Herb Bernstein is an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, composer, arranger, and conductor.

Professional life

Herb Bernstein arranged and produced records in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical ''Cabaret'' on Broadway as well as in the 1972 fil ...

, The Four Seasons,

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The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

Norma Tanega Norma Cecilia Tanega (January 30, 1939 – December 29, 2019) was an American folk and pop singer-songwriter, painter, and experimental musician. In the 1960s, she had a hit with the single "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog" and wrote songs for Dusty Sp ...

The Happenings The Happenings are a pop music group that originated in the 1960s. Members of the original group, created in the spring of 1961 and initially called "The Four Graduates" because all had just graduated from high school in Paterson, New Jersey, we ...

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Julie Budd Julie Budd (born May 7, 1954) is an American recording artist and actress. Early life and education Budd was born Edith Erdman in Brooklyn, New York, the second of three daughters of Joan and Saul Erdman, a bottling company executive. She att ...

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Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

Peaches & Herb Peaches & Herb is an American vocal duo. Herb Fame (born October 1, 1941) has remained a constant as "Herb" since the duo was created in 1966; seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches", most notably Francine Edna "Peaches" Hurd B ...

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Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop music, pop hit "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), I ...

, and

Jimmy Roselli Michael John "Jimmy" Roselli (December 26, 1925 – June 30, 2011) was one of the most significant Italian-American pop singers of his time, during an era of competition from such performers as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Perry Como, ...

. Bernstein's numerous hit records as producer, publisher, or arranger include “

See You in September "See You in September" is a song written by Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards. It was first recorded by the Pittsburgh vocal group The Tempos. This first version peaked at #23 in the summer of 1959. The most popular take on "See You In September" ...

,” “

Go Away Little Girl "Go Away Little Girl" is a popular song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was first recorded by Bobby Vee for Liberty Records on March 28, 1962. The lyrics consist of a young man asking a young attractive woman to stay away from him, s ...

,” “

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” and “

Leaving on a Jet Plane "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter John Denver in 1966, originally included on his debut demo recording ''John Denver Sings'' as "Babe I Hate To Go". He made several copies and gave them out as presents f ...

, as well as "Brink of Disaster" and " I Can't Make It Without You" by

(released in 1967 and 1968, respectively). The Laura Nyro album ''

More Than a New Discovery ''More Than a New Discovery'' is the debut album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was recorded during 1966 and released early in following year on the Verve Folkways imprint of the Verve Records label. The name of th ...

'' released in 1967, which Bernstein arranged and conducted, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The album included such songs as "

Wedding Bell Blues "Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a woman whose boyfriend has not yet proposed to ...

" and " Stoney End." Bernstein served as musical director and conductor for Michael Amante. he continued to work as an arranger and conductor, working with

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...

and

Joy Philbin Bette Joy Philbin ( née Senese; born February 1, 1941) is an American television personality, and the widow of television personality Regis Philbin. Career In the late 1960s, Senese worked as an assistant to comedian and talk show host Joey Bis ...

, and Bernstein's longtime protegee Julie Budd, appearing with orchestras and other ensembles across the country. Bernstein has conducted at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, and with the Buffalo, Baltimore, Austin, Hartford, South Bend, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. On August 11, 2012, Bernstein participated in Lincoln Center's "29th Annual Roots of American Music Festival" as a panelist for the "Stoned Soul Symposium" discussing the work of

Early life

Herb Bernstein was born and raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, NY. He attended

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

on a basketball scholarship, then earned his B.S. and M.A. in Education at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. He taught at Eastern District High School before embarking on his music career. Bernstein dabbled in music from the time he was a child, starting with violin lessons at the age of four. He later learned piano and played in various bands until he broke into the record business full-time in the mid-1960s.

Personal life

In the 1960s, Bernstein was married to Joyce Robinson, a dancer with whom he had two daughters: Jill and Ellyn. He has two granddaughters, Alyson and Rachel. He and his second wife, Anne Roselli, daughter of

, have a son Michael.

References

External links

Online interview with Ronnie Allen, Jersey Girls (2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Herb Record producers from New York (state) Living people People from Brooklyn Southern Methodist University alumni Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Year of birth missing (living people)