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Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944^[1] – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds.

Gene Clark is best remembered for being The Byrds' main songwriter between 1964 and early 1966. He created a large catalogue of music in several genres but failed to achieve solo commercial success. Clark was one of the earliest exponents of psychedelic rock, baroque pop, newgrass, country rock and alternative country.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Clark was born in Tipton, Missouri, the third of thirteen children. His family soon moved to Kansas City where he began learning the guitar from his father at age nine and was soon playing Hank Williams tunes as well as material by early rockers such as Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers. Before long he was writing his own songs and, at 13, joined a local rock and roll combo, Joe Meyers and the Sharks. Like many of his generation, Clark developed an interest in folk music because of the popularity of the Kingston Trio. Clark graduated from Bonner Springs High School in Bonner Springs, Kansas in 1962.

Formation of The Byrds[link]

He began performing with several folk groups working out of Kansas City at the Castaways Lounge, owned by Hal Harbaum, where he was discovered by The New Christy Minstrels, in August 1963, who hired him for their ensemble and with whom he remained for six months. After hearing the Beatles, Clark quit the Christys and moved to Los Angeles where he met fellow folkie/Beatles convert Jim (later Roger) McGuinn at the Troubadour Club and in early 1964 they began to assemble a band that would become The Byrds.

Gene Clark wrote or co-wrote many of The Byrds' best-known originals, including: "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", "Set You Free This Time", "Here Without You", "If You're Gone", "The World Turns All Around Her", "She Don't Care About Time" and "Eight Miles High". He played harmonica for the band, too (notably on "Set You Free This Time"). Bassist Chris Hillman noted years later in various interviews remembering Gene: "People don't give enough credit to Gene Clark. He came up with the most incredible lyrics. I don't think I appreciated Gene Clark as a songwriter until the last two years. He was awesome! He was heads above us! Roger wrote some great songs then, but Gene was coming up with lyrics that were way beyond what he was. He wasn't a well-read man in that sense, but he would come up with these beautiful phrases. A very poetic man--very, very productive. He would write two or three great songs a week". "He was the songwriter. He had the "gift" that none of the rest of us had developed yet.... What deep inner part of his soul conjured up songs like "Set You Free This Time," "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better," "I'm Feelin' Higher," "Eight Miles High"? So many great songs! We learned a lot of songwriting from him and in the process learned a little bit about ourselves. At one time, he was the power in the Byrds, not McGuinn, not Crosby—it was Gene who would burst through the stage curtain banging on a tambourine, coming on like a young Prince Valiant. A hero, our savior. Few in the audience could take their eyes off this presence."

A management decision delivered the lead vocal duties to McGuinn for their major singles and Bob Dylan songs. This disappointment, combined with Clark's dislike of traveling (including a chronic fear of flying) and resentment by other band members about the extra income he derived from his songwriting, led to internal squabbling and he left the group in early 1966. He briefly returned to Kansas City before moving back to Los Angeles to form Gene Clark & the Group with Chip Douglas, Joel Larson, and Bill Rhinehart.

Solo career and rejoining The Byrds[link]

Columbia Records (The Byrds' record label) signed Clark as a solo artist and, in 1967, he released his first solo LP, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers, a mixture of pop, country rock and baroque-psychedelic tracks—Chris Hillman had worked with the Gosdin Brothers in the mid 1960s when he and they were members of the Southern California bluegrass band called The Hillmen. The record received favorable reviews but unfortunately for Clark, it was released almost simultaneously with the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday, also on Columbia, and (partly due to his 18 month-long public absence) was a commercial failure.

With the future of his solo career in doubt, Clark briefly rejoined The Byrds in October 1967, as a replacement for the recently departed David Crosby, but left after only three weeks, following an anxiety attack in Minneapolis.^[2] During this brief period with The Byrds, he appeared with the band on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, miming to the group's current single "Goin' Back", as well as to "Mr. Spaceman".^[3] Although there is some disagreement among the band's biographers, Clark is generally viewed as having contributed background vocals to the songs "Goin' Back" and "Space Odyssey" from the then forthcoming Byrds' album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, as well as being an uncredited co-author, with Roger McGuinn, of "Get to You" from that album.^[2]

In 1968, Clark signed with A&M Records and began a collaboration with banjo player Doug Dillard. With guitarist Bernie Leadon (later with The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Eagles), they produced two country rock and bluegrass-flavored albums: The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark and Through the Morning Through the Night, both of which fared poorly on the charts. Through the Morning, Through the Night was more bluegrass in character than its predecessor, used electric instrumentation and included Donna Washburn (Dillard's girlfriend) as a backing vocalist, all of which contributed to the departure of Leadon. The loss of Leadon as a co-writer meant that the album featured more covers than originals, and the change of musical direction caused Clark to lose faith in the group, which disbanded in late 1969. Today, Dillard & Clark are viewed as pioneers of country rock.

In 1970, Clark began work on a new single, recording two tracks with the original members of the Byrds (each recording his part separately). The resulting songs, "She's the Kind of Girl" and "One in a Hundred", were not released at the time due to legal problems and were included later on Roadmaster. Frustrated with the music industry, Clark bought a home at Albion near Mendocino, married, and fathered two children while living off his still substantial Byrds royalties.

In 1970 and 1971, Clark contributed vocals and two compositions ("Tried So Hard" and "Here Tonight") to albums by the Flying Burrito Brothers.

[edit] White Light

It wasn't until 1971 that a further Gene Clark solo set finally emerged. The album was titled White Light on the actual record, although the fact that the name was not included on the cover sleeve led some later reviewers to assume mistakenly that it was titled 'Gene Clark'. The record was produced by the much sought after Native American guitarist Jesse Ed Davis with whom Clark developed great rapport, partly due to their common Indian ancestry. A largely acoustic work supplemented by slide guitar work by Davis, the album contained many introspective tracks such as "With Tomorrow", "Because of You", "Where My Love Lies Asleep" and "For a Spanish Guitar" (supposedly hailed by Bob Dylan as a song he would have been proud to compose). All of the material was written by Clark, with the exception of the Dylan and Richard Manuel penned number "Tears of Rage". Launched to considerable critical acclaim, the LP failed to gain commercial success, except in the Netherlands where it was also voted album of the year by rock music critics. Once more, Clark's refusal to undertake promotional touring adversely affected sales.

In the spring of 1971, Clark was commissioned by Dennis Hopper to contribute the tracks "American Dreamer" and "Outlaw Song" to Hopper's film project American Dreamer.

A re-recorded, longer version of the song "American Dreamer" was later used in the 1977 film The Farmer, along with an instrumental version of the same song plus "Outside the Law (The Outlaw)" (a re-recording of "Outlaw Song").

In 1972, Clark assembled a backing group consisting of highly accomplished country rock musicians to accompany him on a further album with A&M. Progress was slow and expensive and the project was terminated before completion by A&M. The resulting eight tracks, together with those recorded with The Byrds in 1970/71 and another with The Flying Burrito Brothers ("Here Tonight"), were belatedly released as Roadmaster in the Netherlands only.

In 1972, the Dillard & Clark song "Through The Morning Through The Night" was used in Quincy Jones's soundtrack of the Sam Peckinpah movie The Getaway. This song, along with "Polly" (both from the second Dillard and Clark album), was also recently covered by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on their album "Raising Sand".

[edit] Byrds

Clark then left A&M to join the reunion of the original five Byrds and cut the album Byrds (released in 1973) which charted well (US # 20). Clark's compositions "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart" plus the Neil Young covers on which he did the lead vocal work ("See the Sky About to Rain" and "Cowgirl in the Sand") were widely regarded as the standout tracks on a record which received some negative critical response. Disheartened by the bad reviews and unhappy with David Crosby's performance as the record's producer, the group members chose to dissolve The Byrds. Clark briefly joined McGuinn's solo group, with which he premiered "Silver Raven", arguably his most celebrated post-Byrds song.

[edit] No Other

On the basis of the quality of Clark's Byrds contributions, David Geffen signed him to Asylum Records in early 1974. Asylum was the home of the most prominent exponents of the singer-songwriter movement of the era and carried the kind of hip cachet that Clark hadn't experienced since his days with The Byrds. He retired to Mendocino and spent long periods at the picture window of his friend (and future co-writer and drummer) Andy Kandanes' cliff-top home with a notebook and acoustic guitar in hand, staring at the Pacific Ocean. Deeply affected by his visions, he composed numerous songs which would serve as the basis for his only Asylum LP, the aptly titled No Other. Produced by Thomas Jefferson Kaye with a vast array of session musicians and backing singers, the album was an amalgam of country rock, folk, gospel, soul and choral music with poetic, mystical lyrics. The fact that No Other wasn't a conventional pop/rock opus meant that its chances of success were greatly minimised by Clark's relative obscurity. Furthermore, its production costs of $100,000 which yielded only eight tracks prompted Geffen to berate Clark and Kaye. The album then stalled in the charts at #144. On a more personal note, the singer's return to Los Angeles and his reversion to a hedonistic lifestyle resulted in the disintegration of his marriage. In spite of these setbacks, he mounted his first solo tour (by road), playing colleges and clubs with backing group, the Silverados.

[edit] Two Sides to Every Story

Throughout 1975 and 1976, Clark hinted to the press that he was assembling a set of "cosmic Motown" songs fusing country-rock with R&B and funk, elaborating on the soundscapes of No Other. A set of ten demos were submitted to RSO Records, who promptly bought out Clark's contract.

In 1977, Clark released his RSO Records debut entitled Two Sides to Every Story. Once again produced by Thomas Jefferson Kaye but with a much more understated hand, the record was another characteristic offering of his style of sensitive country-rock balladry but failed to achieve US chart success. In a belated attempt to find an appreciative public, he temporarily overcame his fear of flying and launched an international promotional tour.

[edit] McGuinn, Clark and Hillman

For his British tour dates, Clark found himself on the same bill as ex-Byrds Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman. The three signed with Capitol Records which released their self-titled debut in 1979. McGuinn, Clark and Hillman was a rebirth in both performing and songwriting for Clark. McGuinn's "Don't You Write Her Off" reached #33 in April 1979. Many felt that the album's slick production and disco rhythms didn't flatter the group, and the album had mixed success both critically and commercially, but it sold enough to generate a follow up. McGuinn, Clark and Hillman's second release was to have been a full group effort entitled City, but a combination of Clark's unreliability and his dissatisfaction with their musical direction (mostly regarding Ron and Howard Albert's production) resulted in the billing change on City to "Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, featuring Gene Clark". Despite the turmoil, Clark penned a classic love song, "Won't Let You Down", rumoured to have been offered as an olive branch to the other former Byrds. By 1981, Clark had left, and the group recorded one more album as "McGuinn/Hillman".

[edit] Rehabilitation, Firebyrd, and So Rebellious a Lover

Clark moved to Hawaii with Jesse Ed Davis to try to overcome his drug dependency, remaining there until the end of 1981. Upon his return to L.A., he assembled a new band and proceeded to record what would eventually become the album Firebyrd (the title acknowledges the Byrds and Firefall origins of some members). While waiting for Firebyrd to be released, Clark joined up with Chris Hillman and others in an abortive venture called Flyte which failed to secure a recording contract and was quickly dissolved. Firebyrd's eventual release in 1984 coincided with the emergence of jangle rockers like R.E.M. and Tom Petty who had sparked a new interest in the Byrds. Clark began developing new fans among L.A.'s roots-conscious Paisley Underground scene. Later in the decade, he embraced his new status by appearing as a guest with The Long Ryders and by cutting an acclaimed duo album with Carla Olson of the Textones titled So Rebellious a Lover in 1986, which was produced and arranged by noted session drummer, Michael Huey.^[4] www.AllMusic.com

Later career, illness and death[link]

In 1985 Clark approached McGuinn, Crosby, and Hillman 1984 regarding a reformation of The Byrds in time for the 20th anniversary of the release of "Mr. Tambourine Man".^[5] The three of them showed no interest. Clark decided to assemble a "superstar" collection of musicians, including ex-Flying Burrito Brothers member Rick Roberts, ex-Beach Boys singer/guitarist Blondie Chaplin, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel of The Band, with ex-Byrds Michael Clarke and John York. Clark initially called his band "The 20th Anniversary Tribute to The Byrds" and began performing on the lucrative nostalgia circuit in early 1985.^[6] A number of concert promoters began to shorten the band's name to "The Byrds" in advertisements and promotional material.^[5] As the band continued to tour throughout 1985, their agent decided to shorten their name to "The Byrds" permanently, to the displeasure of McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman. Clark eventually discontinued performing with his own "Byrds" band, but drummer Michael Clarke then continued on with Skip Battin (occasionally using ex-Byrds York and Gene Parsons, also), forming another "Byrds" group, prompting McGuinn, Hillman, and Crosby into going on the road as "The Byrds" to attempt to establish claim to the rights to the band name. Their effort failed at the time, and Gene Clark, primarily due to his involvement with the act that didn't include them, was not included in their reunion. David Crosby finally secured rights to the band name in 2002.^[7][8]

In 1987So Rebellious a Lover became a modest commercial success, but Clark began to develop serious health problems; he had ulcers, aggravated by years of heavy drinking (often used to alleviate his chronic travel anxiety). In 1988, he underwent surgery, during which much of his stomach and intestines had to be removed.

A period of abstinence and recovery followed until Tom Petty's cover of "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" on his 1989 album Full Moon Fever yielded a huge amount of royalty money to Clark who quickly reverted to drug and alcohol abuse. The Byrds set aside their differences long enough to appear together at their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in January 1991, where the original lineup performed several songs together, including Clark's "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better".

However, Clark's health continued to decline as his drinking accelerated. He died of a heart attack on May 24, 1991 at age 46. He was buried at Saint Andrews Cemetery in Tipton under a simple headstone inscribed "Harold Eugene Clark - No Other."^[9]

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

• Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers (1967)
• The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark (1968) – with Doug Dillard
• Through the Morning, Through the Night (1969) – with Doug Dillard
• White Light a.k.a. Gene Clark (1971)
• Roadmaster (1973)
• No Other (1974)
• Two Sides to Every Story (1977)
• McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (1979) – with Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman
• City (1980) – with Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman
• Firebyrd (1984)
• So Rebellious a Lover (1987) – with Carla Olson

Live albums[link]

• Silhouetted in Light (1992) – with Carla Olson
• In Concert (2007) – with Carla Olson
• Silverado '75: Live & Unreleased (2008)

Compilations[link]

• Echoes (1991) – collection of early material recorded with The Byrds and the Gosdin Brothers
• American Dreamer 1964–1974 (1993) – best of
• Flying High (1998) – anthology
• Gypsy Angel (2001) – collection of previously unreleased material
• Under the Silvery Moon (2001) – collection of previously unreleased material
• Set You Free: Gene Clark in The Byrds 1964–1973 (2004) – collection of material recorded with The Byrds

Covers and tribute songs[link]

During his career and subsequent to his death, Gene Clark's songs have been covered by a number of artists. Ian Matthews was an early promoter of Clark's songs, covering "Polly" on Matthews' 1972 Journeys from Gospel Oak album, and "Tried So Hard" on his 1974 Some Days You Eat The Bear album. Death In Vegas and Paul Weller covered his song "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" on their 2003 album Scorpio Rising. In 1993 the Scottish band Teenage Fanclub recorded a tribute to Clark on their album Thirteen entitled "Gene Clark". In 2007, two of his songs were recorded by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant on the T-Bone Burnett produced Raising Sand: "Polly Come Home" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night." Also in 2007, Chris and Rich Robinson released a live version of "Polly" on their Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy album. This Mortal Coil covered "Strength of Strings" from his LP No Other and "With Tomorrow" from LP White Light. Soulsavers with Mark Lanegan recorded a version of "Some Misunderstanding" from No Other on their 2009 release Broken. Title Tracks recorded a version of "She Don't Care About Time" on its 2010 release, It Was Easy. The song has also been covered by Sex Clark Five and Flamin' Groovies. The song "Gorgeous" from Kanye West's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is based on elements of the Clark/McGuinn song "You Showed Me".^[10] Due autumn 2012, a version of She Don't Care About Time by Richie Furay & Carla Olson on her Have Harmony, Will Travel album.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Gene Clark Fansite
• Gene Clark biography at Country Music Television
• Gene Clark biography at Allmusic
• Gene Clark, The once again Byrd: A true American dreamer
• Discography for Gene Clark at ByrdWatcher
• Gene Clark at Find a Grave
• Discography for Gene Clark at Byrds Flyght

Clark
Family name
A scribe or clerk, the occupation from which the name derives
Meaning	Clerk, scribe, secretary
Region of origin	England
Language(s) of origin	Old English
Related names	Clarke, Clerk
Footnotes: Frequency Comparisons[1]

Clark is an English surname in the English language, ultimately derived from the Latin clericus meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated or a old man with a moustache. Clark evolved from "clerk". First records of the name are found in 12th century England. The name has many variants.^[2]

Clark is the twenty-seventh most common surname in the United Kingdom.^[1]

According to the 1990 United States Census, Clark was the twenty-first most frequently encountered surname, accounting for 0.23% of the population.^[3]

Clark is also an occasional given name, as in the case of Clark Gable.

Probably the most famouse person named Clark is Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman

List of people with surname Clark[link]

People with the surname Clark include:

• Abraham Clark (1725–1794), American politician and Revolutionary War figure
• Alan Clark (1928–1999), British Conservative politician and author, son of Kenneth Clark
• Allen George Clark (1898–1962), British businessman
• Andy Clark (musician), British musician
• Anne Clark (born 1960), poet-songwriter
• Benjamin S. W. Clark (1829–1912), New York politician
• Billy J. Clark (1778–1866), New York physician and politician
• Bob Clark (Benjamin "Bob" Clark) (1941–2007), American director
• Brian Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Buddy Clark (1911–1949), American singer
• Carmel Clark (born 1965), New Zealand swimmer
• Catherine Clark (born 1976), Canadian television host
• Charles Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Chris Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Christian Clark (born 1979), Australian actor
• Claudine Clark, R&B singer and performer of the 1962 hit record "Party Lights"
• Colin Clark (disambiguation)
• Corrie Clark (born 1982), American breaststroke swimmer
• Dallas Clark, American football player
• Daniel Clark (Canadian politician and actor), Canadian actor
• Daniel Kinnear Clark (1822–1896), British railway mechanical engineer
• Darius Clark (1798–1871), New York physician and politician
• Dave Clark (musician) (born 1942), drummer of The Dave Clark Five
• David Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Davis Wasgatt Clark (1812–1871), American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
• Dick Clark (disambiguation), several people
  • Dick Clark (1929–2012), entertainer and producer, host of Pyramid and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
• Douglas Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Duncan Clark (1910–2007), an American public health specialist
• Duncan Clark (athlete) (1915–2003), Scottish hammer thrower
• Dwight Clark, American football player
• Ernest Clark (1912–1994), British actor
• Eugene Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Frank Clark (footballer), English football player
  • Frank M. Clark (1915–2003), American Congressman
• Gavin Brown Clark (1846–1930), MP for Caithness
• George Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Gerry Clark (1927–1999), New Zealand sailor and ornithologist
• Ginger Clark (1879–1943), American baseball pitcher
• Glenn Clark (born 1969), Canadian coach of Toronto Rock
• Helen Clark (born 1950), Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008
• Hilda Clark (1872–1932), American Coca-Cola advertising spokesperson
• Hilda Margery Clarke (born 1926), English painter and curator
• Horace Clark, 1830s New York politician
• Horace F. Clark (1815–1873), US Congressman from New York
• Hugh Massey Clark (1886–1956), New York philatelist
• Hulda Regehr Clark, alternative medicine practitioner
• Isabella Clark, wife of Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald
• Jack Clark (disambiguation), several people
• James Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Jeff Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Joe Clark (born 1939), former Prime Minister of Canada
• John Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Jonas Gilman Clark (1815–1900), American businessman and the founder of Clark University
• Joseph Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Joshua Clark, (born 1980), American writer
• Karen Clark (born 1945), American politician from Minnesota
• Katy Clark (born 1967), British politician and trade union official
• Kenneth Clark (psychologist) (1914–2005), African American psychologist who testified in Brown v. Board of Education
• Kenneth Clark (1902–1983), British art historian; creator of the series Civilisation
• Leslie J. Clark (1924–2003), British engineer and founder of Parvalux
• Louis Clark, musician and conductor with the Orchestra (former members of ELO and ELO Part II)
• Manning Clark (1915–1991), Australian historian
• Marcus R. Clark (born 1956), Louisiana Supreme Court justice
• Mark Wayne Clark (1896–1984), American Army General in WW2 (Italy) and the Korean War
• Nancy B. Clark, person of Marstons Mills, Massachusetts
• Ocky Clark (born 1960), American middle distance runner
• Orville Clark (1801–1862), New York politician
• Otey Clark (born 1915), American baseball pitcher
• Ramsey Clark (born 1927), U.S. Attorney General and activist
• Ranza Clark (born 1961), Canadian middle distance runner
• Roger Clark, British rally driver
• Ryan Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Samuel Clark (disambiguation), several people
  • Samuel Delbert Clark (1910–2003), Canadian sociologist
• Sherman Clark (1899–1980), American Olympic rower and Rear Admiral
• Simon Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Steve Clark (1960–1991), British guitarist for Def Leppard
• Stuart Clark (born 1975), Australian cricketer
• Theresa Maria Clark (c. 1890 – 1953), person of New York
• Thomas Clark (disambiguation), several people
• Tom Clark (journalist), Canadian television journalist
• Tom C. Clark (1899–1977), U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Supreme Court justice
• Tracy Clark, fictional character from The CW primetime drama 90210
• Wendel Clark (born 1966), retired Canadian ice hockey player
• Wesley K. Clark (born 1944), American Army General in the Vietnam War and Kosovo
• Wilfrid Le Gros Clark (1895–1971), British palaeanthropologist
• Will Clark (born 1964), American baseball player
• William Clark (disambiguation), several people

See also[link]

• The Clark Sisters, American gospel vocalists from Detroit
• Clark (taxonomic authority)
• Clarke
• Clerke (disambiguation)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Clark(e) Surname DNA Project

This page or section lists people with the surname Clark. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries such as Meteor Records based in Memphis.

Origins[link]

The brothers were of Hungarian Jewish descent.^[1] Their father, Edward Bihari (1882-1930), was born in Budapest and migrated to the United States. Their mother, Esther "Esti" Taub (1886-1950), was born in Homonna, Hungary (now Humenné, Slovakia). The pair were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States in 1911. There were also four sisters in the family.

The brothers were :

Lester Louis Bihari (May 12, 1912, Pottstown, Pennsylvania – September 9, 1983)

Julius Jeramiah Bihari (September 9, 1913,^[2] Pottstown – November 17, 1984, Los Angeles)

Saul Samuel Bihari (March 9, 1918, St. Louis, Missouri – February 22, 1975)

Joseph Bihari (born May 30, 1925, Memphis, Tennessee)

Careers[link]

After living for a period in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Bihari family moved to Los Angeles in 1941. Jules got a job servicing and operating jukeboxes in the Watts district, and found difficulty in locating and stocking the blues records his customers wanted to hear.

With his younger brothers Saul and Joe, he decided to set up a new label, Modern Records, in 1945. The brothers built Modern into a major blues and R&B label, their first success coming with "Swingin' the Boogie" by Hadda Brooks. They bought a pressing plant, and divided tasks among them equally, with Jules responsible for talent spotting and recording, Saul for manufacturing, and Lester for distribution. Joe worked with Ike Turner as a talent scout in the Memphis area, discovering Johnny "Guitar" Watson among others.

In the early 1950s the Biharis launched several subsidiaries: RPM Records, Flair Records and Meteor Records, which was set up in Memphis in 1952 and was headed by Lester Bihari. Successful artists on the Biharis' labels included B. B. King, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lowell Fulson, Rufus Thomas and Charlie Feathers.

The companies always remained small and personally run. B. B. King has said that he always felt the brothers were accessible: "The company was never bigger than the artist. I could always talk to them."^[3]

Later they launched more subsidiaries: Crown Records featuring artists like Johnny Cole, Vic Damone, Trini Lopez with Johnny Torres, Jerry Cole, Dave Clark Five, and United/Superior Records. In the sixties they launched a subsidiary Yuletide Records, which specialized in Christmas records (mostly with Johnny Cole and the Robert Evans Chorus).

In the mid 1960s Modern records went bankrupt and stopped operating, but the catalogue went with the management into what would become Kent Records. After the deaths of Saul, Lester and Jules Bihari, the labels' back catalogue was licensed to Ace Records (UK) in the mid 1980s, and then later purchased by them during the '90s.

Pseudonyms and royalties[link]

Though they were not songwriters, the Biharis often purchased or claimed co-authorship of songs that appeared on their own labels, thus securing songwriting royalties for themselves, in addition to their other sources of income.

Sometimes these songs were older standards renamed. B. B. King's rendition of "Rock Me Baby" was such a tune; anonymous jams, as with "B. B.'s Boogie" or songs by employees, such as bandleader Vince Weaver. The Biharis used a number of pseudonyms for songwriting credits: Jules was credited as Jules Taub; Joe as Joe Josea; and Sam as Sam Ling. One song by John Lee Hooker, "Down Child" is solely credited to "Taub", with Hooker receiving no credit for the song whatsoever. Another, "Turn Over a New Leaf" is credited to Hooker and "Ling". Taub was the Biharis' mother's maiden name.

Commonly known among music circles but not publicly acknowledged is that Jules and the Bihari brothers would effectively steal music from up and coming black artists by taking advantage of the artists financial situation. The Bihari's would have their name added to writing credits when they had nothing to do with the creation of the music in any way.

B. B. King has said: "The company I was with knew a lot of things they didn’t tell me, that I didn’t learn about until later... Some of the songs I wrote, they added a name when I copyrighted it,"..."Like 'King and Ling' or 'King and Josea.' There was no such thing as Ling, or Josea. No such thing. That way, the company could claim half of your song.^[4]

References[link]

1. ^ Schoenbrun Family Tree
2. ^ Most sources state that Julius was the eldest brother, but from the genealogical evidence cited here, this appears to be an error
3. ^ Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 223. ISBN 0-02-061740-2. 
4. ^ "Talking to the Boss: His Majesty Mr. King". Blues Access. http://www.bluesaccess.com/No_37/bb_talk.html. Retrieved 2006-11-03. 

External links[link]

• Biography of Jules Bihari

Obediah Donnell "Obie" Jessie (born December 28, 1936, Lincoln Manor, Dallas, Texas), is an African American R&B and jazz singer and songwriter. He recorded as Young Jessie in the 1950s and 1960s, and was known for his solo career, work with The Flairs and a brief stint in The Coasters. More recently he has performed and recorded jazz as Obie Jessie.

Biography[link]

Jessie's father was a cook but had no musical background. His mother, Malinda (née Harris) was very musical, playing piano and other instruments; she had a brief musical career under the name Plunky Harris.^[1] On his mother's side of the family, Jessie was also kin to blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson.^[1]

In 1946, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where he began studying music, and formed a vocal group, The Debonaires, which also included Richard Berry. The group recorded Jessie's song, "I Had A Love", in 1953, and the single was released under the name of The Hollywood Blue Jays. They then renamed themselves as The Flairs, and won a recording contract with Modern Records. However, in 1954 Jessie signed a solo contract with producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and began recording as "Young Jessie". He said: "[The name] came about because I sounded like I was forty, like ancient for a boy of 17. I had this deep baritone voice and the Biharis wanted me to get close to the rock 'n' roll market. I could have called myself Obie Jessie but I didn't want people to think I was old."^[2]

In 1955 he wrote and recorded the single "Mary Lou," later covered by Ronnie Hawkins in 1959, Steve Miller Band in 1973, Bob Seger in 1976, Gene Clark in 1977 and The Oblivians in 1997. In 1956, he released "Hit Git And Split", co-written with Buck Ram and recorded in New York City with guitarist Mickey Baker.^[2] He also briefly recorded with The Coasters in 1957 (including harmony vocals on "Searchin'" and "Young Blood"), and appeared on records by The Crescendos^[3] and Johnny Morisette, as well as being a writer for other artists' recordings, including The Chargers and Jimmy Norman. He released the single "Shuffle In the Gravel"/"Make Believe", again produced by Leiber and Stoller, on the Atco label in 1957.^[2]

Jessie then moved on to record jazz for the Capitol label, novelty records for Mercury in the early 1960s, and soul ballads for the Vanessa label in 1963, but with little commercial success. He recorded some unreleased material for Jake Porter in the 1960s.^[4] He also did an album's worth of songs owned by Harvey Fuqua in the 1970s that never got released.^[4] In 1972, he recorded a single as Obe Jessie & The Seeds Of Freedom for Stone Dogg Records.^[5]

He also formed a jazz group, the Obie Jessie Combo, which played club dates, and in 1976 became musical director for Esther Phillips. In 1982 he toured in Europe and recorded jazz in Germany, and in 1983 performed at an "R & B Jamboree" in London, where he reportedly "astonished the audience with a charismatic performance."^[2] He has also performed with Leon Hughes' group of The Coasters. As Obie Jessie, he later released several jazz albums, including What Happened To Jr. (1995), Here's To Life (2002), and New Atmosphere (2009).^[2] He also recorded with Atlanta based saxophonist Bob Miles, and performed on the song "People The Time Has Come" with lyrics by Nadim Sulaiman Ali(http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6890666).

His younger brother DeWayne Jessie became an actor,^[1] and became well known as Otis Day in the film National Lampoon's Animal House. Two of Young Jessie's four children sang in a group called Wizdom in the 1980s.^[6]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• "I Smell A Rat" / "Lonesome Desert" (Modern) (January 1954)
• "Mary Lou" / "Don't Think I Will" (Modern #961) (June 1955)
• "Nothing Seems Right" / "Do You Love Me" (Modern #963) (November 1955)
• "Hot Dog (Modern)" (unreleased) (1956) (recorded this before Elvis Presley)
• "Hit Git And Split" / "It Don't Happen No More" (Modern #1002) (September 1956)
• "Oochie Coochie" / "Here Comes Henry" (Modern #1010) (December 1956)
• "Shuffle In The Gravel" / "Make Believe" (Atco #6101, 1957)
• "Shuffle In The Gravel" / "Make Believe" (UK London HLE #8544, 1958)
• "Margie" / "That's Enough For Me" (Atlantic #2003) (1958)
• "Shuffle In The Gravel" / "Make Believe" (Atco #6101) (1958)
• "Lulu Belle" / "The Wrong Door" (Capitol #4318) (1959)
• "Teacher, Gimme Back" / "My Country Cousin" (Mercury #71895) (1961)
• "Be Bop Country Boy" / "Big Chief" (Mercury #71985) (1962)
• "I’m A Lovin' Man" / "Too Fine For Cryin'2 (Mercury #72104) (1963)
• "Mary Lou" / "You Were Meant For Me" (Mercury #72146) (1963)
• "Make Me Feel A Little Good" / "Brown Eyes" (Vanessa) (1963)
• "Young Jessie’s Bossanova Part 1" / "Part 2" (Bit #7464) (1964)
• "Who's The Blame" / "Beautiful Day My Brother" (Stone Dogg #801) (1972) (released as Obe Jessie & The Seeds Of Freedom)

Albums[link]

• Chuck Jackson And Young Jessie (Crown) (1963)
• R & B Jamboree (Ace) (1983)
• Hit Git And Split (Ace) (1985)
• Shuffle In The Gravel (Mr. R&B #1004) (1987) (released in Sweden)
• Shufflin And Jivin (Ace) (1987)
• I’m Gone (Ace) (1995)

As Obie Jessie[link]

• What Happened To Jr. (Solar #72597) (1995)
• Here’s To Life (Jazz Family #101) (2002)
• New Atmosphere (Jazz Family ) (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Obie Jessie - MySpace Page
• Young Jessie discography
• The Coasters Web Site
• Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks - The Flairs
• Allmusic - Young Jessie
• Allmusic - Obie Jessie