Don Kirshner

Don Kirshner ( born April 17, 1934 in New York City; † January 17, 2011 in Boca Raton, Florida) was an influential American music publisher, producer and promoter of the 1950s to the 1970s.

Kirshner began in 1957 as a composer and has written for the unknown Bobby Darin songs Talk to Me Something and Wear My Ring (recorded in May 1957), Pretty Baby, Do not Call My Name and So Mean (21 August 1957) and Lost Love (16 July 1958). At that time he joined temporarily on as a manager of Darin. The co-authored with Therein Wear My Ring took Gene Vincent as a B-side of Lotta Lovin ' ( August 1957 ).

LaVern Baker took over in October 1957 by two Love Me Right B-side of Humpty Dumpty Heart. Then he met Al Nevins, who had dropped out in 1954 when instrumental trio Three Suns. From this trio comes also the original of the later Platters Covers Twilight Time, written by Al Nevins and his brother; the song has sold over 3 million copies in 1944.

Aldon Music Publishing

Don Kirshner and Al Nevins decided in May 1958 the music publisher, Aldon Music Publishing (composed of the initial letters of the partners ) to set up. The office premises were occupied in the building 1650 Broadway, New York, opposite the famous Brill Building. The partners found in Howard Greenfield ( text) and Neil Sedaka ( music), two ambitious, though still unsuccessful authors.

Both written in July 1958 for Connie Francis Stupid Cupid, which reached a highest ranking # 17. There was the worse for Francis placed Fallin ' ( October 1958 ), the following song Frankie managed after its release in May 1959 a ninth. In the same year gave Kirshner his pupil Sedaka a recording contract with RCA Records. There, produced Kirshner / Nevins 17 Singles for Sedaka, of The Diary in December 1957 to Bad Girl in November 1963. Greenfield gave the text to nine non- sung by his partner Sedaka songs, which he strictly observed the strategy of the publisher, trivial teenage issues to describe: stairs to heaven, 16th birthday and the love of neighbor boy were the textual context of mass-produced products.

It took until May 1960, by the publisher was able to record the first million seller, and also the first No. 1. Everybody's Somebody's Fool, composed by Howard Greenfield and his colleagues Aldon Jerry Keller, Connie Francis became a transatlantic hit, in the German version of "Love is a strange game " a # 1 in Germany. Sedaka / Greenfield procured with their teenage ballads to 1963 the publisher 50 hits with an estimated turnover of about 20 million records.

Shortly after Sedaka / Greenfield took Aldon Barry Mann under contract, who wrote with writers constantly changing partners before he entered a fixed Authors and private partnership with Cynthia Weil. Only Gerry Goffin and Carole King came as a writing partner to Aldon. In 1962, 18 song writers 19-26 years of age were employed with Aldon. This included Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and other salaried composers such as Jack Keller, Larry Kolber, Tony Wine or Gary Sherman, who appeared as co- authors in addition to the -budgetary colleagues.

The music publisher received two U.S. cents per single, 50% of the authors tion states. The authors have been widely used as producers, so that a total of about 10 % of sales as " royalties" were received to improve this revenue. By founding the record label "Dimension Records " ( here published many Goffin / King compositions) in June 1962 could Kirshner / Nevins skim also a record company interests in profit.

The years 1962 and 1963 were the most successful of Aldon publishing history, for 1962 alone were about 300 registered for Aldon songs on the market. Dimension published in the first year after the founding of 13 songs, eight of which reached the Top 40. Kirshner sold the successful label on April 12, 1963 two million U.S. dollars to Columbia - Screen Gems Records.

Monkees and Archies

When his partner Nevins 1965 died neglected his Kirshner music publishing, especially weakened the market for romantic teen music. Reason was the "British Invasion" of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Animals. Kirshner was appointed Deputy record boss at Screen Gems - Colpix. This bought in April 1965, the rights of a film based on the Beatles Yeah Yeah Yeah idea for a sitcom series about a fictional rock group called "The Monkees ". On September 8, 1965, the band members have been through an advertisement on the Star magazine "Variety " is searched.

After casting remained four guys who - after protracted singing and recording samples - made ​​their debut on the NBC series on September 12, 1966. The song material for the inexperienced group was from Aldon composers. In addition Kirshner took the team Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart under contract to allow sufficient stood ready many compositions. With a strong vehicle for a weekly national television series on NBC successes should be possible despite the musical weaknesses.

Test was their first single (written by Boyce / Hart), Last Train to Clarksville, which appeared in August 1966 with the start of the series. Orchestrated by professional session musicians, the song sold 1.9 million times and reached the U.S. no. 1 Four of the six singles were awarded a gold record. To leave dispute over its revenue shares in the success of the Monkees and on the publication of composed by Neil Diamond songs for the Monkees A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You led Kirshner, Screen Gems in March 1967. This also waned considerably the success of the group.

Kirshner was looking for a copy of this success story. As on September 14, 1968 the premiere of the CBS cartoon series The Archies ran, he gave cartoon characters a musical identity. A session - musician group took over the same month the written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim Sugar, Sugar, a subsequent transatlantic No. 1 was sung this song by Ron Dante, accompanied by Toni Wine, the co-author Andy Kim and Ellie Greenwich (Authors - wife of Jeff Barry ). The television series as an advertising vehicle gave the Archies a record sales of over 6 million copies and made the song the anthem of the musical genre of bubblegum music.

Rock on TV

Kirshner was hired by ABC for the weekly evening show In Concert as a producer and consultant; the first television show was broadcast on 24 November 1972. But in September 1973 he got out to produce his own television show Kirshner 's Rock Concert, at the premiere show on 27 September 1973, the Rolling Stones (but recorded in London ) occurred. The show was sold to local stations across the U.S. aired until 1981. During this time, Kirshner contributed to the reunification of the team Greenfield / Sedaka, which enabled a rise Sedakas recognizable as mature artists ( LP The Tra -la -la Days Are Over, August 1973).