Jerry Kasenetz, who with his production partner Jeff Katz was the hottest producer of bubblegum music in the late 1960s, died Dec. 6 in a hospital in Tampa, Florida. He was 82. The reported cause of death was complications from a fall at his home.
Between 1967-68, Kasenetz and Katz produced six million-selling singles, including five that reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100: The Music Explosion’s “Little Bit o’ Soul” (No. 2); Ohio Express’ “Yummy Yummy Yummy” (No. 4); and 1910 Fruitgum Co.’s “Simon Says” (No. 4), “1,2,3 Red Light” (No. 5) and “Indian Giver” (No. 5). Their million-seller that missed the top five was Ohio Express’ “Chewy Chewy” (No. 15).
In 1968, they even had a top 30 hit on the Hot 100 as artists. Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestra Circus reached No. 25 in December 1968 with “Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run).” The song, written by Joey Levine and Artie Resnick, featured members from the groups they had produced.
“Little Bit o’ Soul,” which was a catchy pop-rock song, but not really bubblegum, was released on Laurie Records. Kasenetz-Katz had most of their successes on Neil Bogart’s Buddah Records: Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Co. and their own hit. They sometimes used the nameplate Super K Productions.
In 1969, Crazy Elephant (on Bell Records) took “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin,” another Kasenetz-Katz production, to No. 12 on the Hot 100.
Bubblegum reached its peak of popularity at the same time that hard rock, at the opposite end of the musical spectrum, became a major force. The best-selling single of 1969 was The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar,” which was not a Kasenetz-Katz production, but was in their wheelhouse. (Jeff Barry produced that smash, which he co-wrote with Andy Kim.)
Nearly a decade removed from their run of hits, Kasenetz-Katz produced one more big hit: Ram Jam’s rock-leaning rendition of “Black Betty,” a song recorded by Lead Belly in 1939, which hit No. 18 in September 1977.
Jerrold H. Kasenetz was born May 5, 1943, in Brooklyn, the eldest of five children. He met the Brooklyn-born Katz when both were undergraduates at the University of Arizona. They promoted a campus concert by the Dave Clark Five.
Kasenetz and Katz’s first production was for R&B singer Christine Cooper. “S.O.S. Hearts in Distress” bubbled under the Hot 100 at No. 101 in February 1966.
Bubblegum fell out of favor in the 1970s, though it influenced such pop smashes as Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” and The Grass Roots’ “Sooner or Later.” Talking Heads performed “1-2-3 Red Light” at some of their early shows; a live version can be found on the bootleg Gimme Heads.
In a 2008 interview with Billboard, industry legend Doug Morris remembered that Kasenetz and Katz played a key role in his own beginnings in the business. “I remember how I actually learned the business and decided to go into my own business: I bought a record, signed two guys-Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz – Kasenetz and Katz. And I think I paid $800 – no, $500 and 8%, and it was Laurie 3308.” [Editor’s note: That was the label number of The Music Explosion’s “Little Bit o’ Soul.”]
Morris, who was 28 at the time, basically learned the business while tracking “Little Bit o’ Soul” as it rose to No. 2 on the Hot 100. He called distributors, retailers and radio stations to learn whatever he could about why that record was taking off.
“At which point, with my hands shaking, I went up to the bosses and told them,” Morris remembered. “And they obviously put the mechanism to work, how to get records played in those days. And the record I believe went to No. 1 [Editor’s Note: Almost.] and from that one experience, I understood the record industry, how it works. To this day, nothing has changed.”
Kasenetz and Katz were never nominated for a Grammy, nor are they in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. But they found their niche and delivered hit after hit.
Kasenetz is survived by brothers Iver and Bruce, sons Darren and Brett and two grandchildren. Katz is still living at 82.
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