One of the best Brill Building duos - Goffin and King. With Carole King wrote an enormous amount of great hits.

Terrific montage of some of Goffin's amazing hits on Ken Bruce's show immediately after the 10.00 news on Radio Two, finishing with Up On The Roof - great job R2 and thanks for the tribute. That's what radio should be doing. More of this please. We might even revive the vital, essential, crucial art of song writing.

JK2006 wrote:
One of the best Brill Building duos - Goffin and King. With Carole King wrote an enormous amount of great hits.

There was a brilliant documentary called "The Carole King Story" on BBC a couple of weeks ago. (It only went from I-player last Sunday). I hope they'll repeat it. It not only covered Carole life with Gerry Goffin, but her Tapestry recording experience and the opening of the musical based on her life "Beautiful" (currently playing on Broadway).

But, in one of the interviews, she said it was a misconception that she was one of the Brill Building writers. She said she and Goffin wrote their songs in another building. She gave the name/address, (which didn't ring any bells for me), but it obviously meant enough to her to correct the misconception).

So, (1) Please, BBC, repeat the TV show, and (2) if any tipsters have seen the Broadway show "Beautiful", please let us have your thoughts.

Thanks.

The Brill Building (Leiber/Stoller/, Bacharach/David, Mann/Weil, Bobby Darin, Phil Spector & lots of others) was/is located at 1619 Broadway, Goffin/King worked for Aldon Music (Don Kirshner) at 1650 Broadway.

And I think the term The Brill Building covered the entire structure of writers (and impresarios like Don) - an absolutely wonderful, vibrant cabbage patch of sheer talent. I knew Ellie Greenwich quite well; due to her I took my apartment in NY which was in her building. For the late fifties and sixties I reckon the area was almost literally Heaven for the art of song writing. Stunning talents like Mort Shuman (when I knew him he was actually living and working out of Paris). As a collection of musical brilliance it beat Liverpool in the Sixties hands down - that would be No2 on my list. Then my own area - London in the late 60s. Third but glorious too.

Has there ever been anything like it? Russia for classical music? Tahiti for art?

JK2006 wrote:

Has there ever been anything like it?

Detroit ?

Laurel Canyon / LA late 60s, early 70s (singer/songwriter)
New York mid to late 70s (punk / hip-hop)