Inside the House of Pop: What was the Brill Building?
The middle of the 20th century saw music change dramatically in ways that are unlikely to ever be repeated. The advent of pop music emerging from the boom of rock and roll and blues in the 1950s and ‘60s was a seismic shift that expanded the horizons of what people listened to and were entertained by, and while classical, jazz and folk have always continued to retain their audiences, pop became the dominant force in the new cultural landscape.
Of course, pop was nothing completely new, and this shift couldn’t have taken place without all of the music that came before it. The only real change was that composers were now beginning to draw the most palatable elements from all of these preexisting niches and forge a hybrid of styles that could appeal to a wider audience.
It was a simple but masterful approach that opened horizons to listeners and songwriters alike; suddenly, nobody was afraid to try new things, merge folk with an orchestra, or play heavier riffs over a jazz ensemble. However, while it might have appeared as though there was a sudden glut of talent emerging in terms of the number of songwriters coming forward, many of the most beloved songs were all emerging from the same places.
Much like Motown had their in-house writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, and Stax similarly rested on the talents of Isaac Hayes and David Porter for their greatest triumphs, there was a team of expert songwriters all residing in one Manhattan office block that became a powerhouse in coming up with some of the most superlative pop music of the 1960s.
Known as the Brill Building, this establishment penned hits for many illustrious names in popular music, such as Dusty Springfield, The Drifters and Ike & Tina Turner, and would be recognised as an institution for many years. While no longer operating as a songwriting house, the building still stands as a designated landmark of New York City, and the distinctive sound produced by the resident songwriters continues to inspire modern acts.
Who were the main songwriters at the Brill Building?
Writing predominantly for the girl groups and teen idols of the era that were experiencing a meteoric rise in popularity, the Brill Building songwriters managed to cultivate a distinct sound that merged together doo-wop vocals, rock and roll, soul and R&B. While there were also many nods to the previously dominant Tin Pan Alley publishing house from the earlier part of the 20th century and even before, the Brill Building sound offered a modern approach to the same industriousness.
One name that people might associate with producing girl groups during this era is Phil Spector. While in the 1960s, he was operating alone and establishing his Wall of Sound recording technique, he frequently used some of the songwriters at the Brill Building to write hits for the acts he produced, with Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry having been two of his most frequent collaborators who wrote tracks such as ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’ and ‘Then He Kissed Me’ for The Crystals.
However, as prolific as this partnership was, there were arguably many more notable names who were writing for the stars of the period and who even went on to forge solo performing careers by themselves. Arguably, the most renowned partnership within the walls of the building was Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who between them wrote the music and lyrics to hits such as Dionne Warwick’s ‘Walk on By’, Aretha Franklin’s ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ and The Carpenters’ ‘Close To You’, charting in the US top 40 a total of 52 times for their efforts.
In another bountiful partnership, the husband and wife pairing of Carole King and Gerry Goffin also managed to come up with one of Aretha Franklin’s most evergreen songs in ‘I Say A Little Prayer’, as well as ‘The Loco-Motion’ for Little Eva and ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ for The Monkees among a veritable selection of others. The duo would eventually relent in writing for others when King’s career as a solo recording artist took off following the release of her 1971 masterpiece album, Tapestry, but the songs they wrote during their time in the building were just as formidable as those written by the aforementioned partnerships.
From Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller to Neil Sedaka, and from Sonny Bono to Paul Simon under the pseudonym Jerry Landis, many others graced the Brill Building during the height of its notoriety and penned hit after hit for the biggest names in popular music. It’s probably fair to say that the sheer fortitude of this collective of writers is something that hasn’t been replicated and is unlikely to ever reoccur in the modern musical landscape, but the work that they produced throughout the most fruitful era of pop was one of the most spectacular meetings of minds in music.
