Hy Weiss
Encyclopedia
Biography
Born Hyman Y. Weiss in RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, he was an immigrant to the United States when young and was brought up in the Bronx, New York
New 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...
. He started in the music industry in 1949, setting up Parody Records with his brother Sam.
His record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Old Town Records, was active from 1953 for over a decade. Weiss was primarily a producer of doo wop groups
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
. Old Town had its first hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
with the 1958 single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "We Belong Together," by Robert & Johnny
Robert & Johnny
Robert & Johnny were an American doo-wop duo from The Bronx.The duo's full names were Robert Carr and Johnny Mitchell; they released about a dozen singles for Old Town Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Two of them charted; "We Belong Together", which hit #12 on the U.S...
. Reissues of records by Arthur Prysock
Arthur Prysock
Arthur Prysock was an American jazz singer best known for his live shows and his baritone influenced by Billy Eckstine....
extended the life of the label.
Subsequently Weiss worked for Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. Weiss had a co-writer credit for the song "Foggy Notion" by the Velvet Underground, along with all of the members of the band.
Weiss was a resident of Rockleigh
Rockleigh, New Jersey
Rockleigh is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 531.Rockleigh was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 13, 1923 from portions of Northvale.New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
He died in Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
in March 2007, at the age of 84.
His son, Barry Weiss
Barry Weiss
Barry Weiss is an American music executive. He is the current Chairman & CEO of Island Def Jam Motown Music Group and Universal Republic. He served as chairman and CEO of RCA/Jive Label Group from 2008 to 2011 and was also the CEO of its constituent Jive Records from 1991 to 2011...
is the current Chairman & CEO of Island Def Jam/Universal Motown Republic.
Notable artists
- Billy BlandBilly BlandBilly Bland is an American R&B singer and songwriter.-Life and career:Bland first sang professionally in the 1940s in New York, and sang with a group called The Four Bees in the 1950s on New Orleans's Imperial Records...
- The CaprisThe CaprisThe Capris are an Italian-American Doo Wop group originating in the Ozone Park section of Queens, New York in the late 1950s.-Biography:The group originated in Ozone Park, Queens in 1957 when they were teenagers...
- The Co-eds
- The EarlsLarry Chance and the EarlsLarry Chance and the Earls were a popular recording group from the 1960s formed in The Bronx, New York. In 1962, their single "Remember Then" was a hit, and "Life Is But a Dream," "Never" and "I Believe" also charted. As the oldies revival scene started a strong run in the early 1970s and 1980s,...
- The FiestasThe FiestasThe Fiestas were an American Rhythm and Blues musical group from Newark, New Jersey.Organized in 1958, The Fiestas contracted with Old Town Records company in 1959 after the company's owner, Hy Weiss, overheard the group singing in a bathroom adjacent to his office in Harlem...
- Larry FinneganLarry FinneganJohn Lawrence Finneran, better known by his stage name Larry Finnegan was an American pop singer....
- Bob GaddyBob GaddyBob Gaddy was an American East Coast blues and rhythm and blues pianist, singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his recordings of "Operator" and "Rip and Run," and musical work he undertook with Larry Dale, Wild Jimmy Spruill, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.-Biography:Gaddy was born in...
- The 5 Crowns
- The Gypsies
- Ruth McFadden
- Arthur PrysockArthur PrysockArthur Prysock was an American jazz singer best known for his live shows and his baritone influenced by Billy Eckstine....
- Robert & JohnnyRobert & JohnnyRobert & Johnny were an American doo-wop duo from The Bronx.The duo's full names were Robert Carr and Johnny Mitchell; they released about a dozen singles for Old Town Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Two of them charted; "We Belong Together", which hit #12 on the U.S...
- The SolitairesThe SolitairesThe Solitaires are an American doo wop group, best remembered for their 1957 hit single, "Walking Along".Formed in Harlem in 1953, the band consisted of Herman Curtis, Buzzy Willis and Pat Gaston , and Monte Owens, Bobby Baylor and Bobby Williams...