Joe Bihari

Joe Bihari is the most well-known and longest surviving member of the family dynasty that ran Modern records out of Los Angeles in the '40s and '50s. It was a company whose power on the blues scene rivaled Chess in Chicago, the initiative of the Bihari family leading to the key early exploitation of blues legends such as Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, B.b. King, and John Lee Hooker. The Bihari family knew good blues when they heard it, that can't be denied, but there was also a downside to their involvement with the music. Typical of a trend that would unfortunately continue through the early rock era, one or some of the Bihari family would often appropriate writing credits on tunes recorded by Modern artists. It is extremely doubtful that King needed any help from anybody coming up with either "B.B.'s Blues" or "B.B.'s Boogie" -- both of these vintage King tracks are simply jam tunes -- and Joe Bihari pigged out on half the writer's credits just for turning the tape recorder on. Josea was a pseudonym for Joe Bihari as well, the name appearing as sole writer credit on some doo wop numbers that were actually the work of singer and bandleader Vince Weaver.

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