Bernard Besman (October 8, 1912 – January 10, 2003) was an American record producer and distributor who established Sensation Records, an early

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He was the first to record

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

, and is officially credited with co-writing some of Hooker's songs.

Early life

Besman was born into a Jewish family in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, then in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In the aftermath of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the Polish-Soviet War, he and his family fled Kiev in 1921, and traveled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

where Besman attended school in the East End and learned piano. The family moved to Detroit in 1926, and Besman began playing "sweet"

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and dance music in hotels and resorts, leading his own small group, and made recordings in 1936. He began operating a booking agency before

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 ...

, and then booked bands for the Special Services. Michael Lydon, "Boogie Lightnin': John Lee Hooker and the Electrified Blues", ''Ramparts'', 1973
Retrieved 18 February 2020

Career

After the war, Besman linked up with accountant John Kaplan to buy an existing company, Pan American Record Distributing, in 1946. The company sold mostly to the

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

market, and Besman established himself as a record plugger, promoting records to

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

s. Besman and Kaplan also started Sensation Records, taking its name from the local Sensation Lounge

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

. Musicians signed to Sensation Records included Todd Rhodes, Russell Jacquet, The Harmonicats, T. J. Fowler, and

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

. Some of Rhodes' recordings featured singers Connie Allen and

LaVern Baker Delores LaVern Baker (born Delores Evans; November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American rhythm and blues singer who had several hit records on the pop charts in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were " Tweedle Dee" ...

. Besman was responsible for artists and repertoire, and Kaplan for financial arrangements. They arranged a distribution deal for Sensation through Vitacoustic Records, another local label, and when that fell through arranged distribution through King Records of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. In late 1948, Besman heard demo records by local

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 ...

musician

, and as a result produced Hooker's first recording session with engineer Joe Siracuse. The session yielded the hit single "

Boogie Chillen' "Boogie Chillen'" or "Boogie Chillun" is a blues song first recorded by John Lee Hooker in 1948. It is a solo performance featuring Hooker's vocal, electric guitar, and rhythmic foot stomps. The lyrics are partly autobiographical and alternate ...

". Hooker was recorded as a solo performer, and in order to produce a stronger sound, Besman said:

I knew I had to do something. So first we amplified his guitar. He had an old Stella and no amp. We put a mike onto his guitar, and we put a speaker—this was a tiny two room studio, remember—we put it in a toilet bowl next door, actually in a toilet bowl. Then we put a mike under that so the sound would bounce off the water—I wanted an echo effect. Then the sound went back into a speaker in the studio, came out of that, and got picked up along with his voice. I put a board under his feet to make his tapping louder, and put a mike down there.

The resulting record was leased to

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turn ...

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for release and distribution, and became a million-seller. Biography by Richie Unterberger
''AllMusic''. Retrieved 6 February 2020 As with Hooker’s other recordings, Besman gave himself a co-writer credit – though Hooker strongly rejected the idea that Besman was creatively involved in writing the songs – as well as the publishing rights. Some of Hooker's other early recordings, including "Burnin' Hell" and "Huckle Up Baby", were released on the Sensation label and became modestly successful. Besman retained the rights to all Hooker's recordings on the label. The Sensation label issued its last records in late 1950. After the success of £Boogie Chillen£, Besman continued to record Hooker, including " I'm in the Mood", his second R&B number one hit in 1951, on which Hooker performed with second guitarist Eddie Kirkland, and Besman

double-tracked Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. ...

Hooker's vocals and guitar. In 1952, Besman was diagnosed with a serious illness, sold his share in the Sensation label, and moved to

. After he recovered, he was involved in his cousin's business, marketing painting by numbers kits. Besman retained links with John Lee Hooker, and in 1961 produced a self-titled album by Hooker in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

. He also remained in the children's

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

business, and in the early 1970s held the franchise for

Bozo the Clown Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to tel ...

merchandise. In the early 1970s, Besman began to license many of his unreleased John Lee Hooker recordings to various labels including

Specialty Records Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

and the small Greene Bottle label. He later sold the remainder of his tapes and acetates to Ace Records in the early 1990s. In 1992, Besman filed a lawsuit against the members of

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

, alleging that their 1973 song " La Grange" infringed on "Boogie Chillen'" by John Lee Hooker. A federal judge dismissed the case in 1995. All of Hooker's recordings with Besman on Sensation Records between 1948 and 1952 (not including the material issued on United Artists and Greene Bottle), remastered and including some alternate and unedited takes not previously issued, were released as a

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

by Ace Records in 2020. "Documenting The Sensation Recordings 1948-1952"
''Ace Records''. Retrieved 22 May 2020

Personal life

Besman died in Los Angeles on January 10, 2003, aged 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besman, Bernard 1912 births 2003 deaths American record producers American music industry executives American people of Russian-Jewish descent Soviet emigrants to the United States