Music / Business & brands
Bernard Besman
1912–2003
· record producer, distributor, bandleader
Detroit record distributor who founded Sensation Records and in 1948 produced John Lee Hooker's first session, which yielded "Boogie Chillen'".
- Born
Kyiv, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)- Died
Los Angeles, California
aged 90- Also known as
- Bernie Besman
- Detroit years
- 1926–1952
- Field
- Music, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Besman's family fled Kyiv after the First World War, spent several years in London and settled in Detroit in 1926, when he was a teenager. He led a small dance band in hotels and resorts, recorded in 1936, ran a booking agency and arranged entertainment for the military during the Second World War. In 1946 he and accountant John Kaplan bought Pan American Record Distributing and launched Sensation Records, named after a local nightclub. In late 1948 he brought John Lee Hooker into a tiny two-room studio run by the Siracuse family, United Sound Systems, and the session produced "Boogie Chillen'," which he leased to Modern Records in Los Angeles. Sensation also recorded Todd Rhodes, T. J. Fowler and a young Milt Jackson. Serious illness led him to move to Los Angeles in 1952. His claim to co-writing credits on Hooker songs was disputed by Hooker and led to a failed lawsuit against ZZ Top over "La Grange."
Highlights
- Bought Pan American Record Distributing in Detroit in 1946
- Founded Sensation Records, named after the Sensation Lounge
- Produced John Lee Hooker's first session in 1948
- Sensation artists included Todd Rhodes, T. J. Fowler and Milt Jackson
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1948
United Sound Systems
Where Besman and engineer Joe Siracuse recorded John Lee Hooker's first session in 1948.