Beatles promoter Sid Bernstein has died at the age of 95. During his impressive career, Bernstein also booked acts such as the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, and Judy Garland.
Bernstein died in his sleep on Wednesday, according to his publicist. He is survived by his wife, Geraldine, whom he was married to for 50 years as well as six children and six grandchildren.
The legendary promoter and producer is responsible for introducing the Beatles to U.S. audiences. Five million posters were released to mark the beginning of the “British Invasion,” NY Daily News reports.
“I was the first to promote The Beatles in the States and Ed Sullivan called me first about them before he ever booked them on his television show,” he has said.
Once Sullivan had the Beatles on his show on Feb. 9, 1964, the band booked Carnegia Hall three days later. They went on to play Shea Stadium in 1965.
WSJ notes the Beatles’ performance at Shea Stadium marked the start of the stadium concert era.
On his website, he shared his “secret to success,” writing "My secret to success is that I've always loved good music and people. The players in the promotion business today are, by and large, not in it for the art anymore. It's all about how many bucks can you make on a concert. That's permissible. I mean we are in a capitalistic society. But I feel a lot of the art thing is lost. It shouldn't just be about money. It should be about loving what you do."
image: Wikimedia Commons
