Bernard Besman

Bernard Besman (October 8, 1912 – January 10, 2003) was an American record producer and distributor who established Sensation Records, an early independent record label in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first to record John Lee Hooker, and is officially credited with co-writing some of Hooker's songs.

Early life Besman was born into a Jewish family in Kiev, then in the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the First World War and the Polish-Soviet War, he and his family fled Kiev in 1921, and traveled to London where Besman attended school in the East End and learned piano. The family moved to Detroit in 1926, and Besman began playing sweet jazz and dance music in hotels and resorts, leading his own small group, and made recordings in 1936. He began operating a booking agency before World War II, and then booked bands for the Special Services.

Career After the war, Besman linked up with accountant John Kaplan to buy an existing company, Pan American Record Distributing, in 1946. The company sold mostly to the African American market, and Besman established himself as a record plugger, promoting records to radio stations. As with Hooker’s other recordings, Besman gave himself a co-writer credit – though Hooker strongly rejected the idea that Besman was creatively involved in writing the songs – as well as the publishing rights. Some of Hooker's other early recordings, including "Burnin' Hell" and "Huckle Up Baby", were released on the Sensation label and became modestly successful. Besman retained the rights to all Hooker's recordings on the label. Besman retained links with John Lee Hooker, and in 1961 produced a self-titled album by Hooker in Culver City, California. He also remained in the children's toy business, and in the early 1970s held the franchise for Bozo the Clown merchandise.

All of Hooker's recordings with Besman on Sensation Records between 1948 and 1952 (not including the material issued on United Artists and Greene Bottle), remastered and including some alternate and unedited takes not previously issued, were released as a box set by Ace Records in 2020.

Personal life Besman died in Los Angeles on January 10, 2003, aged 90.