- Bert Berns
Infobox musical artist
Name = Bert Berns
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Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Bertrand Russell Berns
Alias = Bert Russell
Born = birth date|1929|11|8|mf=y
Died = death date and age|1967|12|30|1929|11|8
Origin = flagicon|USANew York City ,United States
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Genre = Pop
Occupation =songwriter ,record producer
Years_active = 1960s
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URL = [http://bertberns.com/ bertberns.com]
Notable_instruments =Bertrand Russell Berns (
November 8 ,1929 -December 30 ,1967 ) (a/k/a Bert Russell and Bert Berns and Russell Byrd) was one of the great Americansongwriters andrecord producers of the 1960s. A pioneer of sixties rock and soul, Berns' contributions topopular music are among the most significant of his generation. His untimely death fromheart failure at age 38 put a stop to a remarkable run of success as songwriter, producer andrecord label chief.Born in the
Bronx ,New York City to RussianJewish immigrants, Berns contractedrheumatic fever as a child, an illness that would mark the rest of his life. Turning to music, he found consonance in the sounds of hisAfrican American andLatino neighbors. As a young man, Berns danced in mambo nightclubs, and made his way toHavana before theCuban Revolution .Shortly after his return from
Cuba , Berns began a seven-year run from an obscureBrill Building songwriter to the chief of his own record labels. His first hit record was "A Little Bit of Soap" performed byThe Jarmels in 1961. One year later, theIsley Brothers recorded "Twist and Shout ". During these years, Berns wrote and produced records for a wide range of labels, including Wand, United Artists, Capitol, Laurie, MGM, Big Top, Old Town, Roulette, andAtlantic Records . In 1963, Berns would replaceJerry Leiber and Mike Stoller as the staff producer at Atlantic, where he produced such acts asSolomon Burke ("Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"),The Drifters ("Under the Boardwalk" and "Saturday Night at the Movies"), Barbara Lewis ("Baby I'm Yours" and "Make Me Your Baby"), LittleEsther Phillips ("Hello Walls"),Wilson Pickett andLaVern Baker . Berns was also one of the few American record producers to travel across the Atlantic to London, where he produced a number of British Decca artists such as Them ("Here Comes the Night," "Baby Please Don't Go " and "Gloria"), and Lulu.In 1965, Bert Berns formed his own record labels,
Bang Records andShout Records . It was founded with the Atlantic Records partners with the Bang name derived from their first names--Bert Berns,Ahmet Ertegün ,Nesuhi Ertegün and Gerald Wexler. Bang was home to such artists asThe McCoys ("Hang on Sloopy "),The Strangeloves ("I Want Candy "),Van Morrison ("Brown Eyed Girl ") andNeil Diamond ("Solitary Man " and "Cherry Cherry "). Berns formed Shout as an outlet for hisR&B passions, recordingFreddie Scott ("Are You Lonely for Me Baby") andErma Franklin ("Piece of My Heart").Bert Berns' death in the last days of 1967 marked an end to the golden era of rock and soul music. One of his last songs, "
Piece of My Heart ", was originally recorded that year byErma Franklin , covered shortly later byBig Brother and the Holding Company (fronted by then-unknownJanis Joplin ). TheLed Zeppelin outtake "Baby Come on Home" (originally titled "A Tribute To Bert Berns") was loosely based on a song Berns wrote for Hoagy Lands, and was recorded in Berns' honour. While the Bang/Shout Records catalogue is today owned bySony BMG , the Berns family still owns the music publishing operations originally called WEB IV Music. The WEB IV name was also derived from the founders with WEB as an acronym for Wexler-Ertegun-Berns and theRoman numeral IV for the four original partners.elected writing credits
* "
A Little Bit of Soap "The Jarmels (1961)
* "Twist and Shout "The Isley Brothers (1962) /The Beatles (1963)
* "Cry to Me "Solomon Burke (1962)
* "Tell Him"The Exciters (1962)
* "Cry Baby "Garnet Mimms (1963) /Janis Joplin (1971)
* "One Way Love "The Drifters (1963) / Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers (1964)
* "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love " Solomon Burke (1964) / Wilson Pickett (1967)
* "Baby Let Me Take You Home "The Animals (1964)
* "Here Comes the Night" Them (1965)
* "I Want Candy "The Strangeloves (1965) /Bow Wow Wow (1982)
* "Hang on Sloopy "The McCoys (1965)
* "Down In The Valley"Otis Redding (1965)
* "I'll Take Good Care Of You"Garnet Mimms (1967)
* "Are You Lonely For Me Baby?"Freddie Scott (1967)
* "Piece of My Heart "Erma Franklin (1967)/Janis Joplin (1968) /Dusty Springfield (1968) [ [http://www.simonbell.com/archive4.html Dusty Springfield: Dusty Devotedly - Dusty Definitely ] ]
* "Twenty Five Miles"Edwin Starr (1968)elected producer credits
* "
Cry to Me "Solomon Burke (1962)
* "Twist and Shout "The Isley Brothers (1962)
* "Under The Boardwalk "The Drifters (1964)
* "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love " Solomon Burke (1964)
* "Gloria " Them (1965)
* "Baby Please Don't Go " Them (1965)
* "Here Comes the Night" Them (1965)
* "Baby I'm Yours "Barbara Lewis (1965)
* "Make Me Your Baby "Barbara Lewis (1965)
* "Piece of My Heart "Erma Franklin (1967)
* "Brown Eyed Girl "Van Morrison (1967)elected discography
* "The Heart and Soul of Bert Berns" (2003) a CD encompassing some of Berns' best work.
* "The Bert Berns Story - Vol. 1: 1960-1964" (2008), a CD featuring more than two dozen of Berns' R&B and rock hits, released through Ace Records of England.References
External links
* [http://bertberns.com/ Official Bert Berns Website]
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