| Pete Bennett, the king of promotions |
| Written by Joey Franco - Interview by Lorenzo Tartamella | |||
| Monday, 25 July 2011 10:31 | |||
 Photo courtesy Peter Bennett Where do I begin? Where can I begin? The Beatles, the Stones, Michael Jackson, Elvis... the tours, the rise to the top; time and time again! Pete Bennett is an open book, and there is not enough time in a day to read it. I am sitting in the lobby lounge of the Renaissance at 2 Times Square with the promoter, not knowing where to begin, but it's not a problem for Pete Bennett, he doesn't need to be asked a question to tell his story, he just tells it. The Rock and Roll gospel, according to Pete. He is the messiah of the British invasion; responsible for bringing The Animals, Herman's Hermits, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones to stations across the world. All this from an Italian American from the Bronx. "I enhanced the career of the Rolling Stones," states Bennett. "No question about it!" In 1963, The Rolling Stones, who were unknown in the US asked Bennett if he would promote them. Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger said he had heard about Bennett because of the work he had done for other British bands such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Chad and Jeremy, the Dave Clark Five, and Peter and Gordon. Bennett knew immediately that Jagger and Co., could be bigger than any of the British groups he had worked with. The Stones started getting heavy air-play after Bennett would bring most of the major, local radio personalities to meet with them on their concert tours. Satisfaction soon reached the top of the charts in New York, and quickly spread across the world thanks to Bennett's efforts. Bennett promoted Rolling Stones hits such as I Can't Get No Satisfaction, Paint It Black, Ruby Tuesday and Jumpin' Jack Flash. Bennett would promote the Rolling Stones for more than 12 years. He promoted all of the Rolling Stones singles and albums. Bennett was a man that got down to business with the stations. His shrewd approach allowed him to give his clients the maximum exposure necessary to get them to the top of the charts. "My secret was ... to enhance an artist, to make him big, there's a lot of ways... you don't need 10,000 radio stations, or 5,000. I had the top 50, and I had the top 10. My top 10 controlled the country." Bennett, who is sporting a black leather jacket, a baseball cap, a pinky ring, and a signature Churchill cigar. Pete doesn't abuse alcohol, or has ever done drugs. 1963 would prove to be a year like no other for the world's greatest promoter. Apart from his newfound collaboration with The Rolling Stones, he would end up meeting The Beatles when they performed at Forest Hill Stadium in New York, which Bennett was a part of. Two years later, Pete Bennett and The Rolling Stones were in New York City on a yacht celebrating the release of the latest Stones album. It so happened that the Beatles were performing at Shea Stadium that very night. Pete took Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to the concert. The Beatles showed interest in working with the globally acclaimed promoter. The Beatles later approached Bennett (after Epstein's death) and he became the Promotional manager for both The Beatles and Apple Records. Since the Stones and Beatles were in good terms with one another, there was no conflict for Bennett, and he continued to promote both bands. Following the breakup of The Beatles, Bennett also went on to promote all the members of the Beatles individually; John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, as well as Yoko Ono, as their promotions manager. It seems as if everything Pete Bennett touched in his illustrious career turned to solid gold, or in music industry term- solid platinum! Pete turned unknowns into stars, stars into superstars, and superstars into legends. Publications such as Billboard and Rolling Stone have named Bennett the world's top promotions man. Billboard dedicated 22 pages to the world's number one promotions man.  Pete Bennett with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones Bennett continues to reminisce in the hotel lobby, as he recounts his stories. His ring collection and his gold records are priceless. The ring he is sporting during our interview was given to him by Nat King Cole. Pete was also Nat King Cole's promotion manager till his death in 1965. Amongst his favorite rings is one that was given to him by Elvis during his first performance in Las Vegas at the International Hotel in 1969. Another interesting fact is that it was Pete who gave the Weinstein brothers, Bob and Harvey, their first big break in the business. Not the movie business... the music business! Their father, Max Weinstein, who had met Pete in a restaurant in Manhattan, approached Pete and asked if he would help out his two young, ambitious boys; Bob and Harvey. Pete liked Max very much, and told the boy's father that his boys would go far. Pete met the young Weinsteins and decided to support their venture. Together, they organized their first Concert in Buffalo, New York... The Grateful Dead. The show was a success and they went on to produce other shows together such as Sinatra and The Who. The brothers then went on to form Miramax (named after their parents Miriam and Max) and the rest as we say, is history. To this day Pete is very proud of Bob and Harvey's mega success. But Pete's history is his personal treasure, hundreds of stories, anecdotes and observations of the world's elite. From the time Pope John Paul II invited him to his personal villa, working with Sam Cooke, to the time he saved the life of an almost overdosed Eric Clapton. Steven Tyler has recently given credit to Mr. Bennett as being instrumental in starting his career in his autobiography Does The Noise in my Head Bother You? Tyler, the frontman for Aerosmith, and current American Idol judge credits Bennett for getting his band to open for the Beach Boys and introducing him to executives at Date Records. His stories, his treasure chest, are precious beyond belief, and Pete is careful with whom he shares them with. A biography has been in the works for some time now, as well as a big motion Picture which many movie execs would like to get their hands on. He made and sustained all of the artists he worked with, and helped popularize Rock and Roll worldwide. He also reshaped the music industry. Together tyey all made history. After many years, Pete is still going strong and looking for new talent. "I'm still looking for the next megastar," states Bennett, adding "I'm never going to retire, just like two comics I worked with George Burns and Bob Hope." Over the years, Pete has talked with legends, walked alongside legends, and has, without ever knowing it, become a legend himself! Bennett is without a doubt the king of promotions, music royalty, and a whos who of the entertainment world. http://petebennett.com/ Caption for header: Pete with Yoko Ono and John Lennon For more articles like The Pete Bennett Story, please visit the Music Features Section of TimesSquare.com
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