Hyman Y. "Hy" Weiss (February 12, 1923 – March 20, 2007) was an American

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

of pop and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

music in the 1950s and 1960s, and the founder of Old Town Records.

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Cuca,

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

, Romania, he was an immigrant to the United States as a baby in 1924 and was brought up in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York. There, he established a friendship with Morris Levy, who would also become active in the

music business The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent ...

. He served in the US Army Air Force in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, before working briefly as a bouncer and as a furrier. He started in the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

as a record salesman,Profile of Hy Weiss
Black Cat Rockabilly. Retrieved March 15, 2013 and set up Parody Records with his brother Sam in 1949. His

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, Old Town Records, was established in August 1953 and was active until 1966. Weiss took sole control of the label in 1956. He was primarily a producer of

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

groups, as well as

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

music. Old Town had its first hit with the 1958 single " We Belong Together" by Robert & Johnny, and had further hits by Billy Bland, the Solitaires, the Capris, the Earls, and others. The Old Town catalog was sold by Weiss to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1970. Subsequently, Weiss worked for

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

. He had a co-writer credit for the song "Foggy Notion" by the Velvet Underground, along with all the members of the band. Weiss revived Old Town as a vehicle for Arthur Prysock in 1973 and kept the label going until about 1978. Weiss was described as "one of the most colorful characters of the New York independent record business" and as "brash, miserable and explosive by turns... ehad a bulging contacts book and was both courted and feared in an industry notoriously not for the faint-hearted." He was associated with the practice of "

payola Payola, in the music industry, is the name given to the illegal practice of paying a commercial radio station to play a song without the station disclosing the payment. Under U.S. law, a radio station must disclose songs they were paid to pla ...

", being credited as the inventor of the "$50 handshake", and once said: "Why waste time going out with someone you don't like, and sit down and feast with them when you can't stand them? Just give them the money and let them play the uckingrecord."''The Telegraph'', "Obituary: Hyman Weiss", 5 April 2007
Retrieved March 15, 2013

Personal life

In 1954, he married Rosalyn Weiss; she died in 1996. He was a resident of Rockleigh,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

.Sisario, Ben
"Hy Weiss, 84, Music Executive From Rock 'n' Roll's Early Days, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 31, 2007. Accessed November 26, 2007. He died in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, on March 20, 2007, at the age of 84. He was survived by two daughters, Maureen Weiss Spergel and Pam Weiss Katz; and a son, Barry Weiss, the Chairman and CEO of

Island Def Jam Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...

/ Universal Motown Republic.

Notable artists

References

External links

Article
by Marv Goldberg on Hy Weiss and Old Town Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Hy 1923 births 2007 deaths Romanian Jews Romanian emigrants to the United States People from Argeș County 20th-century American Jews American entertainment industry businesspeople American people of Romanian-Jewish descent People from Rockleigh, New Jersey Record producers from New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American songwriters