He and his two sisters grew up in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of the east side of New York City, and he attended Stuyvesant High School.
[1][3] Finding that increasing numbers of African-American patrons were visiting his clubs, Goldner decided in 1953 to start a new label, Rama, to record jazz, vocal group and R&B music.
According to one source:[6]"In the studio, Goldner and his right-hand man Richard Barrett... had multi-faceted jobs: find the right key and "groove" for a song; collaborate with the musicians to create a "head" arrangement; encourage and control the young, often inexperienced singers during their maiden visits to the recording studio; oversee the vocal balance by placing the singers at the proper distance from the microphone; keep an eagle eye on the clock (sessions were traditionally three hours in length, after which overtime kicked in); and, most importantly, recognize the magical "best take" that would ultimately click with the record-buying teenagers.
"Goldner signed and recorded Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, whose song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" also became a crossover hit in early 1956, this time also becoming an international success.
[3] By then, Goldner - who was an inveterate gambler and frequently needed to pay off his debts - had sold half of his share of the Tico, Rama and Gee labels to Joe Kolsky, an associate of club owner and juke box distributor Morris Levy, who reportedly had links to the Mafia.
[1] Goldner also started the Luniverse label with Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman, to release novelty records.
In 1956 its first release, "The Flying Saucer", pioneered the idea of "break-in" or "mashup" records, featuring segments of popular songs intertwined with spoken "news" commentary, and sold over a million copies.
[6] In 1958, Goldner hired a young Artie Ripp, (who went on establish his own record labels and was the first to sign and produce Billy Joel as a solo act), as his "gofer".
[3] However, the label lasted just two years, as Leiber and Stoller wanted out of the record business, either due to creative differences,[1] or once Goldner's gambling debts again led to Morris Levy's involvement.