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'''Lester Sill''' (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was an [[United States|American]] independent [[record label]] executive, who rose to become the president of Screen Gems-Columbia Music, a director at ASCAp and consulting president for Jobete Music, the publishing arm of Motown Records. As an independent producer in the 1950s and 1960s, he was a moving force behind Hadda Brooks and B. B. King. He formed independent labels around composers like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Lee Hazlewood and Phil Spector. Rostered artists included Duane Eddy, The Coasters, The Paris Sisters, and The Crystals.
Sill hired Phil Spector as an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller and eventually partnered with Spector in the Philles label, the name being a combination of both men's first names. In return for his support and generosity (Spector lived in Sill's home for several years?), Sill was never repaid for his investment in Philles. As an executive at Screen Gems-Columbia Music he worked under Don Kirshner where his responsibilities included acts like The Monkeys, The Partridge Family and Carol King.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-07-mn-59691-story.html
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'''Lester Sill''' (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was an [[United States|American]] [[record label]] executive, best remembered as [[Phil Spector]]'s mentor and founding partner in [[Philles Records]].<ref name="AllMusic Lester">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lester-sill-mn0000273082/biography|title=Lester Sill's biography|publisher=AllMusic|author=Jason Ankeny|accessdate=February 16, 2016}}</ref><ref name="BlackCat Rockabilly Europe 2018">{{cite web | title=LESTER SILL | website=BlackCat Rockabilly Europe | date=2018-12-19 | url=http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/lester_sill.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219204615/http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/lester_sill.htm | archive-date=2018-12-19 | url-status=live | access-date=2019-11-07}}</ref> [[Carol King]] credits Sill for his hospitality and guidance in her memoirs.<ref name="King 2012 p. ">{{cite book | last=King | first=C. | title=A Natural Woman: A Memoir | publisher=Grand Central Publishing | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4555-1259-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6O9Onmu9_cC | language=fr | access-date=2019-11-07 | page=}}</ref> His three sons are music supervisors in film and television: Joel Sill,<ref name="Yang Yang 2018">{{cite web | last=Yang | first=Rachel | last2=Yang | first2=Rachel | title=Guild of Music Supervisors Awards to Honor Joel Sill; King Princess to Perform (EXCLUSIVE) | website=Variety | date=2018-12-13 | url=https://variety.com/2018/music/news/guild-music-supervisors-awards-joel-sill-king-princess-1203088235/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107203851/https://variety.com/2018/music/news/guild-music-supervisors-awards-joel-sill-king-princess-1203088235/ | archive-date=2019-11-07 | url-status=live | access-date=2019-11-07}}</ref> Greg Sill,<ref name="Greg Sill Variety">{{cite web | title=Greg Sill, ‘Justified’ Music Supervisor, Dies at 63 – Variety | website=Variety | url=https://variety.com/2018/music/obituaries-people-news/music-supervisor-greg-sill-dead-1202731633/ | access-date=2019-11-04| archive-date=2019-11-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104171622/https://variety.com/2018/music/obituaries-people-news/music-supervisor-greg-sill-dead-1202731633/}}</ref> and Lonnie Sill.<ref name="AllMusic Lonnie">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lonnie-sill-mn0001915687|title=Lonnie Sill's credits|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=November 7, 2019}}</ref> His stepson [[Chuck Kaye]] is a longtime music publishing executive.<ref name="Greg Sill Variety"/>
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== Early life ==