Bert Berns http://bertberns.com Songwriter, Producer, Label Chief Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:58:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.41 Bert Berns Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame http://bertberns.com/2025/09/09/bert-berns-inducted-into-songwriters-hall-of-fame-3/ http://bertberns.com/2025/09/09/bert-berns-inducted-into-songwriters-hall-of-fame-3/#comments Tue, 09 Sep 2025 18:59:52 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3396 Read More]]> NEW YORK (AP) — Songwriter and producer Bert Berns, who had a hand in some of the biggest hits of the 1960s, including co-writing “Twist and Shout” for the Isley Brothers and the plaintive “Piece of My Heart” sung by Janis Joplin, has been inducted posthumously into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Berns, who died in 1967 at age 38, was welcomed into the Hall on Tuesday at a ceremony at the 54 Below cabaret club in New York City. It included video tributes by Paul McCartney and Van Morrison and rock royalty like Steve Miller and Steven Van Zandt. It was hosted by Paul Shaffer and Berns’ son, Brett, and daughter, Cassandra.

]]> http://bertberns.com/2025/09/09/bert-berns-inducted-into-songwriters-hall-of-fame-3/feed/ 0 Rob Reiner Announces Bert Berns Movie (Variety) http://bertberns.com/2022/05/18/rob-reiner-making-bert-berns-movie-variety/ http://bertberns.com/2022/05/18/rob-reiner-making-bert-berns-movie-variety/#comments Wed, 18 May 2022 17:43:19 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3383 Read More]]> Reiner talked to Variety in advance of the Cannes Film Festival where he is screening “This Spinal Tap,” as well as presenting an upcoming sequel to the film to buyers. It’s a busy time for Reiner, who recently relaunched his company Castle Rock Entertainment, which was behind such hits as “In the Line of Fire” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” with a $175 million film fund. Upcoming projects include a sequel to 2017’s “Wind River” and a movie about Bert Berns, the songwriter behind such classics as “Here Comes the Night,” “Hang on Sloopy,” and “Cry to Me.” Reiner wrote the screenplay for the Berns project, which will be called “Piece of My Heart,” after another one of Berns’ great songs.

“He only lived to 38,” says Reiner. “But between the ages of 30 and 38, he wrote and recorded 250 songs. The list of hits is just insane and he had a really interesting life.”

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2022/05/18/rob-reiner-making-bert-berns-movie-variety/feed/ 0 BANG! The Bert Berns Story Premieres This Month On-Demand (American Songwriter) http://bertberns.com/2021/03/04/bang-the-bert-berns-story-premieres-this-month-on-demand-american-songwriter/ http://bertberns.com/2021/03/04/bang-the-bert-berns-story-premieres-this-month-on-demand-american-songwriter/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:22:16 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3374 Read More]]> BANG! The Bert Berns Story, the much-celebrated music documentary tells the story of one of the most impactful and great songwriters of modern times, Bert Berns. Because of his early death, at only 38, the full measure of his work is often overlooked. Yet Berns, a true renaissance man, dominated the charts and met the mob.  For the first time in three years, BANG! will be widely available to on-demand viewers starting this month.

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2021/03/04/bang-the-bert-berns-story-premieres-this-month-on-demand-american-songwriter/feed/ 0 Songwriter, Producer, Genius (Vintage Guitar Magazine) http://bertberns.com/2018/10/11/songwriter-producer-genius-vintage-guitar-magazine/ http://bertberns.com/2018/10/11/songwriter-producer-genius-vintage-guitar-magazine/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2018 01:30:16 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3363 In recent years, there have been some terrific music documentaries, including “The Wrecking Crew”, “Muscle Shoals”, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown”, and “20 Feet From Stardom”. “BANG! The Bert Berns Story” easily earns a spot in that rarified company.

 

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2018/10/11/songwriter-producer-genius-vintage-guitar-magazine/feed/ 0 BANG! One of the Best Music Documentaries in Years (Lincoln Journal Star) http://bertberns.com/2018/06/01/bang-one-of-the-best-music-documentaries-in-years-lincoln-journal-star/ http://bertberns.com/2018/06/01/bang-one-of-the-best-music-documentaries-in-years-lincoln-journal-star/#comments Fri, 01 Jun 2018 23:22:26 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3358 Read More]]> Of late, Berns has been rediscovered, his story — a tale of music and the mob, of a man who knew he was living on borrowed time and of the early days of rock ‘n’ roll — told in a superb biography by Joel Selvin and on film in “Bang! The Bert Berns Story.”

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2018/06/01/bang-one-of-the-best-music-documentaries-in-years-lincoln-journal-star/feed/ 0 How ‘Bang!’ Doc Rescues Sixties Hitmaker Bert Berns From Obscurity (Rolling Stone) http://bertberns.com/2017/10/23/how-bang-doc-rescues-sixties-hitmaker-bert-berns-from-obscurity-rolling-stone/ http://bertberns.com/2017/10/23/how-bang-doc-rescues-sixties-hitmaker-bert-berns-from-obscurity-rolling-stone/#comments Mon, 23 Oct 2017 15:02:25 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3354 Berns’ son and film’s narrator Steven Van Zandt on why story of songwriter for Van Morrison, Janis Joplin and other legends deserves to be told

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2017/10/23/how-bang-doc-rescues-sixties-hitmaker-bert-berns-from-obscurity-rolling-stone/feed/ 0 ‘BANG! The Bert Berns Story’ Doc Headed to Apple Music (Variety) http://bertberns.com/2017/06/28/bang-the-bert-berns-story-doc-headed-to-apple-music-variety/ http://bertberns.com/2017/06/28/bang-the-bert-berns-story-doc-headed-to-apple-music-variety/#comments Wed, 28 Jun 2017 20:57:30 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3351 Read More]]> “BANG! The Bert Berns Story” the documentary about “Twist and Shout” songwriter, producer and label pioneer Bert Berns and the music industry’s early entanglements with the mob, is headed to Apple Music in the fall. Brett Berns, the director and Bert Berns’ son, credits the platform with having “always been fair to the artist,” in announcing the exclusive pick-up.

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2017/06/28/bang-the-bert-berns-story-doc-headed-to-apple-music-variety/feed/ 0 ‘Bang’ tells vivid story of rock pioneer (San Francisco Chronicle) http://bertberns.com/2017/05/09/bang-tells-vivid-story-of-rock-pioneer-san-francisco-chronicle/ http://bertberns.com/2017/05/09/bang-tells-vivid-story-of-rock-pioneer-san-francisco-chronicle/#comments Tue, 09 May 2017 21:07:30 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3347 Read More]]> Bert Berns spent only 38 years on the planet, but he packed a lot in. He was a musician, a songwriter and a record company owner and producer, and even if you don’t know the name, you know some of the things he did. He wrote “Piece of My Heart,” which was later immortalized by Janis Joplin. He wrote “I Want Candy” and “Twist and Shout,” and he discovered Neil Diamond and Van Morrison.

 

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2017/05/09/bang-tells-vivid-story-of-rock-pioneer-san-francisco-chronicle/feed/ 0 Review: ‘Bang! The Bert Berns Story,’ With Juicy Showbiz Lore (New York Times) http://bertberns.com/2017/04/26/review-bang-the-bert-berns-story-with-juicy-showbiz-lore-ny-times/ http://bertberns.com/2017/04/26/review-bang-the-bert-berns-story-with-juicy-showbiz-lore-ny-times/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2017 13:30:06 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3343 If you love the music Berns made, you’ll love this movie; if you don’t, I feel for you, but “Bang!” might nevertheless entertain with its dish.

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]]> http://bertberns.com/2017/04/26/review-bang-the-bert-berns-story-with-juicy-showbiz-lore-ny-times/feed/ 0 New Documentary Highlights Hidden Work of Hit Songwriter Bert Berns (CBC Radio) http://bertberns.com/2017/04/03/new-documentary-highlights-hidden-work-of-hit-songwriter-bert-berns-cbc-radio/ http://bertberns.com/2017/04/03/new-documentary-highlights-hidden-work-of-hit-songwriter-bert-berns-cbc-radio/#comments Mon, 03 Apr 2017 02:40:33 +0000 http://bertberns.com/?p=3334 Brett Berns’ new documentary, BANG! The Bert Berns Story, tells the story of the man behind some of the biggest hits of the ’60s.

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