Brian Epstein
| Brian Epstein | |
|---|---|
Brian Epstein receives the Edison Award for the Beatles at Grand Gala du Disque 1965
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| Born |
Brian Samuel Epstein 19 September 1934 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 27 August 1967 (aged 32) London, England |
| Cause of death | Accidental barbiturate and alcohol overdose |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation |
Businessman Personal manager Impresario |
| Years active | 1961–67 |
| Known for |
Manager of: |
| Website | www |
Brian Samuel Epstein (/ɛpstaɪn/; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur, best known for managing the Beatles. Epstein first discovered the Beatles in November 1961 during a lunchtime Cavern Club performance. He was instantly impressed and saw great potential in the group. Epstein was rejected by nearly all major recording companies in London, until he secured a meeting with George Martin, head of EMI's Parlophone label. In May 1962, Martin agreed to sign the Beatles, partly because of Epstein's conviction that the group would become internationally famous.
The Beatles' early success has been attributed to Epstein's management style, and the band trusted him without hesitation. In addition to handling the Beatles' business affairs, Epstein often stepped in to mediate personal disputes within the group. The Beatles' unquestioning loyalty to Epstein later proved detrimental, as the band rarely read contracts before signing them. Shortly after the song "Please Please Me" rose to the top of the charts in 1963, Epstein advised the creation of Northern Songs, a publishing company that would control the copyrights of all Lennon–McCartney compositions recorded between 1963 and 1973. Music publisher Dick James and his partner Charles Silver owned 51-percent of the company, Lennon and McCartney each owned 20%, and Epstein owned 9%. By 1969, Lennon and McCartney had lost control of all publishing rights to ATV Music Publishing. Still, Epstein's death in 1967 marked the beginning of the group's dissolution and had a profound effect on each Beatle. In 1997, Paul McCartney said, "If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian."
Epstein was Jewish; his grandfather Isaac Epstein was from Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire) and had arrived in Britain in the 1890s at the age of eighteen. His grandmother Dinah was the daughter of Joseph (a draper) and Esther Hyman, who had emigrated from Russia to Britain (c. 1871/72) with their eldest son Jacob. The Hymans had six more children.
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Wikipedia