Jules Bihari
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Record executive Jules Bihari--along with his brothers Joseph, Saul and
Lester--started early rock/blues/R&B record company Modern Records and
its subsidiaries RPM Records, Kent Records, Crown Records, Flair
Records and Meteor Records. Modern was formed in 1945 when Jules, a
jukebox salesman, found himself unable to get many of the R&B records
many of his customers requested. Modern and its other labels began
recording and distributing records by such artists as
B.B. King,
Etta James,
John Lee Hooker and
Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. Famed
producer Sam Phillips was at one
time a producer/scout at Modern subsidiary Meteor Records; he left to
form his own company, Sun Records, and was replaced by
Ike Turner.
The company's heyday was from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. By the 1960s, as musical tastes began to shift more towards rock-and-roll, Modern's sales began to fall. By the end of the 1960s the brothers sold their companies and left the music business.
The company's heyday was from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. By the 1960s, as musical tastes began to shift more towards rock-and-roll, Modern's sales began to fall. By the end of the 1960s the brothers sold their companies and left the music business.