219:, a young Jewish sales clerk interested in black music, attended shows at black and white performance venues in segregated Baltimore, where she absorbed the music that influenced her own songwriting. After the shows, she tried to sell her songs, which she described as in the "black vein", to the groups backstage. Chessler, who could not read or write music, would repeat melodies she composed in her mind until she could find a pianist to transcribe them. She wrote the lyrics to her song "It's Too Soon To Know" on toilet paper when she could find no other paper in her hotel room. With Chessler as their manager and songwriter, the Baltimore doo-wop group the Orioles recorded the song and it reached no. 1 on Billboard's race records charts in November 1948.
344:
17:
282:, and many others. Although his entrepreneurial approach to the music business and his role as a middleman between black artists and white audiences created opportunities for unrecorded groups to pursue wider exposure, his business partner Ozzie Cadena, a producer and A&R scout for Savoy Records, told an interviewer that Lubinsky hated blacks; Lubinsky in turn was reviled by many black musicians.
209:
267:
company owners such as Herman
Lubinsky had a reputation for exploiting black artists, and only a few Jewish owners were never accused of dealing unfairly with the black artists they recorded. The sometimes morally dubious business practices of men like Lubinsky and Syd Nathan caused Jewish label heads to be regarded as parasites on black culture by some groups and commentators.
289:
and
Jennifer Griffith maintain that regardless of Lubinsky's personal shortcomings, the evidence that he treated African American artists worse in his business dealings than other independent label owners did is unconvincing. They contend that in the extremely competitive independent record company
75:
historian Ari
Katorza, although only two percent of the total US population was Jewish, their representation in the music industry was much higher, and by this time they owned or managed about "forty percent of the independent record companies recording and distributing rock 'n' roll and rhythm and
266:
The prevailing narrative of the historical record has described the unfair treatment of black performers by the men who ran the postwar music industry; the most controversial among them were the Jewish owners of independent record companies that sprang up in the United States in the 1940s. Record
124:
Jewish entrepreneurs started scores of independent record companies between 1940 and 1960; many of them focused on black popular music and promoting black talent with their new vocal group sound. Although black-owned independent labels competed with the Jewish-owned indie labels in the rhythm and
351:
The
American girl groups of the late 1950s and early 1960s had a sound directly influenced by the vocal harmonizing of the earlier black groups who sang doo-wop. Many of the doo-wop songs informing early rock 'n' roll music were written by the so-called "Brill Building" writers, most notably the
326:
There were also Jews in the music business who considered themselves black culturally, but Jewish in their roles as entrepreneurs who managed black singing groups. Jewish creative people in the industry—artists, arrangers, producers, and songwriters—also sometimes preferred to mask their ethnic
1076:
We also wrote songs for black groups like the
Coasters and the Clovers who, once doo-woppers, were now considered rock and rollers… Maybe a critic could see rock and roll as R&B or deconstructed/reconstructed doo-wop. At the time, no one knew exactly what to call
305:
were successful Jewish businessmen who could recognize talent, and while focussed at first exclusively on profits, they were examples of record company owners who gradually developed an appreciation for the music and the artists. In 1949, the
396:
were among the most accomplished of the Brill
Building songwriters who wrote R&B and doo-wop hits, and used doo-wop conventions to express the drama of teenage love and give voice to the romantic concerns of young female music fans.
1045:
We really felt that we were very black, and we acted black, and we spoke black because, you see, when I was a kid growing up, it was–where I came from, it was hip to be black, you know. I mean, to be white was kind of square, you
368:
were known for the strong Jewish and female presence in their stables of young songwriters. These songwriters contributed to a revitalization of doo-wop and pioneered the girl group stylings of the
Shirelles,
79:
In the decade from 1944 to 1955, many of the most influential record companies specializing in "race" music (or rhythm and blues, as it later came to be known) were owned or co-owned by Jews. These included
116:
in Los
Angeles, as well as many others; they were the small independent record companies that recorded, marketed, and distributed doo-wop music. Jack and Devora Brown, a Jewish couple in Detroit, founded
290:
business during the postwar era, the practices of Jewish record owners generally were more a reflection of changing economic realities in the industry than of their personal attitudes.
71:
in
American popular music of the 1950s, while Jewish businessmen founded many of the labels that recorded rhythm and blues during the height of the vocal group era. According to
121:
in 1946, and recorded a variety of eccentric artists and sounds; in the mid-1950s they became champions of
Detroit rhythm and blues, including the music of local doo-wop groups.
335:, who grew up in lower-class West Baltimore where his mother opened a grocery store in a black neighborhood, once commented, “I felt black. I was, as far as I was concerned.”
963:"A Baltimore Jewish kid who rocked Music: Jerry Leiber's childhood around Sandtown-Winchester led to "Hound Dog," "Stand By Me" and other legendary tunes of rock 'n' roll"
140:
Running an independent record label in the rhythm and blues and early rock 'n' roll era was practically a Jewish business niche. Prominent Jewish entrepreneurs included
1256:
35:, particularly in terms of the music's presentation to a wider audience, was important. According to the Jewish writer, music publishing executive, and songwriter
222:
A few Jewish women were in the recording business, such as Florence Greenberg, who started the Scepter label in 1959, and signed the African American girl group,
47:, but the music business was "wide open for Jews as it was for blacks". Jews played a key role in developing and popularizing African American music, including
1232:"Rhythm & Blues, Blacks & Jews: How a Bunch of Upstart Jewish Independent Record Producers Helped Turn African American Music into a National Treasure"
825:
962:
384:
The music conceived at the Brill Building was more sophisticated than other pop styles of the time, combining contemporary sounds with classic
301:
has been frequently lauded for his taste in music, support of civil rights for African Americans, and fair business practices. Syd Nathan and
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Some Jewish company owners genuinely appreciated the music they recorded and were committed to the struggle for racial equality.
51:, and the independent record business was dominated by young Jewish men, and some women, who promoted the sounds of black music.
535:
Jewish impresarios contributed disproportionately to bringing Negro 'rhythm and blues' into the mainstream of American culture.
353:
331:, these men identified with black culture, spoke and carried themselves as if they were "black", and married black women.
460:"How a Bunch of Upstart Jewish Independent Record Producers Helped Turn African American Music into a National Treasure"
181:
89:
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873:
432:
491:
157:
698:"An Evening with Deborah Chessler, Songwriter and former manager of the Orioles at The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame"
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889:
856:
247:
552:"Walls of Sounds: Leiber & Stoller, Phil Spector, the Black-Jewish Alliance, and the "Enlarging" of America"
1201:
970:
365:
258:
Hot 100 chart in 1961. During the early 1960s, Scepter was the most successful independent record label.
137:, and record distribution. This network wielded considerable influence in American culture and business.
97:
36:
518:
270:
Lubinsky, who founded Savoy Records in 1942, produced and recorded the Carnations, the Debutantes,
126:
68:
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Jewish composers, musicians, and promoters had a prominent role in the transition from jazz and
39:, during the 1940s in the United States there was generally little opportunity for Jews in the
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Mina Carson; Tisa Lewis; Susan M. Shaw; Jennifer Baumgardner; Amy Richards (23 July 2004).
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Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography
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381:, all of whom had great Billboard chart success in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
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helped foster good relations between the black and white communities in Chicago.
357:
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segregation, while Chess's part ownership of local black oriented radio station
294:
271:
239:
231:
60:
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Doo-Wop Acappella: A Story of Street Corners, Echoes, and Three-Part Harmonies
279:
177:
44:
25:
1029:
493:
Friends, Colleagues, and Neighbors: Jewish Contributions to American History
844:
766:
Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era
327:
background and assume an African American cultural identity. According to
364:. The "Brill Building" hit-maker businesses in New York that created the
311:
193:
185:
55:
Jewish-owned record companies and the promotion of African American music
129:
in popular entertainment that made Jews preeminent in music publishing,
64:
31:
Though the music itself developed in African-American communities, the
894:. American Jewish Committee and Howard University. 1996. p. 24.
878:. American Jewish Committee and Howard University. 1996. p. 25.
134:
826:"Down to Business: Herman Lubinsky and the Postwar Music Industry"
342:
207:
93:
15:
315:
40:
998:
The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk
938:
Chosen Capital: The Jewish Encounter with American Capitalism
585:
Chosen Capital: The Jewish Encounter with American Capitalism
1022:"Jerry Leiber: Remembering One Of Rock's Great Songwriters"
1058:
David Ritz; Jerry Leiber; Mike Stoller (18 October 2010).
434:
Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues
934:"Blacks, Jews, and the Business of Race Music, 1945-1955"
581:"Blacks, Jews, and the Business of Race Music, 1945–1955"
556:
Mazal Tov, Amigos! Jews and Popular Music in the Americas
673:
Purchasing Power: The Economics of Modern Jewish History
520:
A Time for Searching: Entering the Mainstream, 1920-1945
20:
Studio of Chess Records in Chicago, founded in 1950 by
733:
Eric L. Goldstein; Deborah R. Weiner (28 March 2018).
675:. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 126–127.
614:. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 45, 48.
819:
817:
815:
813:
125:
blues era, Jewish entrepreneurs had access to a wide
736:
On Middle Ground: A History of the Jews of Baltimore
347:
Brill Building at 1619 Broadway, Manhattan, New York
204:
Jewish women in the business end of rhythm and blues
1122:. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 77.
1092:
Damaged: Musicality and Race in Early American Punk
641:
Heaven was Detroit: From Jazz to Hip-hop and Beyond
611:
Forever Doo-wop: Race, Nostalgia, and Vocal Harmony
662:
660:
643:. Wayne State University Press. pp. 100–104.
310:reported how Nathan's business policies subverted
262:Business practice and relations with black artists
1202:"Simply Brill: the women who shaped rock'n'roll"
1095:. University Press of Mississippi. p. 104.
824:Robert Cherry; Jennifer Griffith (Summer 2014).
758:
756:
1146:Encyclopedia of Jewish American Popular Culture
523:. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 252.
1173:Girls Rock!: Fifty Years of Women Making Music
545:
543:
8:
1176:. University Press of Kentucky. p. 24.
769:. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 11–13.
940:. Rutgers University Press. p. 156.
911:. Rutgers University Press. p. 153.
671:. In Rebecca Kobrin; Adam Teller (eds.).
669:"Brokering a Rock 'n' Roll International"
587:. Rutgers University Press. p. 141.
322:Jews in the business with black identity
423:
1000:. Chicago Review Press. p. 159.
908:Swing City: Newark Nightlife, 1925-50
554:. In Amalia Ran; Moshe Morad (eds.).
246:at 1619); offered Greenberg a song, "
7:
1143:Jack R. Fischel (30 December 2008).
796:. Taylor & Francis. p. 43.
33:Jewish influence in rhythm and blues
667:Jonathan Karp (15 September 2015).
635:M. L. Liebler; S.R. Boland (2016).
76:blues music in the United States."
1116:Lawrence Pitilli (2 August 2016).
356:, who wrote songs for the Robins,
14:
1257:African American–Jewish relations
1089:Evan Rapport (24 November 2020).
961:Apperson, Jay (4 December 1997).
763:Ken Emerson (26 September 2006).
412:Black performance of Jewish music
242:at 1650 Broadway (near the famed
1028:. 26 August 2011. Archived from
932:Jonathan Karp (20 August 2012).
579:Jonathan Karp (20 August 2012).
550:Ari Katorza (21 January 2016).
1064:. Omnibus Press. p. 147.
608:John Michael Runowicz (2010).
558:. Brill. pp. 83, 86, 88.
458:Muchin, Andrew (August 1994).
437:. Collier Books. p. 343.
1:
354:Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
793:Jews, Race and Popular Music
790:Jon Stratton (5 July 2017).
496:. Baker Books. p. 139.
360:, and then did the same for
254:and rose to number 1 on the
100:, Old Time (Old Town?), and
936:. In Rebecca Kobrin (ed.).
583:. In Rebecca Kobrin (ed.).
1273:
1033:(Interview by Terry Gross)
992:Steven Lee Beeber (2006).
739:. JHU Press. p. 281.
637:"3: The Pre-Motown Sounds"
517:Henry L. Feingold (1992).
339:Brill Building songwriting
226:. The songwriting team of
905:Barbara J. Kukla (2002).
250:", which was recorded by
248:Will You Love Me Tomorrow
1149:. ABC-CLIO. p. 33.
490:David A. Rausch (1996).
1252:Jewish-American history
833:Journal of Jazz Studies
696:Pamela Horner (2009).
348:
213:
28:
845:10.14713/JJS.V10I1.84
346:
211:
43:-controlled realm of
19:
1200:(3 September 2009).
994:"The Shiksa Goddess"
431:Arnold Shaw (1978).
366:Brill Building sound
352:songwriting team of
212:The Shirelles (1962)
973:on 27 November 2020
705:classic harmony.com
392:, Carole King, and
45:mass communications
1035:on 21 January 2021
349:
214:
166:Florence Greenberg
29:
1183:978-0-8131-2310-3
1156:978-0-313-08734-9
1129:978-1-4422-4430-6
1102:978-1-4968-3125-5
1071:978-0-85712-494-4
1007:978-1-55652-761-6
947:978-0-8135-5329-0
918:978-0-8135-3116-8
803:978-1-351-56170-9
776:978-1-101-15692-6
746:978-1-4214-2452-1
714:on 8 January 2010
682:978-0-8122-9165-0
650:978-0-8143-4122-3
621:978-1-55849-824-2
594:978-0-8135-5329-0
565:978-90-04-20477-5
530:978-0-8018-4346-4
503:978-0-8010-1119-1
444:978-0-02-061760-0
299:Commodore Records
234:, who worked for
104:in New York; and
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407:Jews in jazz
394:Cynthia Weil
383:
375:the Ronettes
371:the Crystals
362:the Coasters
350:
333:Jerry Leiber
329:Jerry Wexler
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88:in Chicago;
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58:
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891:CommonQuest
875:CommonQuest
358:the Clovers
295:Milt Gabler
285:Historians
272:The Falcons
240:Aldon Music
232:Carole King
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1241:Categories
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418:References
280:the Robins
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256:Billboard
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