Author Rich Podolsky of “Don Kirshner – The Man with the Golden Ear: How He Changed the Face of Rock and Roll” taps into a side of music promoter-publisher Don Kirshner that is least familiar to the public. The impetus for the tome is Kirshner’s passing on January 17, 2011, which left a legacy that aficionados of the pop/rock arena find laudable today.
Best known as the music director for Screen Gems syndicated series “The Monkees” and ABC-TV’s show “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert,” Kirshner started in the music business as a music collaborator with soon-to-be teen idol Bobby Darin writing jingles for retailers. Kirshner parlayed the experience into a partnership with RCA Records executive Al Nevins. The pair formed Aldon Music in 1958 based in New York City at 1650 Broadway, which is where Podolsky leads the reader.
Podolsky’s book is based on several interviews with Kirshner in addition to stories provided by the songwriters and demo singers at Aldon Music, Kirshner’s fellow colleagues, and his family. The book takes a close up look at Kirshner’s involvement at Aldon Music practically placing the reader in the office’s board room. Podolsky shows that Kirshner’s efforts moved commercial music from big band and jazz oriented artists to a style of music that has become bubblegum-pop and adult contemporary. Though advocates of Kirshner’s projects propose that he was a driving force for rock ‘n’ roll, Podolsky’s evaluation shows that Kirshner was instrumental in shaping the genre of popular music or pop music as it is called today.
Podolsky quotes Kirshner as saying “Fats Domino, Dinah Washington, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard… They were the pioneers of the new music.”
Kirshner wanted to be a part of this new music that he became aware of being made by burgeoning artists from local neighborhoods such as his own in Manhattan’s Washington Heights. It was through a mutual friend that he met singer-songwriter Bobby Darin and the two began working together, Darin writing the music and Kirshner promoting it. When Darin was signed to a record deal, Kirshner found his calling as a music promoter and publisher. He asked a friend of his who wrote for Cashbox Magazine to arrange a meeting for him with RCA Record executive Al Nevins, and Aldon Music was born from that encounter.
Podolsky not only furnishes a timeline for Aldon Music from its roots in 1958 to its peak in 1962, but he also provides background information such as the beginnings of song publishers with the Tin Pan Alley songwriters who resided on West 28 th Street in New York City, given the sobriquet by their neighbors who complained that the musicians sounded like they were banging on tin cans. Podolsky also imparts a brief history of the Brill Building located at 1619 Broadway in Manhattan where clusters of song publishers were headquartered from the 1930’s to the 1960’s.
Time Magazine credited Kirshner for being “The Man with the Golden Ear, a twist on the James Bond flix “The Man with the Golden Gun.” The moniker stuck with Kirshner because of his ability to pick songwriters who made hit songs including “Who’s Sorry Now,” “Calendar Girl,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Go Away Little Girl” and “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” to name a few. In Aldon’s stable included Neil Sedaka, Howie Greenfield, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, and Jack Keller whom Podolsky provides a touching memorial to in the last chapter of the book. Kirshner was also pivotal in assisting vocalists to find their stride such as Connie Francis, Tony Orlando, Steve Lawrence, and Eydie Gorme.
Podolsky’s book is not only a history of Aldon Music and Kirshner’s part in spearheading pop/rock music, but he also delves into the making and rise of the pop/rock phenomenon and the push for this new breed of music to be played on commercial radio. Kirshner paved the way for pop artists to reach levels of recognition that have never been reached before, and Podolsky’s book is a viable testament to Kirshner’s endeavors.