Eli Oberstein was born Elias Oberstein in New York City, the son of Ella and Morris Oberstein, a police officer of Russian Jewish descent, and grew up in the Bronx.
12 Facts About Eli Oberstein
1.
2.
In 1928, after Peer had joined the rival Victor Records, Eli Oberstein joined him there as a salesman and accountant.
3.
Eli Oberstein is credited with establishing the Bluebird record label in the early 1930s, as a 35-cent low priced subsidiary of Victor.
4.
Eli Oberstein signed Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey to RCA Victor, adding Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw to the roster at Bluebird.
5.
Eli Oberstein recorded Bunny Berigan's final sessions, and began acquiring smaller companies and exchanging masters with Savoy Records.
6.
Eli Oberstein reissued many older recordings made for labels such as Crown, Gennett and Paramount; the legality of his business methods in acquiring and re-selling the recordings sometimes came into question.
7.
Eli Oberstein was briefly re-hired by RCA Victor before he was again fired, and then relaunched his Varsity label.
8.
Eli Oberstein set up the Royale label through which he sold acquired recordings at budget prices.
9.
Eli Oberstein's short-lived United States Record Corporation launched in May 1939 and was bankrupt by 1940.
10.
Eli Oberstein died in Westport, Connecticut, in 1960, aged 58.
11.
Eli Oberstein then worked for Columbia Records, where he was responsible for setting up the CBS imprint for producing and distributing the company's recordings in the UK.
12.
Eli Oberstein later became chairman of Polygram UK, and twice chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.