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Lester Sill
Born(1918-01-13)January 13, 1918
Died
Los Angeles
NationalityUnited States
Other namesThe Chief
OccupationMusic executive
Years active50
Board member of
  • American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
  • National Music Publishers' Association
[1]
SpouseHarriet
Children
AwardsPrime Minister's Medal
Websitewww.gregmarkmusicinc.com
Notes
Jazz guitarist Alex Sill (grandson)[6]
Lester Sill
Born(1918-01-13)January 13, 1918
Los Angeles, CA
DiedOctober 31, 1994(1994-10-31) (aged 76)
Los Angeles, CA
Occupation(s)Music publisher, Record executive
Years active1946-1994
Labels
Websitewww.gregmarkmusicinc.com

Lester Sill (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was a United States record label executive, music publisher and recording artist manager, and is considered an architect of the West Coast Rock & Roll and West Coast R&B genres.[7][8] Sill rose to become the president of Screen Gems-Columbia Music, became a long term member on the board of directors at ASCAP and president of Jobete Music (Motown Records publishing division).[9][10]

Resisting the prejudicial music-industry norms of the era, Sill represented and produced music for talented artists regardless of race, including, T-Bone Walker, Hadda Brooks, B.B. King, The Coasters, Ray Sharpe, Jimmy Witherspoon and The Pentagons.[11][12][10] As an independent producer in the 1950s and 1960s, Sill formed record labels and publishing companies around composers like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Lee Hazlewood and Phil Spector, rostered artists included Duane Eddy, The Coasters, The Paris Sisters, and The Crystals.[7][10]

Sill is best known as the producer/manager for Duane Eddy, was the cofounder of Philles Records, and the music supervisor for The Monkees.[7] Sill's productions often included musicians that went on to become the Wall of Sound, [7] and The Wrecking Crew.[13][14]

Early life and family

[edit]

Sill was a dental technician who became a combat engineer in the Army because his papers said he knew about “dentures and bridges.” After serving with the 33rd Replacement Battalion in Casablanca during World War II, he was discharged from the Army in 1945 and left Philadelphia, moving to California to stay with his mother at the beach. Upon arrival, he met four year old Chuck (muddy and scared that he was in trouble), and upon entering his mother's home, he met Chuck's mother Harriet, his future wife. He opened Cotton’s Club on Western Avenue and 35th, with Harriet’s brother, Cotton's Club ran afoul of the authorities and was closed for after hours drinking. Sill took some door to door sales positions which he did not enjoy, until he met Lester Bahari of Modern Records in 1946. He soon found himself working in the record store and was offered a distribution route covering the Fresno to San Diego territory, selling R&B and rock and roll genre records to stores and refreshing jukebox inventory. On his route, he noticed that he was driving by several radio stations and began befriending disc-jockeys, Sunday radio spins helped with his Monday sales.[15]

Sill's three sons became music publishers and music supervisors in film and television, Joel Sill,[3] Greg Sill,[2] and Lonnie Sill.[5] His stepson Chuck Kaye a longtime music publishing executive,[2] his grandson, Alex Sill, is a jazz guitarist with the Simon Phillips band.[16] The film, Ratking (2022) has earned critical acclaim,[17] starring Sill's granddaughter Natasha Sill.[18]

We pulled up to the Sill's house and got out of the car, and were greeted by the entire family; Lester, his wife, Harriet, their four sons (their youngest, Lonnie, was close to the age of my daughters), their female collie, and six adorable, purebred tricolor collies. The puppies were so adorable that by the end of the evening we agreed to adopt one of them. To keep our new puppy's name consistent with the names of his litter-mates (all began with "Mac") we decided to call him Macduff.

All of the Sills except Harriet would attain success in Hollywood as part of the Sill/Kaye music publishing and music supervision dynasty, now in its third generation. Harriet achieved her own success as the matriarch and fighting tigress of the Sill family. You did not want to mess with a Sill or with Chuck Kay[e], Harriet's son from a previous marriage.

— Carole King, "A Natural Woman, A Memoir", Grand Central Publishing, (2012)[19]

Career

[edit]

Sill first entered show business as a nightclub owner, but in 1945, he joined the sales and promotion staff of the Bihari brothers' Modern Records, first as a regional sales manager and then producing sessions for R&B acts including Charles Brown and Hadda Brooks.[20] Sill shepherded the fledgling career of the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. In 1950, Sill met Leiber at Modern Records,[21] where the aspiring lyricist worked as a retail clerk and Sill suggested he find a partner who could read and write music, spurring the beginning of Leiber's collaboration with Mike Stoller.[22] Sill produced the 1951 Jimmy Witherspoon effort "Real Ugly Woman", the first recorded Leiber and Stoller collaboration.[22]

Spark Records

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Sill and Federal Records producer/talent scout Ralph Bass formed a PR agency, Brisk Enterprises,[23] and following the success of the Leiber and Stoller hit "Hound Dog", performed by Big Mama Thornton, Sill partnered with the duo to create Spark Records, and the publishing firm, Quintet Music, Inc. in 1953. Spark enjoyed success with The Robins' "Riot in Cell Block #9". In 1955, after the release of "Smokey Joe's Café", Spark sold its catalog to Atlantic Records, which in turn named Sill its national sales manager while giving Leiber and Stoller an independent production deal. The deal signaled the end of The Robins, members Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn continued on as The Coasters, with Sill serving as their manager.[24]

Jamie Records

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Sill's partner, Lee Hazlewood brought in a young Duane Eddy and began writing songs with him, Sill had also recently partnered with Dick Clark in Jamie Records. Eddy's first song, "Movin' and Groovin" was a moderate success.[25] With the help of Clark's, American Bandstand television show, his next release, "RebelRouser" earned a #6 on the Billboard 100.[26]

Duane Eddy, Lee Hazlewood, Dick Clark, and Jamie Records together comprised one of the greatest hit-producing machines in rock'n'roll history. Eddy performed fifteen of his first sixteen Jamie releases on Clark's national TV show, and the guitarist's first eighteen releases for the label appeared on the Billboard's Hot 100. Beginning with "Rebel-'Rouser" in 1958, Eddy remained on Billboard's Hot 100 for an almost uninterrupted three-year period.

— John Jackson, American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock 'n' Roll Empire, Oxford University Press (1999)[27]

3 Trey Records

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In late 1959, Sill and Hazlewood formed 3 Trey Records (aka Trey), a Hollywood-based imprint distributed by Atlantic. Trey Records signings included Phil Spector, fresh off the success of his group The Teddy Bears', chart-topping pop classic, "To Know Him Is to Love Him". Sill allowed Spector to live in his Sherman Oaks home, sharing a room with Joel Sill.[8] Spector worked as an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller, as a studio musician and studio technician.[28]

In 1960, 3 Trey released Barbara Dane's, I'm On My Way / Go 'Way From My Window. [29]

In 1960, I recorded a 45 rpm single for the Trey label, one of those Hollywood start-ups whose proliferating offices were "in the glove boxes of their cars," as people in the industry joked. But the two partners, Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood, were far from pretenders, already very deeply enmeshed in the music industry. In fact, American pop music would have been very different without the two of them. Sill was an all-around music executive who actually brokered the partnership between songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller and managed the Coasters, one of the most popular West Coast R&B groups of the day. He survived a long, involved relationship with the legendary, and now infamous, Phil Spector. His partner in Trey Records, Lee Hazlewood, was a singer, songwriter and producer who made his biggest marks working with Nancy Sinatra

— Barbara Dane, THIS BELL STILL RINGS: My Life of Defiance and Song, Heyday Books , (2022)[29]

Gregmark Records

[edit]

At the end of 1961, Sill and Hazlewood shut down Trey but quickly formed a new label, Gregmark Records, as a vehicle for The Paris Sisters. The Paris Sisters' Gregmark debut, "Be My Boy", earned little notice, but the follow-up single, "I Love How You Love Me" cracked the Billboard top five. [30] Spector then began work on a Paris Sisters LP, as Sill attempted to exert financial controls on the project, the master recordings went missing.[31]

Philles Records

[edit]

Sill and Phil Spector formed their own label in 1961, Philles Records, a combination of both men's names. Philles immediately reached the top 20 with the debut release of The Crystals', "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" and the 1962 follow-up, "Uptown". The Crystals charted again with "He's a Rebel" and "Then He Kissed Me". Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans charted with "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" as did The Ronettes' with "Be My Baby".[7]

Spector terminated the partnership with Sill upon the delivery of the demo recordings in 1963, "(Let's Dance) The Screw" (Part -1 and Part - 2) Spector's actions made it clear that his contractual obligations would be fulfilled with un-marketable music.[32][33][34]

Screen Gems-Columbia Music

[edit]

In 1964, Sill became a consultant to Screen Gems-Columbia Music president Don Kirshner. Although the position was temporary, he ended up staying with the company for over two decades, initially as the music supervisor for The Monkees, eventually assuming Kirshner's position as president of Screen Gems-Columbia Music.[35][9]

Jobete Music Inc.

[edit]

In 1985, Sill was named president of Jobete Music, the publishing arm of Berry Gordy, Jr.'s Motown empire. He remained with Jobete until his death in Los Angeles on October 31, 1994.[7]

Honors

[edit]
  • Prime Ministers' Medal, presented by Abba Eban, November 1, 1976.[36]
  • City of Los Angeles Commendation, Mayor Tom Bradley, November 1, 1976. [37]
  • Vision Awards/Retina Pigmentosa Foundation, Lester Sill Lifetime Achievement Award recipients:

Posthumous remembrances

[edit]
  • Lester Sill Humanitarian Awards: Clive Davis (2005),[40] Frances Preston (1999)[41]
  • ASCAP Foundation, Lester Sill Songwriters Workshop (1995 - 2005).[42]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hardy, P. (2014). Nickels & Dimes: Music Publishing & It's Administration in the Modern Age. Really easy piano. Omnibus Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-85712-877-5. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  2. ^ a b c d "Greg Sill, 'Justified' Music Supervisor, Dies at 63 – Variety". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  3. ^ a b Yang, Rachel; Yang, Rachel (2018-12-13). "Guild of Music Supervisors Awards to Honor Joel Sill; King Princess to Perform (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  4. ^ Billboard (in German). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 10–28. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  5. ^ a b "Lonnie Sill's credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  6. ^ Pacent, Nina (2019-05-22). "From Carl Jung to Lady Gaga, Jazz Guitarist Alex Sill's Music Speaks His Mind". BMI.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Jason Ankeny. "Lester Sill's biography". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Ribowsky, M. (2000). He's a Rebel: Phil Spector, Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Cooper Square Press. p. 53-62. ISBN 978-0-8154-1044-7. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  9. ^ a b A Day In The Life of Lester Sill (in German). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  10. ^ a b c "Lester Sill; ASCAP Director and Promoter for Blues Performers". Los Angeles Times. 1994-11-07. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  11. ^ "The Pentagons Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & Mo..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  12. ^ "Lester Sill - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  13. ^ Paulson, Linda Dailey (2012-04-02). "Lee Hazlewood Biography". Musician Biographies. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  14. ^ Feldman, Kate (2021-01-17). "Phil Spector, music producer and convicted killer, dead at 81". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  15. ^ Smith, J (1986). "Off the record interview with Lester Sill, 1986-03-13: A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress". Washington, DC: Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Retrieved 04 November 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  16. ^ Times-Standard, The (2022-01-13). "Drummer has new band, new album". Times-Standard. Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  17. ^ "Announcing the Slamdance 2022 Award Winners". Slamdance. 2022-02-04. Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  18. ^ "Ratking". Slamdance Channel. 2022-02-06. Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  19. ^ King, C. (2012). A Natural Woman: A Memoir (in French). Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4555-1259-1. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  20. ^ Talevski, N. (2010). Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door. Music Sales. p. 592. ISBN 978-0-85712-117-2. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  21. ^ Palmer, Robert (1978). Baby, That Was Rock' N Roll. United States: A Harvest / HBJ book. ISBN 0156101556.
  22. ^ a b Simpson, P. (2003). The Rough Guide to Cult Pop. Music rough guide. Rough Guides. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-84353-229-3. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  23. ^ Sippel, Johnny (23 August 1952). "Block Booking Promoters Hype Coast 1-Nitht Outlook". BillBoard. United States: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 19. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  24. ^ "Jerry Leiber and Michael Stoller". history-of-rock.com. 2019-11-07. Archived from the original on 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  25. ^ Wood, G. An A-Z of Rock and Roll - new and updated edition. An A-Z of Rock and Roll. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-105-32503-8. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  26. ^ "Rebel Rouser - Duane Eddy - Song Info". AllMusic (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  27. ^ Jackson, J. (1999). American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock 'n' Roll Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-19-028490-9. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  28. ^ "Phil Spector, Famed Music Producer and Convicted Murderer, Dies at 81". The New York Times. 2021-01-17. Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  29. ^ a b Dane, Barbara (2022). THIS BELL STILL RINGS: My Life of Defiance and Song. Heyday Books. p. 187. ISBN 9781597145817.
  30. ^ Warner, J. (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 428. ISBN 978-0-634-09978-6. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  31. ^ Brown, M. (2012). Tearing Down The Wall of Sound: The Rise And Fall of Phil Spector. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-4088-1950-0. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  32. ^ Evans, M. (2014). Rock'n'Roll's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary But True Tales from 45 Years of Rock & Roll History. Batsford. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-84994-181-5. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  33. ^ "Phil Spector and The Screw". snopes.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  34. ^ Wyman, Bill (2021-01-19). "No One Was Safe from Phil Spector". Vulture. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  35. ^ Hart, B.; Ballantyne, G.; Dolenz, M. (2015). Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles. SelectBooks, Incorporated. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-59079-291-9. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  36. ^ "Fete Lester Sill" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Billboard Magazine. 1976-09-04. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  37. ^ "Lester Sill (bio)". Gregmark Music. 1976-11-01. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  38. ^ Archerd, Army; Archerd, Army (2003-07-01). "Hepburn remembered". Variety. Archived from the original on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  39. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). govinfo.gov. 2022-06-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  40. ^ "Lester Sill Humanitarian Award recipiant Clive Davis and RP..." Getty Images (in German). 2005-06-12. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  41. ^ Billboard (in German). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 67. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  42. ^ "The ASCAP Foundation Lester Sill Songwriters Workshop". www.songhall.org. ASCAP. Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2022-03-30. Re-named in 1995 to honor ASCAP's late Board member and industry pioneer Lester Sill, the Workshop will feature prominent guests from various facets of the music business.
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