[ARSCLIST] Fwd: [ARSCLIST] Period Records

[Don Tait <Dontaitchicago@xxxxxxx>]

  I hope this is properly forwarded -- Steve's inquiry about Period Records 
and Ben and Helen Lebow's role in it, and David's response. I am remain a 
computer idiot.

  I don't know about Period and David does better than I, but I do know about 
the Lebows. I knew Helen Lebow fairly well. (Her name was indeed Helen.) When 
I met her, in the early '70s, she was a widow living by herself in a part of 
New York City;  we had to cross a bridge to drive to her place -- sorry, I'm 
not a NYCer! She said Ben had died suddenly and fairly young, perhaps in the 
'50s. She told us (Andy Karzas and me) that Ben had been blacklisted during the 
McCarthy years, after 1951 or so (I don't know why except that he was a 
liberal), but he was out of work, they were about to starve, and Ben approached 
Period with the idea of doing the various "appreciations" or "understandings" of 
great music and its composers. That's how it happened.

  If Helen told us what Ben had been doing before everything collapsed on 
them, I don't remember. But he was probably involved with records somehow, which 
might be why he pursued Period. She did say that she thought Ben had died 
partly from the effects of the stress of the McCarthyite persecution.

  At the time I met and got to know her, Helen Lebow was running Club 99 LP 
historical vocal reissues. She was very conscientious about transfers and 
proper reproduction, as I recall. It had been Ben's pet project and she still had 
his impressive collection of shellac vocal records.

  Don Tait

  
Steven Smolian wrote:
> Can anyone supply the names of the original owners of the Period 1950's label family?  Ben and Ellen Lebow, now deceased, wrote notes and did translations for them and Ben put the Scala LPs together for them from his extensive 78 collection.   I assume they had an interest in it.  I'm sure there was am executive who owned and ran the company but can't recall his name.  
>
> The company subsequently became part of the Everest group.
>
> Perhaps Peter Bartok or Pete Frisch (Lyrichord and Eterna) might remember.  Has anyone contact info for them?
>
> Steve Smolian
>                                    
Steven Smolian wrote:
> Can anyone supply the names of the original owners of the Period 1950's 
label family?  Ben and Ellen Lebow, now deceased, wrote notes and did 
translations for them and Ben put the Scala LPs together for them from his 
extensive 78 collection.   I assume they had an interest in it.  I'm sure there 
was am executive who owned and ran the company but can't recall his name.
> The company subsequently became part of the Everest group.
>
> Perhaps Peter Bartok or Pete Frisch (Lyrichord and Eterna) might remember. 
Has anyone contact info for them?
>
> Steve Smolian

According to Gart (ARLD), the President was William Avar, Frank Stevens was 
"executive", Leonard Feather was A&R (presume that was just for jazz). Robert 
Angus will probably chime in with chapter and verse, since he knows where the 
bodies were buried at every New York label in the 50s.

Peter Bartok is still around, in Florida..has ads in CRC.

dl