie Hall show with me. We became good friends. We talked about playing them in Madison Square Garden. I said, “Brian, instead of Madison Square Garden, how about Shea Stadium?”

MMB: Think a little bit bigger.

Sid: Yes, and Brian just said, “Shea Stadium?” in disbelief initially. When it happened, I brought my son, Adam, who was about 12 at the time, to the concert. It was amazing experience but no one could hear them.

And at one point after all of this, I went to England and Brian asked me not to stay in a hotel. He asked if I’d like to stay at his home and I did for about 7 days on that trip.

MMB: You have worked with many different bands, besides The Beatles. You brought a lot of the British Invasion bands to America as well. What did you do differently with The Beatles than the other groups?

Sid: Well, The Beatles were first.  And then I went to the next band that was happening, The Rolling Stones. Then I had an inroad to what was going on with the rest of British groups.

MMB: You kind of became the point person for the up and coming British bands.

Sid: They say, I started the British Invasion.

Beatles, Stones, Herman’s Hermits, The Dave Clark Five. I was involved with the first 12 or 13 bands or so.

MMB: Is there anyone else besides The Beatles that have really impacted your career?

Sid: James Brown. They also say, “Sid Bernstein broke the color line.”  I opened it up for James Brown at Madison Square Garden. That was the first African American group to play Madison Square Garden.

MMB: You also booked the first concert at Madison Square Garden. Which band was that?

Sid: My own group, The Rascals.

MMB: And you also have a book out?

Sid: Yes, it’s called “It’s Sid Bernstein Calling…”, chronicling my career in the music industry.

MMB: Well, you have quite an interesting story so I’m sure it makes for a compelling read.

Thanks, Sid, for taking the time out to talk with us today. Truly a living legend.

You can pick up a copy of Sid’s book about his life here.