Don Kirshner (born April 17, 1934), known as The Man With the Golden Ear, is an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups such as The Monkees and The Archies. is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Monkees were a pop-rock quartet created and based in Los Angeles in 1965 for an NBC American television series of the same name. ... The Archies, ca. ...

Kirshner achieved his first major success in the late 1950s and early 1960s as co-owner of the influential New York-based publishing company Aldon Music, which had under contract at various times several of the most important songwriters of the so-called "Brill Building" school, including Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Aldon Music was a New York-based music publishing company, founded by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins in 1958. ... The Brill Building (1930- ) in the United States is located at 1619 Broadway, in New York City, New York, just north of Times Square. ... Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... Gerry Goffin (born February 11, 1939) is an American lyricist. ... Neil Sedaka 2005 Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter often associated with the Brill Building. ... Howard Greenfield ( March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) is an American songwriter. ...

As a producer-promoter, Kirshner was influential in starting off the career of singers and songwriters including Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond, Carole King, and Sarah Dash of Labelle, as well as discovering the occasional rock act such as Kansas. Bobby Darin (May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) (born Walden Robert Cassotto) was one of the most popular American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s. ... Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter and sometime Actor. ... Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... Sarah Dash is a singer and was part of the group Labelle. ... Labelle (with the b written in small caps, while the spelling LaBelle exclusively refers to the stage surname of the groups lead vocalist, Patti LaBelle) was an American R&B/soul group, who successfully melded disco with funk and glam rock, resulting in such memorable songs as Lady Marmalade... For other uses, see Kansas (disambiguation). ...

Chairman Records

Kirshner also had his own record label, Chairman Records (a subsidiary of London). Although he was responsible for scores of hits in the 60s, he was only able to have one on the Chairman label, 1963's "Martian Hop" by The Ran-Dells, which reached #16 nationally.

The Monkees

In the early 1960s, Kirshner was a successful music publisher (head of his own company 'Aldon Music', with partner Al Nevins), bringing performers together (like Bobby Darin) with songwriters and musicians.

Kirshner was hired by the producers of The Monkees to provide hitworthy songs to accompany the TV program, within a demanding timeframe. Kirshner quickly corralled songwriting talent from his Brill Building stable of writers and musicians to create catchy, engaging tracks which the band could pretend to perform on the show. The Monkees were a pop-rock quartet created and based in Los Angeles in 1965 for an NBC American television series of the same name. ... The Brill Building (1930- ) in the United States is located at 1619 Broadway, in New York City, New York, just north of Times Square. ...

This move wasn't because of any lack of Monkee talent, though as a band they had little experience or polish and Micky Dolenz was completely new to drums, but to emphasize comedy over music, and to churn out ready-to-go recordings to give each new episode its own song. Each Monkee was retained for vocal duties, but they weren't allowed to play on the records. George Michael Dolenz, Jr. ...

The formula worked phenomenally well: singles Last Train to Clarksville and I'm a Believer and the first two Monkees albums were produced and released in time to catch the initial wave of the TV program's popularity. Future Taj Mahal and John Lennon guitarist, Jesse Ed Davis had sat in on guitar. But after a year, the Monkees wanted another chance to all play their own instruments on the records. They also wanted additional oversight into which songs would be released as singles. Further, when word belatedly came out that the band hadn't played on the first season's songs a controversy arose, and the public expressed a desire to hear the TV stars perform their own music. The Monkees is the first album by the band The Monkees. ... More of The Monkees is the second full-length album by The Monkees. ... See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ...

The matter reached a breaking point over a disagreement regarding the Neil Diamond-penned A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You in early 1967. The song, released by Kirshner as a single without the band's consent, led to his dismissal. The initial B-side was replaced with a Nesmith song, performed by the Monkees themselves, and they performed on the next year's recordings, featured in the show's second season. Monkees record sales dropped to nearly half after Kirshner's departure. Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter and sometime Actor. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ...

Kirshner's later venture was The Archies, an animated series where there were only the studio musicians to be managed.

'Rock Concert' TV show

In the fall of 1972, Kirshner was asked by ABC Television to serve as executive producer and "creative consultant" for their new "In Concert" series which aired every other week in the 11:30 pm slot normally showing the Dick Cavett Show. The following September, Kirshner left "In Concert" to produce and host his own syndicated weekly rock-concert program called Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. With its long-form live performances, as compared to canned, often lip-synched performances that were the staple of earlier TV shows like Shindig!, it was a real breakthrough. Many consider it the predecessor to MTV. Don Kirshners Rock Concert was a television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations. ... Shindig! was the name of a music variety show which was aired every week on the American ABC network from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. ... This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ...

The program presented many of the most successful rock bands of the era, but what was consistent week-to-week was Kirshner's deliberately flat delivery as the program host. In its final season Rock Concert was mostly hosted by Kirshner's son and daughter whose delivery was the same as their father's.

Kirshner's wooden presentation style was later lampooned on Saturday Night Live by Paul Shaffer, most notably in Shaffer's introduction of the Blues Brothers during the duo's TV debut. This article is about the American television series. ... Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949 in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian-American musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian and composer currently seen as the bandleader on the Late Show with David Letterman. ... The Blues Brothers: Dan Aykroyd (left) and the late John Belushi The Blues Brothers is the name of a blues band fronted, incognito, by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. ...

External links

• "Return of The Hit Man: On Music Legend Don Kirshner's To-Do List: Become Global Mogul" - David Segal, Washington Post, December 20, 2004
• Entry
• History of Rock entry