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Joe Bihari

 


Record company owner, businessman, record producer, house builder, riveter, motocross rider and talent scout Joseph Bihari was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on 30 May 1925. The Bihari family moved to Los Angeles in 1941. Joe worked as a riveter in a Defence factory. With his brothers Lester, Julius and Saul, who already had a juke box leasing company, and realised how few black music records were being made, Joe formed Modern Records in 1945; Modern quickly became a major blues and R&B record label. Joe joined up with Ike Turner as a talent scout and A&R man. Modern discovered B B King, Rufus Thomas and others, and also added additional labels for R&B and Jazz, including Crown. Modern went bankrupt in the mid 1960s but their catalogue and they reformed into Kent Records. The Biharis often added their songwriting names to songs they had not played any part in, Joe's name for this purpose was Joe Josea. On retiring from music he took up motocross (with his friend Steve McQueen) and house building.

Joe Bihari died in Los Angeles on 28 November 2013.

Image: Explorador

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