Allen Klein facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Allen Klein
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Klein (center) signing the Beatles in 1969
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| Born | December 18, 1931 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Died | July 4, 2009 (aged 77) New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Upsala College |
| Occupation | Accountant, record label executive, business manager |
| Years active | 1956–2009 |
| Organization | ABKCO Records |
Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 – July 4, 2009) was an American businessman. He was known for his strong negotiation skills in the music industry. He helped many famous musicians earn more money from their record deals.
Klein founded a company called ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. He worked with artists like Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen early in his career. Later, he managed big names such as Sam Cooke, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. This made him one of the most powerful people in music during his time.
Instead of just giving financial advice, Klein set up special "buy/sell agreements." His own company would act as a middleman between the artist and the record label. This meant his company owned the music rights and handled record sales. While this greatly increased his clients' earnings, Klein also made a lot of money for himself. Sometimes, artists were not fully aware of how much he was gaining. For example, the Rolling Stones had disagreements with Klein over money and song rights. These issues led to legal battles for many years.
Klein also faced legal trouble himself. After being investigated by the IRS, he was found guilty of making a false statement on his tax return in 1972. He spent two months in jail in 1980 for this.
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Early Life and Career
Klein was born in Newark, New Jersey. He was the fourth child and only son of immigrant parents. His mother died when he was young, and he lived in an orphanage for a time. He later lived with his father after his father remarried.
He was not a top student, but he was good with numbers. He learned how profits were sometimes hidden from the people who created them. He realized this was also true in the music world. Record labels often made a lot of money from artists but paid the artists very little.
Klein joined the US Army in 1951. After his military service, he studied accounting at Upsala College. He graduated in 1957 and started working at an accounting firm. He helped audit several record companies. However, he was fired after four months because he was often late. He later decided not to become a Certified Public Accountant.
With help from his friend Don Kirshner, Klein worked as an accountant for several years. His company, Allen Klein and Company, worked with many artists. These included Sam Cooke, Buddy Knox, Jimmy Bowen, and Neil Sedaka. A key contact for him was attorney Marty Machat.
In 1958, Klein married Betty Rosenblum. They had three children: Robin, Jody, and Beth.
Klein became known as a tough negotiator. He helped rockabilly singers Knox and Bowen get royalties they were owed from Roulette Records. The owner, Morris Levy, was known for paying artists as little as possible. Klein convinced him to pay up. This success brought Klein many new clients.
Working with Sam Cooke
In 1963, Klein started working with Jocko Henderson, a popular radio DJ. Henderson hosted big rhythm and blues shows. Through Henderson, Klein met Sam Cooke. Cooke was a very talented singer, songwriter, and producer. He had many hit songs, including "You Send Me."
Even though Cooke made a lot of money for his label, RCA Records, they would not let him review his accounts. Klein forced RCA to open their books for an audit. Soon after, RCA agreed to make a new contract with Cooke.
Klein got Cooke a very special deal. Cooke created a company called Tracey Ltd. Klein, as Cooke's manager, was listed as the owner of this company. Tracey Ltd. would produce Cooke's recordings. RCA would then have the rights to sell them for 30 years. Cooke would get a large cash payment each year. This deal helped Cooke, but it also greatly benefited Klein. When Cooke died in 1964, his widow sold Cooke's remaining rights to Klein. This meant Klein owned the rights to all of Cooke's recordings made under the new contract.
Klein's success with Cooke brought him more clients, like Bobby Vinton and the Dave Clark Five. He helped them reduce their tax payments by spreading out their earnings over time. This also helped Klein, as he could invest the money and earn more from it over time.
Later, in 2019, a documentary about Sam Cooke raised concerns. It said that Cooke's family did not receive royalties from his music. All royalties and profits went to Klein's company.
British Music Success
In 1964, Klein became the American business manager for Mickie Most. Most was a producer who made hits for the Animals and Herman's Hermits. Klein promised Most a million dollars if he could deliver it in one month. Klein succeeded by renegotiating contracts and finding new opportunities. This made Most a very successful figure in the English music industry.
Klein's success with Most helped him connect with other British musicians. He got much better deals for bands like The Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Kinks, Lulu, Donovan, and Pete Townshend of the Who. To help his clients avoid high taxes on money earned abroad, Klein held their money in a bank in New York City. He paid it to them over many years, sometimes up to 20 years. Klein invested this money, earning more than he had to pay his clients. He kept the extra earnings, which gave him control over the money.
Working with The Rolling Stones
In 1965, Andrew Loog Oldham, co-manager of the Rolling Stones, saw Klein as a great business advisor. He wanted Klein to help him with a power struggle against the band's other manager, Eric Easton. Mick Jagger agreed to bring Klein in to renegotiate the band's contract with Decca Records.
Decca offered the Stones $300,000. Klein quickly got them twice that amount as an advance. He also made sure London Records, Decca's American branch, signed a separate contract for another $600,000. A year later, Klein renegotiated the deal again. The Stones were guaranteed $2.6 million, which was more than the Beatles were earning at the time.
Klein found that Easton and Oldham were getting a much larger share of the band's income. At Klein's request, Oldham increased the Stones' royalties and gave up his commission. Klein offered the Stones a million-dollar guarantee over 20 years to become their music publisher. He believed strongly in the songwriting team of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. He also arranged for much better tour support and publicity for their 1965 American tour.
However, Jagger, who had studied at the London School of Economics, began to distrust Klein. He was concerned about how Klein was getting involved in the band's finances. For example, in 1968, Klein bought Oldham's share in the band for $750,000, which was very profitable for Klein. By 1968, the Stones were so worried about their money that they hired a law firm to investigate. In 1970, Jagger announced that Klein would be replaced as manager.
The split between Klein and the Stones led to many years of legal battles. In 1971, the Stones sued Klein over their U.S. publishing rights. They settled the next year, with the Stones receiving $1.2 million. This was the advance Decca had paid in 1965 that Klein had been holding. However, the Stones could not break their contract with Klein. His company, ABKCO, continued to control the rights to publish the Stones' early music. Klein made a fortune from their best-selling album, Hot Rocks 1964–1971.
Over the years, more lawsuits and negotiations happened. Eventually, relations between Klein and the Stones began to improve, especially after the introduction of compact discs in 1986 brought new profits. In 2002, the Stones' album Forty Licks and their tour included songs owned by ABKCO. In 2003, Klein worked with Steve Jobs to make ABKCO's Rolling Stones songs available on iTunes.
ABKCO Records
In 1967, Klein wanted to produce films and invest his clients' money. He tried to buy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a big film studio, but it didn't work out. Then, he turned his attention to Cameo-Parkway Records. This record label had been successful in the late 1950s and early 1960s with artists like Chubby Checker. By 1967, it was not doing well.
Cameo-Parkway was one of the first record companies whose stock was traded publicly. This made it perfect for a financial move Klein had in mind. By July 1967, Klein and his partner Abbey Butler had bought enough shares to control the company. They renamed Cameo-Parkway to ABKCO. This name stands for "The Allen and Betty Klein Company." In 1987, Klein made ABKCO a private company again.
Managing The Beatles
In 1964, Klein offered the Beatles a $2 million deal with RCA Records. But their manager, Brian Epstein, was not interested. After Epstein died in 1967, the Beatles formed Apple Corps in 1968. They hoped this company would help fix their financial problems. Even though their first Apple release, "Hey Jude," was a huge hit, the company itself was a financial mess.
Klein contacted John Lennon after reading that the Beatles might be "broke in six months." In January 1969, Klein met with Lennon, who hired him. The next day, Klein met with the other Beatles. Paul McCartney wanted his girlfriend Linda's father and brother, Lee and John Eastman, to represent them. But George Harrison and Ringo Starr preferred Klein.
After many arguments, Klein was made the Beatles' manager temporarily in April. The Eastmans were their attorneys. But the conflict continued, so the Eastmans were dismissed. On May 8, Klein was given a three-year contract as the Beatles' business manager. McCartney refused to sign it, but the other Beatles outvoted him.
Once in charge of Apple, Klein fired many employees. He closed Apple Electronics, which was losing money. However, the band stopped Klein from firing Neil Aspinall, a longtime friend of the Beatles.
Klein faced a big challenge when Brian Epstein's brother, Clive, sold his family's management company, NEMS. NEMS owned 25% of the Beatles' earnings. Klein worked hard to buy these rights back for the Beatles. He succeeded, securing the rights for just small annual payments.
Another important battle was with Northern Songs Ltd., the company that published the Beatles' songs. Dick James, who managed Northern Songs, had given himself a very large share of the profits. James knew Klein would try to change this. So, he quickly offered to sell Northern Songs to ATV. Klein tried to put together a group to buy it instead, but arguments between McCartney and Lennon stopped his efforts.
In September 1969, while Klein was renegotiating the Beatles' record deals with EMI, Lennon told him he wanted to leave the group. They agreed it was not the right time to announce it. EMI was hesitant to renegotiate, but their American company, Capitol Records, was so impressed by Abbey Road that they agreed to much better royalty terms. McCartney also approved this deal.
Abbey Road was the Beatles' last true collaboration. Klein saw a chance to release another album from their earlier recordings. He brought in producer Phil Spector to work on the album, which was titled Let It Be. McCartney did not approve of Spector, but the other Beatles did. This was McCartney and Klein's last meeting. The album and film were released in May 1970 and made $6 million in the first month.
McCartney was unhappy with the Let It Be album and the decision to hire Klein. In April 1970, he announced he was leaving the Beatles. He wanted to end his partnership with Lennon, Starr, and Harrison. The Eastmans convinced McCartney to sue his former bandmates, which he did on December 31, 1970.
In March 1971, the judge ruled in McCartney's favor. The judge decided that the Beatles' financial affairs should be managed by a receiver until they could agree on how to break up. Klein continued to work with Harrison, Starr, and Lennon on their solo careers, but he no longer managed the band as a whole.
Solo Careers and Later Years
After the Beatles broke up, George Harrison had great success. His 1970 album, All Things Must Pass, sold very well and included hit songs like "My Sweet Lord." In 1971, Harrison learned about the suffering people in Bangladesh. He quickly organized the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden. Klein worked hard to get artists like Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton to play for free. He also convinced Capitol Records to give an amazing 50% royalty rate for the live album. The concert and album raised over $15 million. However, Klein did not register the shows as a UNICEF charity event. Because of this, the money was not tax-exempt in Britain and the US. The IRS tried to tax the income, and $10 million was held back for years.
Both Harrison and John Lennon became unhappy with Klein. By mid-1972, Harrison was upset about how the Bangladesh relief effort was handled. An article accused Klein of taking $1.14 from each album sold. Lennon also felt Klein did not support his and Yoko Ono's political work. In early 1973, Lennon, Harrison, and Starr decided not to renew Klein's management contract. Lennon later said, "Let's say possibly Paul's suspicions were right."
Klein sued the Beatles and Apple in New York to get back money he had loaned them. They then sued him in London, claiming he charged too much, mishandled the Concert for Bangladesh, and misrepresented their finances. While the lawsuits were ongoing, Klein tried to gain control of Harrison's publishing company, Harrisongs, but failed. Lennon's 1974 song "Steel and Glass" was a hidden criticism of Klein.
Klein's lawsuit against the Beatles was settled out of court in 1977. Klein received about $5 million instead of future royalties and to repay loans.
In 1971, Harrison was sued for copyright infringement. His song "My Sweet Lord" was said to be too similar to "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons. In 1976, Klein bought the company that owned "He's So Fine," making him the plaintiff in the lawsuit against Harrison. The judge ruled that Harrison had copied the song. However, in 1981, the judge also ruled that Klein still had a duty to Harrison and should not profit from buying the company. Klein was ordered to hold "He's So Fine" for Harrison, provided Harrison paid him back the $587,000 Klein spent to buy the company.
Films and Theater
Allen Klein was also interested in films. In the late 1950s, he learned about how independent films could be successful without big Hollywood studios. In 1961, he did accounting work for a film called Force of Impulse.
In 1962, Klein produced his own film, Without Each Other. He claimed it won an award at the Cannes Film Festival, but no such award existed.
Starting in 1967, Klein produced four Spaghetti Western films. These were cowboy movies with tough heroes and action. He worked with actor Tony Anthony on all of them. These films included A Stranger In Town and The Stranger Returns. His 1970 film Blindman even featured Ringo Starr as a Mexican bandit. Klein also produced Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter starring Herman's Hermits.
In 1971, John Lennon told Klein about El Topo, a unique western film. Klein bought the film and released it in America. He then produced and financed the director's next film, The Holy Mountain. Later, Klein and the director had a disagreement, and Klein pulled both films from distribution. In 2008, they settled their differences, and ABKCO released the films on video.
Klein's legs appeared in Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1971 film Up Your Legs Forever. He also co-produced the 1972 concert film The Concert for Bangladesh with George Harrison. Klein produced the 1978 film The Greek Tycoon, which was based on the lives of Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy.
In the early 1980s, Klein produced two Broadway plays. Both had very short runs.
Later Music Work
In 1988, Klein began managing Phil Spector's business. Spector was a famous producer. Klein helped Spector get all the money he was owed from his music.
In 1997, the English band the Verve used a sample from an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" in their song "Bitter Sweet Symphony." Klein owned the rights to the Rolling Stones' early work. He refused to give permission for the sample. After a lawsuit, the Verve had to give the songwriting credits and royalties to Klein's company. However, in 2019, Klein's son and the Rolling Stones returned the credits and royalties to Richard Ashcroft of the Verve.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" became a very popular song. It made a lot of money for ABKCO, which licensed it for commercials.
Death and Legacy
Klein was diagnosed with diabetes at age 40. He had several heart attacks over the years. In 2004, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He died on July 4, 2009, in New York City, from respiratory failure. Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon attended his funeral.
In 2015, a biography about Klein was published called Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll.
In the 1978 TV show The Rutles: All You Need is Cash, which made fun of the Beatles' story, Allen Klein was shown as "Ron Decline." This character was so scary that people would jump out of windows rather than face him. Some people see Klein as a controversial figure in the Beatles' history.
Images for kids
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Klein (center) signing the Beatles in 1969
See also
In Spanish: Allen Klein para niños
