Jules Stein
| Jules C. Stein | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 26, 1896 South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | April 29, 1981 (aged 85) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Physician, businessman |
| Known for | co-founder of Music Corporation of America |
| Spouse(s) | Doris Jones Stein (1928–1981; his death) (died 1984) |
| Children | four --Jean Stein --Susan Stein Shiva --Harold Oppenheimer (stepson) --Gerald Oppenheimer (stepson) |
| Parent(s) | Louis Stein Rosa Cohen Kahanaski |
Jules C. Stein (April 26, 1896 – April 29, 1981) was an American physician and businessman who co-founded Music Corporation of America (MCA).
Stein was born in South Bend, Indiana to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, one of six children (three boys and three girls) of Louis Stein, a dry goods store owner, and Rosa Cohen (née Kahanaski). In 1915, he graduated from the University of Chicago. While in college, he supported himself by playing the violin and saxophone at weddings and bar mitzvahs; and later, realizing that he was not a very good musician, by organizing dance bands for the same events. In 1921, he graduated with a medical degree from Rush Medical College. He then went to the University of Vienna to study for a year and upon returning to Chicago, he was appointed chief resident at Cook County Hospital. Stein continued to book bands on the side and eventually left his secure life as an ophthalmologist for the entertainment industry. At the time, Chicago was a hotbed for jazz—which had recently displaced ragtime as the popular music—and when combined with Prohibition, created a lucrative environment for entertainment. Stein adjusted to the new landscape and shifted from booking bands for weddings to nightclubs. Stein became very successful. Several of his bands played for speakeasies owned by Al Capone with whom Stein was friends.
In 1924, he contributed $5,000 and along with equal contributions from Fred Hamm and Ernie Young, founded the Music Corporation of America (MCA). He arranged one-night bookings, rather than having bands seek engagements for whole seasons which was then the norm. He signed Guy Lombardo and other top bands of the day. Stein started package deals for complete shows for hotels and radio broadcasting. Spreading from the one-man start to bases in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Cleveland, Stein's organization by the mid-1930s represented more than half the nation's major bands, including those of Ted Weems, Isham Jones and Benny Goodman.
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