Kolya on 19/1/2011 at 13:44

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76 year old pop manager (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/remembering-don-kirshner-who-influenced-pop-from-the-brill-building-to-bubblegum-20110118) Don Kirshner died on January 17 2011. He had published and managed people like Bobby Darin , (http://www.salon.com/people/feature/1999/06/19/king) Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, the Monkees ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUdIKdRuYc4) Not your stepping stone) and many others. Times mag called him "The man with the golden ear" for his ability to pick up great componists quasi from the street and build them up to become best-selling stars.

Here's a rendition of "Will you still love me tomorrow", sung by Swedish singer Lykke Li in an appropriately slow version (as was the original). The song was written by Goffin and King who handed the post-coital request to Kirshner (got a fat $10.000 advance for it back in '66). Kirshner then gave it to the Shirelles who became famous with (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIP6FSYx0LQ) their version of this song.

<embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/3tR5A0gjT-0&fs=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&iv_load_policy=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="100%" height="446" />

Of course no one here knows or will really mourn Kirshner, but yeah, some great music back then. I for one am a sucker for bands like the Shirelles, the Crystals ((http://www.wat.tv/video/the-crystals-he-a-rebel-nr0h_2ey2h_.html) He's a rebel), the Ronettes ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCUO7F2xjzw) Be my baby) and the Shangri-Las ((http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMJN0fKJWI) Past Present and Future) all of whom were published by Kirshner.

fett on 20/1/2011 at 06:07

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The Shirelles were quite good, actually. I've played stuff by both them and the Monkees, and didn't realize Kirshner wrote a lot of it until after the fact (though I knew Diamond wrote some of The Monkees stuff). Good music, considering the era.