Chicago
Sun Times
November 7, 2002
"The
Brill Building, in mid-town Manhattan, stands as
one of the most famous landmarks of American pop music.
Between 1958 and 1970, dozens of Brill Building songwriters
updated the Tin Pan Alley aesthetic with innocent
teenage imagery and cresting pop melodies.
Consider
Berns' output at the time of his death in 1967: He co-wrote
the Isley Brothers' classic "Twist and Shout"
(published under the name Bert Russell), the McCoys'
"Hang on Sloopy" and Erma Franklin's
"Piece of My Heart" (later a hit for Janis
Joplin). Berns also produced early Van Morrison
tracks such as "Brown Eyed Girl" and "T.B.
Sheets."
Born
Nov. 8, 1929, Berns was 38 when he died of heart disease,
the result of a childhood bout with rheumatic fever. He
receives a long-overdue salute with the new 10-song compilation
"The
Heart & Soul of Bert Berns" (Universal).
The disc features original versions of songs that Berns
wrote or co-wrote, including Solomon Burke's "Everybody
Needs Somebody to Love" and "Piece of My
Heart."
The
project was produced by Universal Music Group CEO
Doug Morris, who was also a Brill Building-era
songwriter. Morris hand-picked the songs to demonstrate
the breadth of Berns' talent. Morris collaborated on the
project with Brett and Cassandra Berns, who run their father's
publishing company, Sloopy II. Brett and Cassandra are also
musicians.
"Our
whole lives have been a search for the father we never knew,"
said Brett Berns, 37, from his Los Angeles office. "We've
been hearing stories from friends, and actually over the
last six months, I've seen dozens of songs listed on eBay
I've never heard. Even on this record, there are tracks
like the ballad 'White Gardenia,' which I never heard.
So this record coming out is another piece in the puzzle
that we're putting together to find Bert Berns."
Cassandra,
35, was listening on a speaker phone. "Since Bert knew
he had rheumatic fever as a teenager, he knew he was going
to die and not get to see us grow up," she said. "He
would tell our mother, 'My kids will know me for my music.'
While growing up, these songs, especially standards like
'Twist and Shout,' were like surrogate fathers. Not
a day goes by that I don't hear something where I experience
him somehow."
The
Bernses learned their father would try anything. He wrote
country music, soul (with Jerry Ragovoy and Mike
Stoller) and even traveled to pre-Castro Cuba to absorb
Afro-Cuban rhythms. Berns was a fan of late Cuban singer,
composer and bandleader Arsenio Rodriguez.
"One
of the last things he did in his life was bring Arsenio
to New York," Brett said. "They recorded an album
with a salsa version of 'Hang on Sloopy.'
"Bert
came back from Cuba telling tall tales. He told people he
was running guns for Castro. But as soon as he got
back, he got his songwriter job, making $50 a week. His
first hit was [the Jarmels'] 'A Little Bit of
Soap' in 1961, followed by 'Tell Him' by the
Exciters [1962] and 'Twist and Shout' [also
1962]."
"My
impression of my father now is that he knew he had a short
window," Cassandra said. "So he did it all."
Her
brother added, "He was living on borrowed time. We
heard stories that sometimes he would get excited in the
studio when he felt he had a hit record. He would snap his
fingers, shout ole! and check his pulse to make sure he
wasn't overdoing it."
At
its peak, the Brill Building, at 1619 Broadway in
New York City, supplied offices for about 20 music companies.
But the tag of "The Brill Building Sound" came
to encompass all the songwriters in the neighborhood. Berns
worked across the street at 1650 Broadway, as did Jeff
Barry and Ellie Greenwich ("Hanky Panky,"
"Da Doo Ron Ron") and the late Doc Pomus
("Little Sister," "Save the
Last Dance for Me").
The
Berns family reached out to Van Morrison for input on the
compilation disc, but Morrison didn't bite. "He is
very reclusive," Brett said in an understatement.
But
in the 1997 book Celtic Crossroads (The Art of
Van Morrison) by Brian Hinton, Berns is recalled
as someone who could elevate the mood in the studio. Them
guitarist Billy Harrison said, "I remember him
[Berns] coming out of the console; he walked over to the
drum kit, grabbed a stick and started beating on a cymbal
and saying, 'Let's get this thing cooking,' and created
an atmosphere."
"Except
for Bert Berns, I felt people who said they were producing
Them didn't have a clue," Morrison is quoted in the
book.
The
early Morrison tracks were recorded for Bang Records,
of which Berns was a co-owner. Bang was named after label
founders Berns, Ahmet Ertegun, Neshui Ertegun
and Gerald "Jerry" Wexler); its yellow
label was known for a cartoon image of a smoking gun. The
Bang roster also featured the McCoys and Diamond,
in his early cool era.
After
Berns died, Morrison recorded an acoustic album of three-chord
throwaway tracks such as "Ring Worm" and
"Royalty Check" to fufill his contract
with Bang and the Bernses. "It's really awful,"
Brett said. "Somebody actually put it out on record."
Brett
and Cassandra's mother, Ilene, lives in West Palm Beach,
Fla. She met Bert when she was a go-go dancer at the famed
Peppermint Lounge in New York City. "She was
a twister at the same time Goldie Hawn was dancing,"
Cassandra said.
Though
"Twist and Shout" is the biggest income
earner for the Berns publishing company, Cassandra said,
"The phone rings nonstop for 'I Want Candy.'
It was used in 'The Simpsons' and now, with Aaron
Carter's recording, it's been a hit in three different
generations."
The
Strangeloves first recorded "I Want Candy"
in 1965, and Bow Wow Wow turned it into a 1980s dance club
hit. "Any [project] about the '80s, it seems the Bow
Wow Wow version always has a resurgence," Cassandra
said.
"Up
to this point, our father has been marginalized," Brett
said. "He hasn't been recognized in the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame
or anything. This ['The
Heart & Soul of Bert Berns'] is the jewel in
the crown so far in our lives."
-
Chicago
Sun Times November 7, 2002
