Background
Aberbach was born in Bad Vöslau, Austria, the son of Anna and Aron Adolf Aberbach, who were Ukrainian Jews. His father ran a jewelry business.
Aberbach was born in Bad Vöslau, Austria, the son of Anna and Aron Adolf Aberbach, who were Ukrainian Jews. His father ran a jewelry business.
Jean left school at the age of 16 and after a family argument began working in Berlin for a music publisher, Will Meisel, before moving to Paris to work for another publisher there. After the brothers sold the business in 1936, Jean began working in the United States as an agent for French music publisher Francis Salabert, while Julian remained in Paris. After the war, he worked in New York for music publisher Max Dreyfus at publishers Chappell & Company, but in 1952, when Dreyfus tried to buy the company that Julian Aberbach had established in Los Angeles, Hill and Range, Jean decided to leave and join his brother"s company.
Hill and Range rapidly expanded, particularly through dominating the country music publishing business in Nashville.
At one point, the company represented some three quarters of the music produced in Nashville. The two brothers shared responsibility for running the company, with Jean primarily based in New York and Julian in Los Angeles, although they frequently swapped roles.
After 1955, the company had particular responsibility for the songs recorded by Elvis Presley, through an arrangement by which the company owned 50% of the rights. Jean died in New York in 1992 at the age of 81.