Sidney Bernstein

 Sidney Bernstein (August 12, 1918 – August 21, 2013)

Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, the Moody Blues, and the Kinks to America. He was also the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums. During World War II, he was stationed in Britain and also served in France with the 602nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion of the United States Army. After the end of the war he returned to New York and became the manager of mambo musician Esy Morales, as well as acting as a booking agent. He started work for the General Artists Corporation (GAC), and by the early 1960s was working as a booking agent for pop stars such as Dion and Chubby Checker. He contacted Beatles manager Brian Epstein in early 1963 after reading about the group in several British newspapers. Persuading Epstein that they could be successful in the US, he booked Carnegie Hall for their first appearance without informing the venue of their style of music and never hearing a note of their music.

On August 15, 1965, Bernstein also booked them at Shea Stadium, a show that Bernstein described as "inaudible." After a final world tour, including another Bernstein produced Shea Stadium performance, the group retired from touring in 1966 and split up in April 1970. Bernstein made many attempts to persuade them to re-form, at one point taking out full-page newspaper articles asking them to perform together for charity. Bernstein also brought British bands including the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, the Moody Blues, and the Kinks to America. He also organized concerts for Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Laura Nyro, Laura Branigan, Melanie and Sly & the Family Stone. At age 93, Bernstein released his first album as a singer. Sid Bernstein Presents... is a collection of some of his favorite songs, and was released on February 14, 2012, on compact disk and as a digital download.

Bernstein died on August 21, 2013, in Manhattan, nine days after his 95th birthday. He is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.