I just recently read "Don Kirshner - The Man with the Golden Ear: How He Changed the Face of Rock and Roll" by Rich Podolsky and I found it to be a fascinating and exciting read from front to back.
As someone who was born in 1963 (the year that Don Kirshner and Al Nevins sold Aldon Music to Columbia/Screen Gems) I never knew the back story of Don's life and all that he accomplished before the 1970's. As a kid growing up in the 70's I was of course enamored with the show "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" a show that exposed me to some of my most beloved musical acts (I would not be such a huge Rory Gallagher fan today if I hadn't seen Don's show). I also used to love the way Paul Shaffer imitated Don on Saturday Night Live in the 70's as well, a spot on impression of Don's lumbering introductions during each band segment on "Rock Concert". And I also knew of his involvement with The Monkees at Screen Gems, which has been publicized quite frequently through the years. However I never knew anything about how he started in the business, or his claim to fame, or anything about all of his accomplishments leading up to1963. So that was my impetus for buying this book.
Now that I have read it, I can say without hesitation, that it met my expectations ten-fold, and I now know why author Rich Podolsky called his book "The Man With the Golden Ear", a term that was coined about Don early in his career. Don's contribution to Rock and Roll and the music, publishing, and recording industries cannot be overstated. He was indeed one of the individuals in history who changed the face of Rock and Roll, and that "Golden Ear" of his helped Aldon music publish more than 200 incredible chart-topping hits during it's tenure.
The book flows nicely, is easy to read, and is ultimately about so much more than the life and accomplishments of Don Kirshner. Podolsky delves deep into the well of supporting characters and ancillary relationships of Kirshner with great insight revering everyone from songwriters, producers, musicians, and Pop stars that worked with or within Kirshner's orbit throughout. The book is actually kind of made up of multiple mini-biographies of many of those people who Kirshner discovered and nurtured, and whom ultimately became famous themselves, during and after their time working at Aldon Music. People like Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Howie Greenfield, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, Jack Keller, Al Nevins, Little Eva, and Tony Orlando are covered in great detail, how each met Kirshner, their personal and working relationships, and how each became an incredibly special and gifted talent in their own way.
Other big-impact and fascinating characters float in and out of the story as the book unfolds, including people like Phil Spector, Bobby Darin (who has a large part of the story dedicated to him, his music, and his lifelong friendship and early working relationship with his pal Kirshner) and Leiber & Stoller, just to name a few. I was personally shocked at how many great songs were written, became hits, and came from these incredibly talented people at Aldon Music. This book really opened my eyes and my understanding as to what the beginning of Rock and Roll and more importantly the beginning of Pop music was like in the 1950's and early 1960's.
What I think makes this book so historically accurate and a pleasure to read is the fact that Rich Podolsky put forth an incredible effort to track down and interview nearly everyone who was involved with Kirshner and Aldon Music, and also many of the key players who worked with Donnie in the late 1960's and throughout the remainder of his career. Rich was able to interview Kirshner himself rather extensively before his untimely passing in 2011 and that goes a long way toward setting the record straight. Podolsky interviewed nearly every living person who was connected to the story as well (unfortunately Carole King and a few others like Weil & Mann didn't see the importance of documenting this incredibly historic period in Rock and Roll, either that or they were saving their own thoughts and insight for their own literary releases). Either way, Rich's many interviews with Gerry Goffin, Artie Kaplan, Artie Butler, Neil Sedaka, Connie Francis, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Tony Orlando, Bobby Vee, and Dion (just to mention a few) and most especially his interviews with Jack Keller, are what provide the clarity and details that makes this book such a must read.
One of the people I most enjoyed reading about in this book was Jack Keller. A very successful songwriter in Nevins & Kirshner's Aldon music days, Keller logged several # 1 hits with songs like "One Way Ticket (to the Blues)" and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" as well as numerous other top 10 hits throughout his early career. Jack went on to produce The Monkees first album (and co-wrote a number of Monkees songs including the Peter Tork sung 'Your Auntie Grizelda'), and he also co-wrote several famous TV Series musical theme songs like Bewitched, Gidget, and Here Come the Brides. He ended up being quite successful with everything he touched and was involved with, even later in his life when he relocated to Nashville on Songwriter's Row. If Rich Podolsky has another biography in him, I would suggest one on Jack Keller, especially since Rich was conversing with Jack on a regular basis right up until he passed away, too young and too soon, of Leukemia in 2005.
The fact that Rich was able to have so many conversations with not only Don Kirshner but the many people who he worked with and shared his wonderful story with in one way or another, is a testament to the hard work and dedication that Podolsky put in to achieve this historically accurate dissertation. This is one of those books that keeps you interested throughout, and I found myself voraciously reading through it to completion in a relatively short amount of time.
Bottom Line: I highly recommend this book to any fan of Don Kirshner, the early days of Rock and Roll and Pop, or music lovers in general.
Buy it. Read it. Enjoy It. You won't be disappointed.
Rest in Peace, Don Kirshner. Thanks for the memories!
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