Sid Bernstein was a legend for Peace before Woodstock. Only on Faith he brought the group The Beatles to America. The rest is history. Sid lives forever in our soul. We are humbled by him and he has taught us so much. Our Peace Day Party is dedicated to Impresario Sid Bernstein.
Sid Bernstein (born August 12, 1918) is an American music producer and promoter. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, The Moody Blues, The Kinks and The Beatles to America. He was the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums.
Biography
Sid Bernstein was born in New York City in 1918. During World War II, he served in France.
Impresario career
Bernstein helped start the British Invasion by bringing The Beatles over to the United States from Britain. They played at Carnegie Hall after their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Bernstein also booked them at Shea Stadium, a concert that Bernstein described as “inaudible.” During the Beatles Shea concert, Bernstein had the phrase “The Rascals are coming!” displayed on the Shea Stadium scoreboard. “I had met the Rascals in the summer of ’65; I put their name up on the scoreboard (at Shea) – ‘The Rascals are coming! The Rascals are coming!’ A lot of people who hadn’t seen pictures of them thought they were a black group. I sensed something big about them.”
He worked with the Rascals for five years, helping along their rise from obscurity, changing their name from “Young Rascals” to “the Rascals” in an attempt to avoid controversy.
Bernstein also organized concerts for Lenny Kravitz, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Laura Branigan, and Sly & the Family Stone. In 1964, he brought many Israeli singers to the United States for their first major concerts, among them Shoshana Damari, Shaike Ophir and Yaffa Yarkoni, who appeared at Carnegie Hall a year after the Beatles.
Bernstein was the first to stage a rock show at Madison Square Garden.
Sid Bernstein Presents…
Sid Bernstein is also the subject of Sid Bernstein Presents…, a documentary film set for completion in 2010 that details his storied career and life. Sid Bernstein Presents… made its world premiere at the DocNZ film festival in Auckland, New Zealand in February 2010.
Published works
Bernstein wrote or coauthored several books:
- It’s Sid Bernstein Calling (Jonathan David Publishers)
- Not Just the Beatles … (Jacques & Flusster Publishing)
