In 1926, Lion emigrated to the United States, but while working on the New York docks he was attacked by an anti-immigrant worker; he returned to Germany to convalesce.
Blue Note's involvement with modern jazz was not total for several years, and Lion continued his label's association with Bechet and clarinetist George Lewis into the 1950s.
[4] Three significant elements make Blue Note releases stand out: the work of recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, the photographs of Francis Wolff and the cover designs principally by Reid Miles.
Indeed, it was Lion's discovery of Hill, which he would later cite, along with his earlier involvement with Thelonious Monk and their fellow pianist Herbie Nichols, as having given him particular pleasure during his career.
Duke Pearson, who Lion hired to do A&R work after Quebec's death in 1963, helped to ensure that the label's roster remained fresh as a whole.
In fact the popularity that Horace Silver's Song for My Father and Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder enjoyed resulted in Lion being pressured by his distributors into producing more hits.