Milt Gabler

American jazz producer and songwriter. Born 20 May 1911 in New York City, died 20 July 2001 in New York City. Founded the Commodore jazz label and produced a.o. the historic recording of "Strange Fruit", often referred to as the first protest song, that had been rejected by major labels. He also owned New York City's most comprehensive jazz record store, the Commodore Music Shop. He was also the producer of “Rock Around the Clock,” a seminal record by Bill Haley and the Comets, in 1954. As a songwriter, he's charted 17 times from 1946 to 2007, iwht his first being his only #1: "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" by Louis Jordan (co-written by Denver Darling & Vaughn Horton). He was inducted into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 (Non-Performer). Gabler is the uncle of comedian Billy Crystal.