Herman Lubinsky (born Hyman Lubinsky; August 30, 1896 – March 16, 1974) was an American

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

and

music business The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

executive who founded

Savoy Records Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1942.

Career

Lubinsky was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Branford, Connecticut Branford is a shoreline New England town, town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, about east of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. The population was 28,273 at the 2020 United Sta ...

, the son of Fannie ( Rosinsky; 1865–1941) and Louis Lubinsky (also known as Leuvinsky; 1857–1921), both of whom had emigrated from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1883. By 1915, he was working as an electrical contractor in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, before serving as a radio operator in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

. In 1922, Lubinsky founded The Radio Shop of Newark, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. and, in 1923, set up a radio station, WRAZ, which changed its title to WCBX and then, in October 1924, to WNJ. The station operated from the attic of Lubinsky's home before its studio in Newark opened in 1925. The station became known as "The Voice of Newark" and presented programmes for immigrants to the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

, Lithuanian and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. In 1929, Lubinsky set up the Radio Investment Co., but in November 1932 his application to renew the license for WNJ was refused by the

Federal Radio Commission The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by t ...

because he refused to accept limits on the station's

bandwidth Bandwidth commonly refers to: * Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range * Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...

. Lubinsky fought the action in the courts, but the station was taken off the air in March 1933. Lubinsky then started the United Radio Company, which sold and repaired radios and

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

s and began selling records. Encouraged by his friend Eli Oberstein, a music business executive, he launched

in 1942 from his new Radio Record Shop. The company released

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

recordings made before the

Petrillo Ban Petrillo may refer to: * Petrillo (surname) *'' Myrceugenia correifolia'', evergreen shrub commonly referred to as "petrillo" *Petrillo Music Shell The Petrillo Music Shell (sometimes referred to as the Petrillo Bandshell or formally as the Ja ...

came into effect and also recordings made by musicians attempting to circumvent the ban by recording under

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s. Among the latter was

Bonnie Davis Bonnie Davis, born Gertrude Melba Smith (June 10, 1920 – August 1976), was an American R&B singer most popular in the 1940s. Her recording of " Don't Stop Now" reached no.1 on the R&B chart in 1943. She was the mother of singer Melba Moore ...

, whose recording of " Don't Stop Now" reached number 1 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in 1943. By 1944, the label had begun to release records by leading jazz musicians, such as

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

, and over the next few years its roster of musicians expanded to include

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first rec ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

, Paul Williams and

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was ...

. After opening an office in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1948, Savoy continued to have success with such musicians as

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...

Little Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

and

Big Maybelle Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single " Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. Childhood and musical background Born in J ...

, although after the mid-1950s it began to concentrate increasingly on

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

, including

Clara Ward Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...

, the Drinkard Singers,

Alex Bradford Alex Bradford (January 23, 1927 – February 15, 1978) (professionally known as Professor Alex Bradford) was a multi-talented Gospel music, gospel composer, singer, arranger and choir director, who was an influence on artists such as Little Rich ...

, the Caravans,

Dorothy Love Coates Dorothy Love Coates (January 30, 1928 – April 9, 2002) was an American gospel singer.

and the Original Gospel Harmonettes and

James Cleveland James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating trad ...

. Lubinsky continued as head of the company until shortly before his death in Newark in 1974.

Character and controversies

Lubinsky has been described as "an arrogant bully... the quintessential loudmouth, overweight, cigar-smoking record man with little apparent charm"; as "a colorful character... endowed with a shrewd business sense"; and as "a rather profane cheapskate who had a low opinion of many of the musicians that he recorded" and who "was best known for his desire to cut expenses at all costs". His oldest daughter, Lois Grossberg, later said, "He was paranoid about money. It consumed him like a burning fire. He had a reputation as an ogre in the business. You have no idea of the cheapness." The singer

Little Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

recorded for Savoy in the 1950s. He left the label in the early 1960s and recorded an album with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

for the latter's new label,

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

. However, Lubinsky claimed that Scott was under contract to him for his lifetime. The record was withdrawn. As a result, Scott retreated from the recording industry until after Lubinsky's death.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubinsky, Herman 1896 births 1974 deaths People from Branford, Connecticut American music industry executives Record producers from Connecticut A&R people American people of Russian-Jewish descent

Career

Character and controversies

See also

Notes

References