Michael Berniker (June 30, 1935 – July 25, 2008) 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 ...

who was recognized with nine

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s over the course of his career for his work on albums with such performers as

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme,

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

and

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

, as well as

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

cast recordings, Latin jazz, classical, spoken word and comedy albums in a career that lasted some forty years for labels including

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. Born on June 30, 1935, and raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, he attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, studying music and philosophy. While serving at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

El Paso County, Texas El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865,657, making it the ninth-most populous county in the state of Texas. Its county seat is the city of El Paso, the sixth-mos ...

while in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for two years, he hosted a local radio show and organized a jazz festival.Holden, Michael
"Michael Berniker, 73, Record Producer, 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 ...

'', July 29, 2008. Accessed September 23, 2008. While in his late-20s, Berniker produced

's first three albums — '' The Barbra Streisand Album'' (that year's Grammy winner for Album of the Year), ''

The Second Barbra Streisand Album ''The Second Barbra Streisand Album'' is the title of Barbra Streisand's second solo studio album. It was released in August 1963, just six months after the release of her debut album, '' The Barbra Streisand Album'', and was recorded in four d ...

'' and '' The Third Album'' — all of which were released six months apart in the one-year span from February 1963 to February 1964, and which were described by ''

'' as "among the most expressively uninhibited" of her career. Berniker also produced Streisand's classic career-making single "

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

", her first Top 10 single. He produced several Broadway albums, including his work with composer

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

on ''

The Will Rogers Follies ''The Will Rogers Follies'' is a Musical theatre, musical with a book by Peter Stone (writer), Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. It focuses on the life and career of humorist and performer Will Rogers, ...

'', which won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album at the 1992 ceremonies. He won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the Grammy Awards of 1986 for his work as producer of the original Broadway cast album for '' Ma Rainey's Black Bottom''. As an executive with

, Berniker signed Daryl Hall and John Oates and Juice Newton. Berniker lived with his wife Heather in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...

from the mid-1970s until 2002, when they moved to Hillsdale, New York. He died on July 25, 2008, in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bot ...

of complications from kidney disease.Levin, Jay
"Grammy winner M. Berniker"
'' The Record'', September 23, 2008. Accessed September 23, 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berniker, Mike 1935 births 2008 deaths * Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia University alumni Deaths from kidney disease Grammy Award winners People from Brooklyn People from Fort Lee, New Jersey People from Hillsdale, New York Record producers from New York (state) United States Army soldiers