Ewart Abner was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 record company executive.

Career

Between 1950 and 1954, he served at the Chance

Chance Records

Chance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel.Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother John Sellers, and Schoolboy Porter...

 label as the owner Art Sheridan's right-hand man. In early 1955, he became part owner and general manager of Vee-Jay

Vee-Jay Records

Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...

. He was appointed president of Vee-Jay in 1961 and with the addition of artists such as Jerry Butler

Jerry Butler (singer)

Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...

, Gene Chandler

Gene Chandler

Gene Chandler also known as "The Duke of Earl" or simply "The Duke", is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, producer and record executive. He is one of the leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene...

, Dee Clark

Dee Clark

Dee Clark was an African-American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the ballad "Raindrops," which became a million-seller in the United States in 1961....

, Betty Everett

Betty Everett

Betty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...

, John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...

, Jimmy Reed

Jimmy Reed

Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...

, and The Beatles, the company continued to grow as a major independent. He formed Constellation Records in August 1963. In 1966, he joined Motown Records

Motown Records

Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...

and in 1973 and for the next two years, he served as its president. He was closely associated with the Motown label until his death.