Brill Building
Philip Springer utilized his classical piano training to pen hit songs during a long and celebrated career making music. As a result his tunes often incorporated elements of sophistication as well as whimsy. Both of his parents were musical and encouraged young Philip to play the piano. By the age...
Morris Diamond sat down with us for his NAMM Oral History interview at the age of 97 and recalled his career in music which started when he was 15 years old. He was hired to be the “band boy” for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra one month after the famous bandleader hired a then unknown singer by the...
Ivan Mogull had a special connection with the Brill Building in New York City, the long time hub of music publishing for decades. Ivan was born the same year the famed building was built and his father, a foot doctor, was the first tenant. As a boy Ivan ran the halls and got to know many of the...
Susan Aberbach is the president of the music publishing company, Hill & Range, which was formed by her husband and his brother. The two brothers wanted to publish country music and went to Nashville in the early 1950s representing a new company named to conjure up thoughts of country music. In...
Toni Wine can be heard singing the line “I can make your life so sweet” as one of the Archies on the 1969 hit record “Sugar, Sugar.” As a songwriter she wrote her first song when she was 14 years old and went on to be hired by music publishers to write hit songs such as “A Groovy Kind of Love,” “...
Bobby Feldman wrote three hit songs in the 1960s that are still being played and recorded today. His songwriting began at a desk in the Brill Building in New York City. He formed several singing groups that sang his songs, including the Strangeloves who waxed “I Want Candy.” He also wrote “My...
Bugs Bower was one of the great characters of music publishing that helped re-direct the industry following World War II. Before and during the war, Bugs was a musician and arranger who played with dance bands on stage and on radio. After the war he continued arranging and was given a job at the...
Johnny Mandel brought his unique talents as a composer and arranger from jazz clubs to the big screen during a brilliant career that spanned over 60 years! As a songwriter, he spent several years in the 1940s and 50s plugging his songs in the Brill Building in New York which was the hotspot for...
Hal David followed in the footsteps of his older brother Mack, who penned several popular songs in the 1930s and 40s. Hal worked hard to learn the craft and spent many years in and around the Brill Building in New York, which was the hub of music publishing in America at the time. After a number of...
Bernie Kalban was one of the great veterans of the music publishing industry. Having worked in the era right after Tin Pan Alley, in the Brill Building and with many of the top firms, Bernie witnessed many of the most important changes to the music industry during the 20th century. He began working...