Herb Cohen
Encyclopedia
Herbert "Herb" Cohen was an American
personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Frank Zappa
, Tom Waits
, and many other Los Angeles
-based musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.
. After a period in the army in 1952, he moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, and started to put on concerts with folk singers such as Pete Seeger
and Odetta
. He began running coffee bars and folk clubs, such as The Unicorn and Cosmo Alley, during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He began acting as manager for many artists, his eventual roster including Screamin' Jay Hawkins
, George Duke
, Alice Cooper
, Tom Waits
, Tim Buckley
, Lenny Bruce
, and Linda Ronstadt
. He also managed the all girl band Fanny
in the late 1960s and got them signed to Warner Bros.
after a performance at The Troubadour. He was best known as the manager of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
from 1965, arranging their first club dates and, after encouraging record producer Tom Wilson to see them perform, securing their first record deal. He and Zappa went on to set up and jointly own the Straight
, Bizarre
, and DiscReet Records
labels. After a ten year association, he and Zappa parted company amid litigation in 1976. Zappa claimed that Cohen and his brother were profiting unduly from his earnings, and Cohen countersued, claiming that Zappa had taken his album Zoot Allures
to a rival record label contrary to a contract between them.
He also handled Montreux Jazz Festival
tours of Japan
and the US, and produced the US portion of the Nelson Mandela concert
in Wembley Stadium
upon Mandela's release. Cohen managed Waits until 1982, and, after that time, his main management client was jazz musician George Duke
. Cohen reactivated the Bizarre and Straight labels in 1988, calling it "Bizarre/Straight Records," which was distributed by Enigma Records, and, later, Rhino Records. Bizarre/Straight released early recordings of both Waits and Tim Buckley. Some of the Bizarre/Straight releases were later released by Manifesto Records
, a label formed in 1995 and run by his nephew, Evan Cohen.
In 1989-1990 Herb Cohen managed the Russian rock group Autograph
(Live Aid for Africa) and oversaw the recording of their debut American album "Tear Down the Borders" produced by Bob Duffy and released in 1990 on Bizarre/Straight label, distributed by Rhino Records.
In 2009, Cohen filed suit for libel against British journalist Barney Hoskyns
and his publisher, Random House
, Inc., with regard to statements in Hoskyns' book Lowside of the Road, A Life of Tom Waits.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, and many other Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.
Life and career
Cohen was born in New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After a period in the army in 1952, he moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, and started to put on concerts with folk singers such as Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
and Odetta
Odetta
Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...
. He began running coffee bars and folk clubs, such as The Unicorn and Cosmo Alley, during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He began acting as manager for many artists, his eventual roster including Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Jalacy Hawkins , best known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins was an American musician, singer, and actor...
, George Duke
George Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Tim Buckley
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
, Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
, and Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
. He also managed the all girl band Fanny
Fanny (band)
Fanny was an American girl band, led by June Millington. They were pioneers as one of the first rock bands to feature all women, and the third to sign to a major record label, after Goldie & the Gingerbreads and The Pleasure Seekers...
in the late 1960s and got them signed to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
after a performance at The Troubadour. He was best known as the manager of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
from 1965, arranging their first club dates and, after encouraging record producer Tom Wilson to see them perform, securing their first record deal. He and Zappa went on to set up and jointly own the Straight
Straight Records
Straight Records was a record label formed in 1969 to distribute productions and discoveries of Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. Straight was formed at the same time as a companion label, Bizarre Records. Straight and Bizarre were manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by...
, Bizarre
Bizarre Records
Bizarre Records was a record label formed for artists discovered by rock musician Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen.Bizarre was originally formed as a production company...
, and DiscReet Records
DiscReet Records
DiscReet Records was a company founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner/manager Herb Cohen. It was created in 1973 when their previous companies Bizarre Records and Straight Records were discontinued...
labels. After a ten year association, he and Zappa parted company amid litigation in 1976. Zappa claimed that Cohen and his brother were profiting unduly from his earnings, and Cohen countersued, claiming that Zappa had taken his album Zoot Allures
Zoot Allures
Zoot Allures is a 1976 rock album by Frank Zappa. This was Zappa's only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to a lawsuit with his former manager Herb Cohen Frank Zappa's recording contract was temporarily re-assigned from DiscReet Records to Warner Bros.The title is a pun on the French...
to a rival record label contrary to a contract between them.
He also handled Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
tours of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the US, and produced the US portion of the Nelson Mandela concert
Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa
Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa was a popular-music concert that took place on April 16 1990 at Wembley Stadium, London, and was broadcast to more than 60 countries. It was held two months after the release of Nelson Mandela from a South African apartheid prison and...
in Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
upon Mandela's release. Cohen managed Waits until 1982, and, after that time, his main management client was jazz musician George Duke
George Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
. Cohen reactivated the Bizarre and Straight labels in 1988, calling it "Bizarre/Straight Records," which was distributed by Enigma Records, and, later, Rhino Records. Bizarre/Straight released early recordings of both Waits and Tim Buckley. Some of the Bizarre/Straight releases were later released by Manifesto Records
Manifesto Records
Manifesto Records is the name of an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California that has released records by The Wedding Present, Dead Kennedys, Tom Waits, Tim Buckley, Lilys, Concrete Blonde, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and others. Manifesto released the entire catalogue of Dead Kennedys...
, a label formed in 1995 and run by his nephew, Evan Cohen.
In 1989-1990 Herb Cohen managed the Russian rock group Autograph
Autograph (Russian band)
Autograph was a Soviet Russian art rock band, considered a pioneer of progressive rock music in Russia.The group was founded in 1979 by Alexander "Sasha" Sitkovetsky, and achieved a considerable success at the first Soviet state-sanctioned rock festival held in Tbilisi, Georgia with Sitkovetsky's...
(Live Aid for Africa) and oversaw the recording of their debut American album "Tear Down the Borders" produced by Bob Duffy and released in 1990 on Bizarre/Straight label, distributed by Rhino Records.
In 2009, Cohen filed suit for libel against British journalist Barney Hoskyns
Barney Hoskyns
Barney Hoskyns is a British music critic and editor of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages.Hoskyns graduated from Oxford with a First Class degree in English. He began writing about music for Melody Maker and New Musical Express, quitting his job as staff writer at NME to research...
and his publisher, Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, Inc., with regard to statements in Hoskyns' book Lowside of the Road, A Life of Tom Waits.