Edward Kassner

Edward Kassner (28 February 1920 – 19 November 1996) was an Austrian-born music industry executive and songwriter who was responsible for establishing the music publisher Kassner Music and the President record label. He lived and worked in both Britain and the United States.

He was born in Vienna to Jewish parents, and aspired to be a composer from an early age. At the time of the German invasion of Austria in 1938, he escaped through Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands to England. His parents both died at Auschwitz. He initially worked in London cutting felt for hats, but began working as a songwriter with lyricist Peter Mulroney. He was then deported as an alien to Australia but, after being allowed to return to the UK, joined the British Army in which he served as an interpreter attached to a Canadian tank corps regiment in France and Germany.

He married in 1944, and with his wife Eileen set up his own music publishing company, the Edward Kassner Music Co. Ltd. He wrote songs under the name Eddie Cassen, and had his first success in 1946 as co-writer of Vera Lynn's hit recording of "How Lucky You Are". By the early 1950s, he had acquired rights to songs recorded by many leading singers of the day including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, and The Inkspots, and opened an office in New York City in 1951. He expanded the business by acquiring several other publishing companies, including Broadway Music Corp. which held the rights to a number of pop standards including "You Made Me Love You", "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time" and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game". He also bought, for $250, the rights to the song "Rock Around The Clock", which became one of the most recorded songs of all time and reportedly sold over 170 million copies.

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