Dumb Dave

Today is Dave Dexter Jr.'s birthday.  He was born in 1915 and died in 1990.  Who was he?  For years he was a major executive at Capitol Records.

He liked jazz, and when singers like Elvis Presley started hitting it big he resisted.  This was a bad enough attitude to have in the 50s, but it would get a lot worse.  The British record company EMI owned Capitol, and would send their singles to America, where Dexter Jr. judged if they were worthy of release.

Usually he gave British hits a thumbs down.  He didn't care how well they did across the pond--he knew the American market.  You'd think EMI might get annoyed, since they actually were in charge of Capitol, but they mostly left things alone.

Then a new phenomenon hit the U.K., Beatlemania.  The band dominated the British charts in 1963. "Please Please Me," "From Me To You" and "She Loves You" were major hits.  But Dave Dexter Jr. stood firm.  He heard these songs (I'll assume he listened to the singles EMI sent over) and thought he knew better.  He refused to release them, so they were offered to other recording companies. (This is why some early Beatles singles have non-Capitol labels, though Capitol got the rights back a couple years later.)

Finally, EMI had had enough, and commanded Dexter Jr. (or so the story goes--Dexter would sometimes claim differently) to release "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in late 1963.  It promptly went to #1 and spread Beatlemania across the Atlantic.  The Beatles became the biggest band of all.

But Dexter Jr. wasn't done. In 1964, he rejected a bunch of other British bands for Capitol, such as The Hollies, The Animals, The Yardbirds, Gerry And The Pacemakers, The Dave Clark Five and Herman's Hermits. All went on to have major hits in America.

He also wasn't done with The Beatles, deciding what songs would appear on which albums--The Beatles wanted the same albums released in Britain and America, but Dexter Jr. put on fewer songs per album and switched the order. He also sometimes altered the sound.  It wasn't until 1967 that the Beatles' releases in Britain and the U.S. were synced up.

Because of his completely missing this new trend, he was demoted in 1966 and eventually left Capitol.  In a way it's sad.  Here's a guy who loved music, and spent his life in the industry, but because of a (major) blind spot, he'll be remembered--if he's remembered--as the bungler who tried to keep The Beatles out of America.