About Me

The SHOF (Songwriters Hall of Fame) and S. A. Schoenbrodt proudly presents:
"The House That Built Pop Music"
(Â© Biography Channel)
INTRODUCTION....
To most passers-by, the office building at 1619 Broadway is little more than a piece of expensive Manhattan real estate. But to fans of post-Elvis, pre-Beatles pop music, the BRILL BUILDING is a Temple -- in more ways than one. From the late 1950’s through the early 1960’s, the BRILL BUILDING (and its lesser-known cousin across the street at 1650) housed publishing companies that employed the era’s best-known songwriters. Almost all of those songwriters were Jewish , including such pop legends as Carole KING & Gerry GOFFIN, Burt BACHARACH & Hal DAVID, Ellie GREENWICH & Jeff BARRY, Neil SEDAKA & Howie GREENFIELD, Barry MANN & Cynthia WEIL, Jerry LEIBER & Mike STOLLER, and Doc POMUS & Mort SHUMAN.
That’s not even including prominent producers and music-biz figures of the time, such as Don KIRSHNER, Artie KORNFELD and Phil SPECTOR. Between them, these gifted tunesmiths were responsible for the hits that define America’s last era of innocence, including:
"Will You Love Me Tomorrow?", "You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling", "What The World Needs Now (Is Love)" "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", "Be My Baby", "Walk On By", "I’m A Believer", "Leader of the Pack", and countless more...
THIS TRIBUTE IS DEDICATED TO MR. DON KIRSHNER.....

The Sound is still with us today: "On Broadway", "Walk on By", "Leader of the Pack", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling". Back in the sixties it was known as the ’BRILL BUILDING SOUND’. Based at 1619 Broadway, just off Times Square, the Brill Building was a shabby office block populated by young musicians and composers: Burt BACHARACH and Hal DAVID; Jerry LEIBER and Mike STOLLER; Carole KING and Gerry GOFFIN; Neil SEDAKA and Howie GREENFIELD. They were brought together by Don KIRSHNER in 1958.
Don KIRSHNER felt there was a real need for songwriters in the booming rock market, and to that end he hired eighteen to sit at their cubicles and churn out love songs for the teenage masses. These writers defined the music of the baby boomer generation and their songs informed the political awakening of a whole decade.
Most of those songwriters were Jewish , raised in Brooklyn, influenced as teenagers by the leftwing politics and the civil rights movement in the racially integrated borough. Inspired by black music some of their finest songs were written for Aretha Franklin*, Dionne Warwick*, etc. The rise of Latino culture also affected their music. They added new elements to their music as most of them were classically trained. Through this blend a new identity was formed which changed a whole generation.

’The BRILL BUILDING Sound’ is a riveting chapter in American popular culture.
(Click the pictures to read MORE...)
Gerry GOFFIN
& Carole KING
Burt BACHARACH
& Hal DAVID
Jeff BARRY
& Ellie GREENWICH
Neil DIAMOND
Jerry LEIBER
& Mike STOLLER
Howard GREENFIELD
& Neil SEDAKA
Jerome "Doc" POMUS
& Mort SHUMAN
Barry MANN
& Cynthia WEIL
Phil SPECTOR

Saluting the ’BRILL BUILDING Sound’

The BRILL BUILDING (built 1930) is located at 1619 Broadway in New York’s music district, just north of Times Square, and is a name synonymous with an approach to songwriting that changed the course of music.
By 1962 it contained 165 music businesses. A musician could find a publisher and printer, cut a demo, promote the record, and cut a deal with radio promoters, all within this one building. Its creative culture defined the influential "BRILL BUILDING SOUND" and style of popular music songwriting and recording.
CAROLE KING described the atmosphere at the Brill Building:
"Every day we squeezed into our respective cubby holes with just enough room for a piano, a bench, and maybe a chair for the lyricist if you were lucky. You’d sit there and write and you could hear someone in the next cubby hole composing a song exactly like yours. The pressure in the Brill Building was really terrific - because Donny (KIRSHNER) would play one songwriter against another. He’d say: ’We need a new smash hit’ - and we’d all go back and write a song and the next day we’d each audition for Bobby Vee*’s producer."
("The Sociology of Rock" by Simon Frith - Constable, 1978 - ISBN 0-09-460220-4 ).
In actuality, DONALD KIRSHNER’s publishing office was not initially located in the BRILL BUILDING, but rather, a block away at 1650 Broadway (at 51st Street). In fact, 1650 was built to be a musician’s headquarters, so much so that the laws at the time required that the "front" door be placed on the side of the building due to laws restricting musicians from entering buildings from the front. Most BRILL BUILDING writers began their careers at 1650, and the building continued to house many record labels throughout the decades.

A History....

The ’BRILL BUILDING Sound’ came out from the stretch along Broadway between 49th and 53rd streets. "The BRILL BUILDING", named after the BRILL Brothers (Sam, Max D., Maurice, and Sidney) whose clothing store was first located in the street level corner and would later buy it, was at 1619 Broadway. After its completion in 1931, the owners were forced by a deepening Depression to rent space to music publishers, since there were few other takers.
The first three, ’Southern Music’, ’Mills Music’ and ’Famous-Music’, were soon joined by others. By 1962 the BRILL BUILDING was a one-stop music factory with 165 music businesses that could have songs written, arranged, copied, recorded into demos, published and promoted.

(American music legend Burt BACHARACH)
The BRILL BUILDING in the early 60’s was a classic model of vertical integration. There you could write a song or make the rounds of publishers until someone bought it. Then you could go to another floor and get a quick arrangement and lead sheet for $10’ get some copies made at the duplication office; book an hour at a demo studio; hire some of the musicians and singers that hung around; and finally cut a demo of the song. Then you could take it around the building to the record companies, publishers, artist’s managers or even the artists themselves. If you made a deal there were radio promoters available to sell the record.

DON KIRSHNER and ’Aldon Music’

Donald Kirshner (born April 17, 1934, The Bronx, NYC -), son of a Jewish tailor, masterminded the takeover of rock by the songwriters.

A native New Yorker, Don KIRSHNER, known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", spent most of his late teens in East Orange, New Jersey, where he attended Upsala College. While working as a bellhop in the Catskills one summer, Donald KIRSHNER wrote his first song, and while carrying bags for Frankie Laine*, tried to sell it to the popular star. Laine* turned it down, but explained where and how to get a demo made. KIRSHNER followed his advice, had the song published six months later, but it was never recorded.
Don KIRSHNER was working around the industry when, through a mutual friend, he met Walden Robert Cassotto* at a candy store in 1957. After hearing Cassotto* play and sing his original material, KIRSHNER decided they should be a team. It took a year for a deal to come their way, and the first few records went nowhere, but Cassotto*, known professionally as Bobby Darin*, would soon develop into a highly creative and successful recording star.
In the early years, 1956-58, KIRSHNER wrote some forgettable songs like "Go To School" and "Warm Up To Me Baby". With Bobby Darin*, the songs improved slightly, but failed to catch the public’s imagination. During this time KIRSHNER and Bobby Darin* decided to go door to door, offering to write commercials for shops and businesses. On some of those commercials was one Concetta Franconero*, a New Jersey friend of KIRSHNER’s. Later as Connie Francis*, she would help KIRSHNER more than he could imagine at the time.
(Bobby Darin and Don KIRSHNER)
In 1958 at the age of 21, KIRSHNER met Al Nevins* (b. 1916-1965), a successful composer, musician and recording artist, who had many pre-Rock era hits as a member of ’The Three Suns’. KIRSHNER sold Nevins* on the idea that publishing new material for teenage record buyers could be an extremely profitable venture. On May 1958 , ’Aldon Music’ was born.
(Al Nevins and Don KIRSHNER)
While literally unpacking furniture at their new office at 1650 Broadway, across the street from the famed BRILL BUILDING at 1619 Broadway, NEIL SEDAKA and HOWARD GREENFIELD walked in looking for a publishing contract. They preceded to play 6 songs for KIRSHNER: "Stupid Cupid", "The Diary", and "Calendar Girl" along with a few others.
Neil SEDAKA already had plenty of performing experience, from singing at high school dances with his group ’The Tokens’, to singing at the Catskills resorts. KIRSHNER wanted to sign them a long-term contract, but Neil SEDAKA and Howard GREENFIELD only wanted to give ’Aldon Music’ 8 songs over a three month period. If one charted they would sign. A few days after the contract was signed, Don KIRSHNER took SEDAKA to New Jersey to play his songs for his old friend Connie Francis*, who already had two Top 40 hits.
She picked one for her next single, and by October, 1958 "Stupid Cupid", written by SEDAKA and GREENFIELD and published by ’Aldon Music’, reached NÂ°. 17. SEDAKA and GREENFIELD signed with ’Aldon Music’, and in less than a year had 2 more hits with Connie Francis*: "Falling" (NÂ°. 30) and "Frankie" (NÂ°. 9).
Soon ’Aldon Music’ signed BARRY MANN (born IBERMAN), who had over two dozen songs recorded in the 2 years before he signed with ’Aldon’, some national hits. JACK KELLER (b. November 11, 1936 - April 1, 2005) and Harry Hunter*, who had track records; CYNTHIA WEIL, an aspiring actress, who had worked at TIN PAN ALLEY songwriter FRANK LOESSER’s publishing house; and several other writers. Most had some experience to one degree or another, but what they really had in common they were extremely young.
By 1962 ’Aldon Music’ had on staff 18 writers, aged 19 to 26. Contrary to what most believe most of the writers were not brought in as teams. Eventually teams did form based on personal ties as much as by professional or artistic merits.
After 6 months, ’Aldon Music’ was well established. Now Don KIRSHNER began working on his long term goal, catering to the growing market for teenage songs, through building a group of first class songwriters and making affiliations with the hundreds of record labels. Most of these labels released dozens of singles a year, with ’Columbia’, ’Decca’, and ’Capitol’ releasing hundreds.
’Aldon Music&..39; was constantly adding more cubicles, each with a standup piano, and filling them with young songwriters willing to work for $150 a week or less. They would compose, cut demos, and play them for each other at the end of the day, making comments, suggestions and criticisms as they went along. Don KIRSHNER who had a good ear and commercial pop sensibility, usually had the final say.
After Aldon Music’s first few hits KIRSHNER became dissatisfied with the two cent mechanical royalties his company received for each record sold; one for ’Aldon’ and one for the songwriter(s). So he and Al Nevins* became independent producers supplying the finished masters to the recording labels.
(Carole KING)
With this arrangement, ’Aldon Music’ was able to place their songs on sides of the record doubling the mechanical income, as well as getting a royalty on each record sold. With their growing track record as leverage, KIRSHNER and Nevins* could demand a 10% royalty, with half going to the artist and half going to ’Aldon’.
By 1962, there were 18 writers on staff many forgettable. The bulk of KIRSHNER’s hits were generated by his three - Jewish - star teams: Gerry GOFFIN & Carole KING; Neil SEDAKA & Howard GREENFIELD; Barry MANN & Cynthia WEIL. When the other songwriting partnerships - like Burt BACHARACH & Hal DAVID; Jerry LEIBER & Mike STOLLER; Jeff BARRY & Ellie GREENWICH, and Doc POMUS & Mort SHUMAN - had a hit it was sometimes in collaboration with one of these 3 teams.
Don KIRSHNER hired CAROLE KING (born KLEIN) and her lyricist husband GERRY GOFFIN in 1960, on a tip from KING’s old high school boyfriend Neil SEDAKA. Their first song "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" went to NÂ°. 1. Don KIRSHNER favored them, not only because of their commercial successes, but more importantly because of their adaptability and willingness to write commercial teen material. They wrote hundreds of charted hits for KIRSHNER, as well as running his ’Dimension’ label and producing most of its hits.
BARRY MANN had written songs with GREENFIELD, GOFFIN and others, including a few hits. After marrying CYNTHIA WEIL, the MANN-WEIL team cranked out fifty hits in the next few years, many of them classics. Describing conditions in the BRILL BUILDING, MANN revealed:
"Cynthia and I work in a tiny cubicle, with just a piano and a chair, no window. We go in every morning and write songs all day. In the next room Carole (KING) and Gerry (GOFFIN) are doing the same thing, with Neil (DIAMOND) in the room after that. Sometimes when we all get to banging pianos, you can’t tell who’s playing what".
KIRSHNER’s West Coast Office was headed by LOU ADLER (b. 1933 -), who would manage Jan and Dean, head ’Dunhill Records’ and other labels, and be a movie producer ("The Rocky Horror Show").

In 1962, Don KIRSHNER began his own record label ’Dimension’. Distribution was handled by Amy-Mala. Artists on the label included ’the Cookies’, Little Eva*, and Carole KING. ’Dimension’ had 10 hits out of 13 releases in its first year.
(Gerry GOFFIN and Carole KING)
On April 12, 1963, Don KIRSHNER shocked everyone by selling the entire operation to ’Columbia Pictures-Screen Gems’ for a 2 million dollars and Columbia stock; KIRSHNER was named Executive Vice President in charge of all ’Columbia Picture-Screen Gems’ publishing and recording activities; and Al Nevins* was named as a consultant. The writers were included in the deal, but didn’t see much of the money.
(Jeff BARRY)
Under the deal, KIRSHNER headed up ’Screen Gems’, a larger publishing company and its ’Colpix’ label, with offices on both coasts. The companies focus was on film and TV music (By 1968, Don KIRSHNER became music supervisor for a new Saturday morning cartoon, " The Archie Show ", and in 1971 for " The Persuaders! " TV-series, starring Tony CURTIS and Roger Moore*).
("Theme", composed by John "007" Barry* )

Colpix’s records consisted mainly of uninspired actors. Songs were written, placed, records produced, new writers groomed. An effort was made to upgrade ’Colpix’, though it was hopeless. ’Colpix’ became little more than a proving ground for an expanding stable of writers/producers, especially in California.
As Don KIRSHNER was settling into his job at ’Colpix’ things were changing. In January, 1964 The Beatles came to America. The British groups were writing their own material, the girl groups were fading, the number of indie labels had been depleted and those that remaining took fewer chances.
In 1965, the regional scene appeared, with an estimated fifty thousand groups playing teen clubs, teenage fairs, battles of the bands, and armory dances. Out of this grew a new culture, one that defined itself as "hip" and sneered at production line pop. Don KIRSHNER was now seen as a symbol of everything phony.
His response was ’ The MONKEES ’. With BRILL BUILDING songs, they appealed to millions of young girls. The ten year old sisters of those that rejected him. Though he kept the BRILL BUILDING tradition alive through the 60’s, his market moved away from him.
"I’m A Believer" (Neil Diamond - 1966)
Today Don KIRSHNER reflects on the BRILL BUILDING era saying:
"(...) I believe that after I’m gone, my grandchildren will be whistling these tunes. Whether they know that I published them or not - they will be whistling these tunes the same as they do songs from "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot", and these tunes will be part of American culture - they’ll be used in movies and so on. Of all the legacies that I have given, personally to me it’s very important that I was able to come out of the streets of Harlem, out of my dad’s tailor shop, and have the ability to create an environment where this sound will be part of American and international culture forever. (...)"
-Don Kirshner
Businesses located at 1619 Broadway (Brill Building) and 1650 Broadway

1619 Broadway:
Famous Music
Coed records, Inc.
Mills Music
Southern Music
TM Music

1650 Broadway:

Aldon Music
Bell Records, Inc.
Buddah Records, Inc.
Gamble Records, Inc.
Scepter/Wand Records
Web IV Music, Inc.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 20/12/2006
Band Website: www.songwritershalloffame.org
Band Members:

Hitmakers:
The Teens Who Stole Pop Music: (A&E Home Video, 2001)

"A bunch of smart kids from Brooklyn jump-started the music business in the 1960's, and it's never been the same. "Hitmakers" is a fabulously entertaining look at these "teens who stole Pop music". The amazing convergence of songwriting talent at Manhattan's BRILL BUILDING created a competitive but prolific community of songwriters, almost all of them Jewish, and few of them older than 27. Many of them worked for music producer Don KIRSHNER, who had tapped into the zeitgeist of 1960's youth, and understood that young teen audiences wanted to buy records by both white and black artists. These were magical years. At the BRILL BUILDING, wordsmiths like Jerry LEIBER and Mike STOLLER ("Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock") wrote hit songs for teen idols such as Elvis Presley*, and increasingly for explosively talented black artists like Aretha Franklin*, Dionne Warwick*, and The Shirelles.

Songwriting team Carole KING (later to become a renowned singer) and husband Gerry GOFFIN ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow?") composed at an upright piano in a small cubicle; their friends and rivals, Barry MANN and Cynthia WEIL ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling") were hard at work just a few millimeters of pressboard away in the next cubicle. Burt BACHARACH, Hal DAVID, and Neil SEDAKA were riffing down the hall.

John Turturro* narrates this narrates this toe-tapping documentary about a formative period in the history of American music, race relations and the nascent record industry".

<[b>Running Time: 90 min - Directed by: Morgan Neville - Studio: A&E Home Video; Sept. 2001]

..
Influences:

THE SOUND OF THE CITY.....

In a nutshell.... While Sam Cooke* and Ray Charles* were bringing gospel fervor to R&B and gaining respect on the business side of the industry, Rock & Roll was undergoing changes of its own. Although Rock had swept away all Pop music tradition before it, the TIN PAN ALLEY publishers of New York eventually realized that a new kind of songwriter had to be sought and supported. One of the most successful was Brooklyn-born black Blues singer Otis Blackwell*. He connected in 1955 with 'Sheldon Music', run by Moe Gale*, Goldie GOLDMARK and Al Stanton*, Gale* having been in the publishing business and affiliated with BMI since the 1940s. Their confidence in him was rewarded when the next year Blackwell's "Don't Be Cruel" was a million-seller for Elvis Presley*. He subsequently wrote further hits for Presley*, including "All Shook Up" and "Return To Sender"; "Great Balls Of Fire" and "Breathless" for Jerry Lee Lewis*, and "Handy Man" for Jimmy Jones*.

Other young writers were transforming the mold of the professional songwriter in a manner 's founders could never have conceived. They were typified by Jerry LEIBER and Mike STOLLER: white, middle-class teenagers who were enamored of black music and wrote rhythm & blues songs for teenage listeners black and white alike. In 1956 they signed with Atlantic Records as independent producers and established their own BMI company, 'Trio Music'.

Another successful writing team who began by working with LEIBER and STOLLER were Doc POMUS and Mort SHUMAN. POMUS had been a blues singer who had written songs for Big Joe Turner* and Ray Charles*, among others, before collaborating with SHUMAN, who then was still in high school and 13 years his junior. Thanks to an introduction from Otis Blackwell*, the two signed up with the Jean and Julian ABERBACH s' 'Hill and Range' firm; in 1959 they penned hits for Dion and the Belmonts ("Teenager In Love") and Fabian* ("Turn Me Loose") and later "Little Sister" and "His Latest Flame" for Elvis Presley*. However, their greatest successes were two 1960 signature tunes of the R&B group the Drifters: "This Magic Moment" and "Save The Last Dance For Me", the latter of which went to NÂ° 1 on the Pop charts.

As 'Hill and Range' writers, POMUS and SHUMAN worked in the BRILL BUILDING at 1619 Broadway, long-time home of New York's music publishers. Just across the street, at 1650 Broadway, were the offices of 'Aldon Music', formed in 1959 by young songwriter Don KIRSHNER and veteran guitarist Al Nevins*. Together they signed many of New York's best young songwriters and became the classic contemporary publishing company, turning out some of the best Pop music ever created!

A few memorable titles give some indication of Aldon's track record: "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and "Up On The Roof" by Gerry GOFFIN and Carole KING, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" by Neil SEDAKA and Howard GREENFIELD, and "Uptown" by Barry MANN and Cynthia WEIL.

During Aldon's heyday, the firm placed some 200 songs on the charts. By 1964, those songs had helped push BMI's share of the nation's hit tunes to 80%, up from 57% six years earlier.

Another young writer who blossomed in the BRILL BUILDING era was Phil SPECTOR. A musical prodigy, he wrote his first million-selling song at the age of 18 -- "To Know Him Is To Love Him", which he recorded with his own trio, the Teddy Bears, in 1958. He moved to New York in 1961, formed a BMI publishing company ('Mother Bertha Music'), started a record company, and set out to make the most majestic Rock 'n' Roll records anyone had ever heard. He created what came to be known as SPECTOR's " Wall of Sound ", in which every inch of the record was filled with booming drums, cascading pianos, percussive accents, and swirls of strings.

SPECTOR sought material from some of New York's finest writers, including Jeff BARRY and Ellie GREENWICH, with whom he co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Chapel Of Love", "Da Doo Ron Ron", and "Then He Kissed Me" with him. He later collaborated with Barry MANN and Cynthia WEIL to compose "You Lost That Loving Feeling" for the Righteous Brothers, a Number 1 hit for the duo and later the basis of "cover" hits for Dionne Warwick* (1969) and Hall & Oates* (1980).

Aldon Music and LEIBER and STOLLER's 'Trio Music' clearly redefined music publishing. Traditionally, publishers sought to promote their copyrights through such familiar means as sheet music, recordings, and radio broadcasts. These new firms, however, seized control of studio production and negotiated manufacturing and distribution deals with record labels themselves. BMI advances to these and other publishers helped underwrite such ventures, and this resulted in BMI claiming 9,000 songwriters and 7,000 publishing affiliates by 1965.

Today, the BRILL BUILDING is still home to many music producers including 'Sound One' (a film post-production house), Colony Records', and Lorne Michael's 'Broadway Video' company.

1. Tom Jones - "What's New Pussycat?" (Bacharach/David)

2. The Supremes & The Four Tops - "River Deep, Mountain High" (Barry/Greenwich/Spector)

3. Tommy James And The Shondells - "Hanky Panky!" (Barry/Greenwich)

4. Ben E. King - "Spanish Harlem" (Leiber/Stoller)

5. The Shirelles - "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" (Goffin/King)

6. The Dixie Cups - "Chapel Of Love" (Barry/Greenwich)

7. The Drifters - "Save The Last Dance For Me" (Pomus/Shuman)

8. Connie Francis - "Where The Boys Are" (Sedaka/Greenfield)

9. Dusty Springfield - "The Look Of Love" (Bacharach/David)

10. The Shangri-Las -" Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)" (Morton)

11. BJ Thomas - "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" (Bacharach/David)

GEORGE GOLDNER (b. 1918, NYC - 1970) was a record company owner and promoter and originally made his living as a garment dealer. His secret love for Latin music led to him running dance halls beginning in the early 1940's. In the late 1940's, Golder formed his first record label, 'Tico Records'. In promoting his records, he resorted to paying DJs at radio stations to play his records. This practice came to be known as payola. Tito Puente* is the most famous recording artist on 'Tico'.

GOLDNER and MORRIS LEVY, another dance hall owner, formed 'Rama Records', which would record Rhythm & Blues. The Crows' hit "Gee" on 'Rama' would inspire another record label, 'Gee Records', whose most successful act was Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers. Other labels GOLDNER would help establish included 'Gone Records', 'End Records', and the longest lasting of his labels, 'Roulette Records'. All of these labels would wind up under Morris LEVY's ownership.

GOLDNER's last successful label, 'Red Bird Records' and its 'Blue Cat Records' subsidiary, was actually co-founded by JERRY LEIBER and MIKE STOLLER. GOLDNER was made a partner in the company and did the promoting of 'Red Bird' releases while LEIBER & STOLLER worked on production. 'Red Bird' only lasted two years, as LEIBER & STOLLER wanted to get out of the record business. The 'Red Bird' catalogue (except for releases by The Shangri-Las whose contract was sold to 'Mercury Records') was sold to Morris LEVY's 'Roulette Records'...

"Grace of My Heart" is a 1996 film, directed by writer-director Allison Anders*. The story is set in the pop-music world of the 1960s, and the personal life and career trajectory of its protagonist, Denise Waverly (played by Illeana Douglas), strongly parallel those of singer-songwriter CAROLE KING. The soundtrack features a variety of songs, by such artists as Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell and Jill Sobule, which replicate the musical style that emerged from the BRILL BUILDING, New York's legendary music factory during the heyday of girl groups and "pre-fab" acts like The Monkees"/

"Grace of My Heart" (1996), film directed by Allison Anders*. The story is set in the pop-music world of the 1960s, and the personal life and career trajectory of its protagonist, Denise Waverly (played by Illeana Douglas*), strongly parallel those of singer-songwriter CAROLE KING. The soundtrack features a variety of songs, by such artists as BURT BACHARACH & Elvis Costello* ("God Give Me Strength"), Joni Mitchell* and Jill Sobule*, which replicate the musical style that emerged from the BRILL BUILDING, New York's legendary music factory during the heyday of girl groups and "pre-fab" acts like The Monkees...."

"God Give Me Strength"

..
Sounds Like:
"You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling" (Mann / Weil)
..

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Goffin / King)
..

Dionne Warwick* sings "the BACHARACH & DAVID Songbook"
..

"River Deep, Mountain High" (Spector/Greenwich/Barry)
..

"Walk On By" (Bacharach / David)
..

"Be My Baby" (Spector/Greenwich/Barry)
..

"What The World Needs Now Is Love" (Bacharach / David)
..

"Oh Carol" (Sedaka / Greenfield)
..

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" (Goffin / King)
..

"Hound Dog" (Leiber / Stoller)
..

"I (Who Have Nothing)" (music by Carlo Donida*; lyrics by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller)
..

Various Artists: "THE BRILL BUILDING SOUND" (K-Tel, 1993)

"If you’re like me (LOL) and have a sweettooth for prefab, early ’60s teenpop, then allow me to recommend this awesome collection from the loveable folks at K-Tel. Four CDs worth of primo material from the "Brill Building" pre-Beatles pop factory, home of tunesmiths Carole KING, Gerry GOFFIN, Ellie GREENWICH and Jeff BARRY -- the heirs to the old Tin Pan Alley ethos of songwriting on demand. Guided by producer Don KIRSHNER, the Brill Building pumped out the real hits of the Kennedy era, goofy teenpop full of melodramatic handwringing angst, and the occasional awesome pop arrangement. This box set sticks pretty closely to the big hits and the big artists - including folks straight outta Squaresville like Neil SEDAKA, Bobby Darin*, Connie Francis* and Bobby Vee*. It’s precisely the straight-up Top 40 orientation that makes this such a great retrospective. Maybe you’re having trouble tuning the oldies station in? Find this collection, and worry no more. Really... it’s just pure fun!!" (Saul A.)

The songwriting team of Burt BACHARACH and Hal DAVID produced some of the most popular and successful hits in modern music. A tribute was held in honor of the collaborators at Albert Hall in London during July of 2000. This program presents excerpts from the event, in which the two men were honored with a lifetime achievement award. Dionne Warwick* and Petula Clark* were among the many artists on hand to sing some of the songs penned by BACHARACH and DAVID. Included are renditions of ’Walk on By’, ’A House Is Not a Home’, ’Close to You’, ’Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’, ’I’ll Never Fall in Love Again’, and ’What the World Needs Now Is Love’."

In the early days of Rock & Roll in the ’50s, while the public knew the voices and faces of the folks who snag the tunes, it was often the people behind the scenes who truly held the talent that made a song a hit, and as the sounds of "teenage music" took over the charts, a new breed of young songwriters and producers became giants in the industry.

"Hitmakers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music" tells the story of the kids (mostly Jewish , mostly from Brooklyn) who wrote the tunes and brainstormed the sessions for some of the biggest hits of the era out of offices in New York City’s BRILL BUILDING, where music publishing mogul Don KIRSHNER had the likes of Carole KING, Gerry GOFFIN, Barry MANN, Cynthia WEIL, Burt BACHARACH, Hal DAVID, Jerry LEIBER, Mike STOLLER, and Neil SEDAKA under contract.

Beginning with the start of the rock era and ending with the rise of hard rock and singer/songwriters at the dawn of the ’70s, "Hitmakers" tells the story of some of the truly unsung heroes of American popular music, complete with interviews from the songwriters and producers, as well as the performers who helped bring their great songs to life.

Official MySpace : Louise Goffin Music

Greg Wells

Official website : www.LouiseGoffin.com

(Carole KING and her lovely daughter Louise GOFFIN ) ..

Click to join "the Brill Building Sound" Yahoo! Group.

"Presented in the striking format of Ken BLOOM’s successful "Broadway Musicals", this rich visual history of popular song covers all of the prominent figures behind the music, in front of the bandstand, and on top of the piano.

"The Singers" includes Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Barbara Cook, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, and dozens more;

"The Songwriters" features HAROLD ARLEN, Hoagy Carmichael, DOROTHY FIELDS, Stephen Foster, RICHARD RODGERS, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, JEROME D. KERN, and a host of others; a lively section discusses the Big Bands; and a decade-by-decade insert puts the entire history of popular music in perspective through words and pictures.

Each one of the more than 200 listings in the book features the artist..s personal and professional history, great songs, and important contributions, plus photos (many rare), record covers, anecdotes, quotes, and more. Sidebars and features throughout cover topics of interest -- everything from Arrangers, Vocal Groups, and Keepers of the Flame to TIN PAN ALLEY, Parodists, and Classical Crossovers -- making this the most thorough survey of its kind.

Throughout, all of the great songs are discussed -- literally hundreds of songs, from "Stardust" to "My Funny Valentine" to "White Christmas". Illustrated biographies, discographies, chronologies, and indices make "The American Songbook" a full-fledged reference as well as a pictorial feast".

(video: www.publicdomaintorrents.com)

Record Label: Unsigned

My Blog

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