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{{Infobox person| name = Lester Sill| image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [Content moved to [brackets]] -->| alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->| caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->| birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|01|13}}| birth_place = <!--| death_date = {{Death date and age|1918|01|13|1994|10|31}}-->| death_place = Los Angeles| nationality = United States| other_names = The Chief| occupation = Music executive| boards = {{plainlist}} * American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers * National Music Publishers' Association{{endplainlist}}<ref name="Hardy 2014 p. 118">{{cite book | last=Hardy | first=P. | title=Nickels & Dimes: Music Publishing & It's Administration in the Modern Age | publisher=Omnibus Press | series=Really easy piano | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-85712-877-5 | url=https://booksen.google.com/books?id=ARhbAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT118 | access-date=2022-02-11 | page=118}}</ref>| years_active = 50| known_for = | notable_works = | spouse = Harriet | children = {{plainlist}}* Chuck Kaye (stepson)<ref name="Greg Sill Variety"/>* Joel Sill<ref name="Yang Yang 2018"/> * Greg Sill<ref name="Greg Sill Variety"/> * Lonnie Sill <ref name="Lester Sill Dies at 76 Billboard"/><ref name="AllMusic Lonnie"/>{{endplainlist}}| awards = Prime Minister's Medal| module = | website = {{URL|www.gregmarkmusicinc.com}}| footnotes = <center>Jazz guitarist Alex Sill (grandson)<ref name="Pacent 2019">{{cite web | last=Pacent | first=Nina | title=From Carl Jung to Lady Gaga, Jazz Guitarist Alex Sill’s Music Speaks His Mind | website=BMI.com | date=2019-05-22 | url=https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/from-carl-jung-to-lady-gaga-jazz-guitarist-alex-sills-music-speaks-his-mind | archive-url=https://web.archivewikipedia.org/web/20190619235020/https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/from-carl-jung-to-lady-gaga-jazz-guitarist-alex-sills-music-speaks-his-mind | archive-date=2019-06-19 | url-status=live | access-date=2019-11-07}}</ref></center>{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->| name = Lester Sill| image = | caption = | image_size =| background = non_performing_personnel| birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|01|13}}| birth_place = Los Angeles, CA | death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|10|31|1918|01|13}}| death_place = Los Angeles, CA| occupation = [[Music publisher (popular music)|Music publisher]], [[Record executive]]| years_active = 1946-1994| label = [[Gregmark]], [[Philles Records]]| associated_acts = {{plainlist *[[Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller|Leiber & Stoller]] * T-Bone Walker *Paris Sisters *The Coasters *The Monkees}}| website = {{URL|www.gregmarkmusicinc.com}} }}}} '''Lester Sill''' (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was a United States record label executive who rose to become the president of Screen Gems-Columbia Music, a director at ASCAP and consulting president for Jobete Music (Motown Records publishing division).<ref name="Dec 25, 1976 Billboard p. 27"/><ref name="Los Angeles Times 1994" /> He is best known as the producer and music supervisor for The Monkees,<ref name="AllMusic Lester Credits"/> and the cofounder of Philles records with Phil Spector in 1961.<ref name="AllMusic Lester"/></s> As an independent producer in the 1950s and 1960s, he was a moving force behind Hadda Brooks and B. B. King.<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1994"/> 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.<ref name="AllMusic Lester"/> Sill's productions often included musicians that went on to become The Wall of Sound, <ref name="AllMusic Lester"/> and The Wrecking Crew.<ref name="Paulson 2012"/><ref name="Feldman 2021"/><!--Sill's partnership with Lee Hazlewood launched the career of Duane Eddy and many of the studio musicians supporting the act went on to be core members of The Wrecking Crew.<ref name="Paulson 2012"/><ref name="Feldman 2021"/> Sill hired Phil Spector as an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller and later partnered with Spector in the Philles label, the name being a combination of both men's informal first names. <s>In return for his support and generosity (Spector lived in Sill's home for several years),<ref name="Ribowsky 2000 p. 57 Spector in Sill's home"/> Sill was never repaid for his investment in Philles Records and The Wall of Sound.</s><ref name="AllMusic Lester"wiki/> Following this, as a record executive, Sill worked under Don Kirshner where his responsibilities included acts like The Monkees, The Partridge Family and Carol King.<ref name="King 2012 p. "/><ref name="Lester Sill Dies at 76 Billboard"/> -->== Early life and family ==Sill was dental technician who became a combat engineer in the Army because his papers said he knew about, “dentures and bridges.” After serving in [[Casablanca]] during World War II, he was discharged from the Army and left Philadelphia, moving to California to stay with his mother at the beach. Upon arrival, he met four year old Chuck (muddy and scared that he was in trouble), and Chuck's mother Harriet, his future wife. He opened Cotton’s Club on Western Avenue and 35th, with Harriet’s brother, Cotton's Club ran afoul of the authorities and was closed for after hours drinking. Sill took some door to door sales positions which he did not enjoy, until he met Lester Bahari of Modern Records in 1946. He soon found himself working in the record store and was offered a distribution route covering the Fresno to San Diego territory, selling R&B and rock and roll genre records to stores and refreshing jukebox inventory. On his route, he noticed that he was driving by several radio stations and began befriending disc-jockeys, Sunday radio spins helped with his Monday sales.<ref name="Smith LOC 1986"> {{Cite LOC finding aid|author = Smith, J|url = httpsUser:Apriltools//www.loc.gov/item/jsmith000138/|title = Off the record interview with Lester Sill, 1986-03-13|date = 1986|accessdate = 04 November 2019}}</ref> {{Blockquote|text=We pulled up to the Sill's house and got out of the car, and were greeted by the entire family; Lester, his wife, Harriet, their four sons (their youngest, Lonnie, was close to the age of my daughters), their female collie, and six adorable, purebred tricolor collies. The puppies were so adorable that by the end of the evening we agreed to adopt one of them. To keep our new puppy's name consistent with the names of his litter-mates (all began with "Mac") we decided to call him Macduff.<br><br>All of the Sills except Harriet would attain success in Hollywood as part of the Sill/Kaye music publishing and music supervision dynasty, now in its third generation. Harriet achieved her own success as the matriarch and fighting tigress of the Sill family. You did not want to mess with a Sill or with Chuck Kay, Harriet's son from a previous marriage.|author=[[sandbox Wikipedia:Carole King|Carole King]]|title= "[[Wikipedia: A Natural Woman (book)|''A Natural Woman, A Memoir'']]"|source= Grand Central Publishing, (2012)<ref name="King 2012 p. "/>}} == Career == Sill first entered show business as a nightclub owner, but in 1945, he joined the sales and promotion staff of the [[Bihari brothers]]' [[Modern Records]], first as a regonal sale manager and then producing sessions for R&B acts including [[Charles Brown (musician)|Charles Brown]] and [[Hadda Brooks]].<ref name="Talevski 2010 p. 592">{{cite book | last=Talevski | first=N. | title=Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door | publisher=Music Sales | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-85712-117-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DykffzkFALoC&pg=PA592 | access-date=2019-11-07 | page=592}}</ref> Sill shepherded the fledgling career of the songwriting team of [[Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]]. In 1950, Sill met Leiber at Modern Records,<ref name="Palmer 1978">{{cite book |last= Palmer |first= Robert |date= 1978 |title= Baby, That Was Rock' N Roll |location= United States |publisher= A Harvest / HBJ book |page= <!-- or pages= --> |isbn= 0156101556 |author-link=}}</ref> where the aspiring lyricist worked as a retail clerk and suggested he find a partner who could read and write music, spurring the beginning of Leiber's collaboration with Mike Stoller.<ref name="Simpson 2003 p. 135">{{cite book | last=Simpson | first=P. | title=The Rough Guide to Cult Pop | publisher=Rough Guides | series=Music rough guide | year=2003 | isbn=978-1-84353-229-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7hpXcrqA-8C&pg=PA135 | access-date=2019-11-07 | page=135}}</ref> Sill produced the 1951 [[Jimmy Witherspoon]] effort "Real Ugly Woman", the first recorded Leiber and Stoller collaboration.<ref name="Simpson 2003 p. 135"/> *'''Spark Records'''Sill and Federal Records producer/talent scout [[Ralph Bass]] formed a PR agency, Brisk Enterprises,<ref name="Brisk Enterprises">{{cite magazine | last= Sippel| first= Johnny| date= 23 August 1952| title= Block Booking Promoters Hype Coast 1-Nitht Outlook| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PB8EAAAAMBAJ| page= 19| magazine= BillBoard| location= United States| publisher= Nielsen Business Media, Inc.| access-date = 4 November 2019}}</ref> and following the success of the duo's [[Big Mama Thornton]] hit "[[Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog]]", Sill partnered with Leiber and Stoller to create [[Spark Records]], and the publishing firm, Quintet Music, Inc. in 1953. Spark enjoyed immediate success with [[The Robins]]' R&B smash "[[Riot in Cell Block Number 9|Riot in Cell Block #9]]". The group's follow-up, "Smokey Joe's Café," proved an even bigger hit, in fact too big for the small label to handle. So in 1955 Spark sold its catalog to [[Atlantic Records]], which in turn named Sill its national sales manager while giving Leiber and Stoller an independent production deal. While the deal prompted the breakup of The Robins, members [[Carl Gardner]] and [[Bobby Nunn (doowop musician)|Bobby Nunn]] continued on as [[The Coasters]], with Sill serving as their manager.<ref name="history-of-rock.com 2019">{{cite web | title=Jerry Leiber and Michael Stoller | website=history-of-rock.com | date=2019-11-07 | url=https://www.history-of-rock.com/leiber.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107184205/https://www.history-of-rock.com/leiber.htm | archive-date=2019-11-07 | url-status=dead | access-date=2019-11-07}}</ref> * '''Jamie Records / Dick Clark'''Sill's partner, Lee Hazlewood brought on a young Duane Eddy and began writing songs with him. Sill had also recently partnered with Dick Clark in Jamie Records. Eddy's first song, Movin' and Groovin' was a moderate success.<ref name="Wood p. 165 Eddy, Clark, Jamie" /> With the help pf Clarke's, ''American Bandstand'' television show, his next release, "RebelRouser" earned a #6 on the Billboard 100.<ref name="AllMusic RebelRouser"/>{{Blockquote|text= Duane Eddy, Lee Hazlewood, Dick Clark, and Jamie Records together comprised one of the greatest hit-producing machines in rock'n'roll history. Eddy performed fifteen of his first sixteen Jamie releases on Clark's national TV show, and the guitarist's first eighteen releases for the label appeared on the ''Billboard's'' Hot 100. Beginning with "Rebel-'Rouser" in 1958, Eddy remained on ''Billboard's'' Hot 100 for an almost uninterrupted three-year period.|author=John Jackson|title = American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock 'n' Roll Empire|source= Oxford University Press (1999)<ref name="Jackson 1999 p. 128"/>}} * '''Trey Records '''In late 1959, Sill and Hazlewood formed Trey Records, a Hollywood-based imprint distributed by Atlantic. Trey Records signings included Phil Spector, fresh off the success of his group [[The Teddy Bears]]', chart-topping pop classic, "[[To Know Him Is to Love Him]]". Sill allowed Spector to live in his Sherman Oaks home, sharing a room with Joel Sill.<ref name="Ribowsky 2000 p. 54"/> Spector worked as an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller, as a studio musician and studio technician.<ref name="nyt Spector Dead"/> * '''Gregmark'''At the end of 1961, Sill and Hazlewood shut down Trey but quickly formed a new label, [[Gregmark Records|Gregmark]sandbox], as a vehicle preparing for [[The Paris Sisters]], the Paris Sisters' Gregmark debut "Be My Boy" earned little notice, the follow-up, "[[I Love How You Love Me]]," cracked the U.S. Top Five, <ref name="Warner 2006 particle update submission. 428">{{cite book | last=Warner | first=J. | title=American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today | publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-634-09978-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mTM_9JTeoMIC&pg=PA428 | access-date=2019-11-07 | page=428}}</ref> Spector then began work on a Paris Sisters LP, but as production costs began to skyrocket, Sill attempted to exert control of the project. Their skirmish ended disastrously when, according to Sill, one of his assistants accidentally discarded the master tapes.<ref name="Brown 2012 p. 94-100">{{cite book | last=Brown | first=M. | title=Tearing Down The Wall of Sound: The Rise And Fall of Phil Spector | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4088-1950-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtGGsfW10d0C&pg=PA94 | access-date=2019-11-07 | page=94}}</ref> * '''Philles'''Also in 1961, Sill and Spector inaugurated their own label, Philles, immediately reaching the Top 20 with the company's debut release, [[The Crystals]]' "[[There's No Other (Like My Baby)]]." Its 1962 follow-up, "[[Uptown (The Crystals song)|Uptown]]," was Spector's first true tour de force, capturing the Wall of Sound in full gallop.<ref name="AllMusic Lester"/> By mid-1962 Philles was the most successful independent label in the U.S., scoring a series of Spector-produced classics including the Crystals' "[[He's a Rebel]]" and "[[Then He Kissed Me]]," [[Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans]]' "[[Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah]]" and [[The Ronettes]]' "[[Be My Baby]]." But as Spector's fame and renown grew, so did his notorious ego, and as he exerted more and more of his mercurial will over Philles' business dealings, his relationship with Sill disintegrated. Spector eventually forced his mentor out of the company altogether, buying out Sill for a paltry $60,000 and decisively terminating their partnership with the never-released Crystals recording "[[(Let's Dance) The Screw]]".<ref name="The Screw">{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/spector.asp |title=Phil Spector and The Screw |publisher=snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2019-11-07}}</ref> * '''Screen Gems-Columbia Music''' In 1964, Sill resurfaced as a consultant to Screen Gems-Columbia Music president [[Don Kirshner]]. Although the position was temporary, he ended up staying with the company for over two decades, eventually taking over Kirshner's position. * ''Jobete Music Inc.''In 1985, Sill was named president and CEO of Jobete Music, the publishing arm of [[Barry Gordy|Berry Gordy, Jr.]]'s [[Motown]] empire. He remained with Jobete until his death in Los Angeles on October 31, 1994.<ref name="AllMusic Lester"/> ==Family==Sill's three sons are music supervisors in film and television, Joel Sill,<ref name="Yang Yang 2018"/> Greg Sill,<ref name="Greg Sill Variety"/> and Lonnie Sill.<ref name="AllMusic Lonnie"/> His stepson [[Chuck Kaye]] is a longtime music publishing executive,<ref name="Greg Sill Variety"/> his grandson, Alex Sill, is a jazz guitarist with the Simon Phillips band.<ref name="Times-Standard 2022"/> ==References=={{Reflist|refs=<ref name="Dec 25, 1976 Billboard p. 27">{{cite book | title=A Day In The Live of Lester Sill | publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. | issn=0006-2510 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xCQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT27 | language=de | access-date=2021-06-09 | page=27}}</ref> <ref name="Los Angeles Times 1994">{{cite web | title=Lester Sill; ASCAP Director and Promoter for Blues Performers | website=Los Angeles Times | date=1994-11-07 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-07-mn-59691-story.html | access-date=2021-07-16}}</ref> <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="Lester Sill Dies at 76 Billboard">{{cite book | title=Billboard | publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. | issn=0006-2510 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aAgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 | language=de | access-date=2021-07-16 | pages= 10-28}}</ref> <ref name="Paulson 2012">{{cite web | last=Paulson | first=Linda Dailey | title=Lee Hazlewood Biography | website=Musician Biographies | date=2012-04-02 | url=http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003874/Lee-Hazlewood.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402083558/http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003874/Lee-Hazlewood.html | archive-date=2012-04-02 | url-status=live | access-date=2021-07-17}}</ref> <ref name="Feldman 2021">{{cite web | last=Feldman | first=Kate | title=Phil Spector, music producer and convicted killer, dead at 81 | website=nydailynews.com | date=2021-01-17 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-phil-spector-obituary-20210117-j53z3bnizzc75nw3235lrmkit4-story.html | access-date=2021-07-17}}</ref> <ref name="Ribowsky 2000 p. 54">{{cite book | last=Ribowsky | first=M. | title=He's a Rebel: Phil Spector, Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer | publisher=Cooper Square Press | series=G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-8154-1044-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jsQRwiwtlN0C&pg=PA54 | access-date=2019-11-07 | page=53-62}}</ref> <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> --><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> <ref name="AllMusic Lester Credits">{{cite web | title=Lester Sill - Credits | website=AllMusic | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lester-sill-mn0000273082/credits | access-date=2021-12-05}}</ref> <ref name="nyt Spector Dead">{{cite web | title=Phil Spector, Famed Music Producer and Convicted Murderer, Dies at 81 | website=The New York Times | date=2021-01-17 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/arts/music/phil-spector-dead.html | access-date=2021-12-08 | archive-date=2021-12-03| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203222225/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/arts/music/phil-spector-dead.html}}</ref> <ref name="Jackson 1999 p. 128">{{cite book | last=Jackson | first=J. | title=American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock 'n' Roll Empire | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-19-028490-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29jhBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT128 | access-date=2019-12-12 | page=128}}</ref> <ref name="Wood p. 165 Eddy, Clark, Jamie">{{cite book | last=Wood | first=G. | title=An A-Z of Rock and Roll - new and updated edition | publisher=An A-Z of Rock and Roll | isbn=978-1-105-32503-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TytXdxjh4tIC&pg=PT165 | access-date=2021-12-10 | page=165}}</ref> <ref name="AllMusic RebelRouser">{{cite web | title=Rebel Rouser - Duane Eddy - Song Info | website=AllMusic | url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/rebel-rouser-mt0004848948 | language=rw | access-date=2021-12-10}}</ref> <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> <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> <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> <ref name="Times-Standard 2022">{{cite web | last=Times-Standard | first=The | title=Drummer has new band, new album | website=Times-Standard | date=2022-01-13 | url=https://www.times-standard.com/2022/01/13/drummer-has-new-band-new-album/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113140403/https://www.times-standard.com/2022/01/13/drummer-has-new-band-new-album/ | archive-date=2022-01-13 | url-status=live | access-date=2022-03-24}}</ref> }} ==External links==* {{Official website|www.gregmarkmusicinc.com}} <!--{{Authority control}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Sill, Lester}}[[Category:American music industry executives]][[Category:The Monkees]][[Category:1918 births]][[Category:1994 deaths]][[Category:20th-century American musicians]]-->