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.
— Sid Bernstein
I went to James Monroe High School, a big school in the East Bronx. My first promotion was the first alumni reunion dance. I got all the names and addresses out of the yearbook. It came off very well.
My secret to success is that I've always loved good music and people.
The Beatles were no trouble... lots of girls. The Stones were black-jacketed guys, a rough crowd. A whole different scene between the Stones' black leather jackets and the Beatles' pretty-dressed girls with the ribbons in their hair, teenagers standing on the seats screaming, nothing broken.
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.
I loved England's gentility and its civility. I'm from the Bronx, with a Bronx accent. I love the beauty of its language, the ways it's spoken. I love the green grass of England and the flowers.
It shouldn't just be about money. It should be about loving what you do.
