Looking back at Don Kirshner and the Brill Building

The music industry is undoubtedly reeling today, over news that famed music publisher Don Kirshner died yesterday at the age of 76.

Even if you don't know Kirshner's name, you will recognize the poppy sound he had a hand in shaping for much of the 50s and 60s. The co-founder (along with Al Nevins) of the Aldon Music publishing company, Kirshner repped a number of gifted songwriters, including Neil Sedaka, Carole King and Neil Diamond.

Though Kirshner made a name for himself first as a jingle-writer, and much later as the host of the TV show Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, he'll be forever linked in my mind to the Brill Building, the New York office space where members of his songwriting stable (including those that would go on to have their own careers, like Carole King) cranked out chart-topping hits for the most popular acts of the day.

Working alongside each other in the 11-story office space at 1619 Broadway, the Brill Building songwriters influenced each other, so much so that their various hits are now cited as examples of the distinct "Brill Building Sound." The giddy, infectious sound was the end result of the pairing of old-school Tin Pan Alley songwriting with savvy marketing in a series of songs - ranging from hooky charmers like Stupid Cupid or pining love tunes like Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - that were performed by teen idols and girl groups, and aimed squarely at a teen audience.

Though Kirshner didn't write these hits, he was responsible for discovering and nurturing the talents that created them, a gift that earned him the nickname "the man with the golden ear." His contribution to the music industry cannot be overstated, and he was inducted into the U.S. Songwriters Hall of Fame for his efforts in 2007.

Fans curious to learn more about this fascinating period in music history are advised to check out Ken Emerson's book Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era. Alternately, a slightly cheesier version of the Brill Building history is available in the thinly disguised Carole King biopic Grace of My Heart, in which Illeana Douglas, Eric Stoltz and Patsy Kensit play some of the hit-making songwriters of the era.