Sid Bernstein

Sid Bernstein
Bernstein in 2009
Born	Sidney Bernstein (1918-08-12)August 12, 1918 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	August 21, 2013(2013-08-21) (aged 95) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Rock promoter, music producer
Spouse(s)	Geraldine Bernstein

Sidney Bernstein (August 12, 1918 – August 21, 2013) was an American music producer and promoter. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums.

Bernstein was born in New York City in 1918 and was adopted by a Russian Jewish family. He studied journalism at Columbia University before working in a ballroom and joining the US Army in 1943. During World War II, he was stationed in Britain and also served in France with the 602nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion of the United States Army. After the end of the war he returned to New York and became the manager of mambo musician Esy Morales, as well as acting as a booking agent. He started work for the General Artists Corporation (GAC), and by the early 1960s was working as a booking agent for pop stars such as Dion and Chubby Checker.

Bernstein helped start the British Invasion by first bringing The Beatles over to the United States from Britain. An Anglophile, he contacted Brian Epstein in early 1963 after having read about the group in British newspapers, and, after persuading Epstein that they could be successful in the US, booked Carnegie Hall for their first appearance without informing the venue of their style of music. In late December 1963, the unknown Beatles were introduced to the Tidewater area of Virginia. Almost every other song played by the area’s DJs were Beatle records, accompanied by giveaways of shirts, etc. The following month in very early January 1964, the same phenomenon occurred, as the Beatles were introduced to the New York City area complemented by all sorts of contests and gifts. They played at Carnegie Hall on February 12, 1964, after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Bernstein also booked them at Shea Stadium, a concert that Bernstein described as "inaudible." After the group retired from touring and later split up, Bernstein made many attempts to persuade them to re-form, at one point taking out full-page newspaper articles asking them to perform together for charity.