Don Kirshner

Don Kirshner (April 17, 1934 - January 17, 2011), known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", was an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as The Monkees, Kansas and The Archies. Don Kirshner was born to Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor, and Belle Jaffe, in The Bronx, New York. He attended the Bronx High School of Science (classmate of Bobby Darin), and Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey. Kirshner achieved his first major success in the late 1950s and early 1960s as co-owner of the influential New York-based publishing company Aldon Music with partner Al Nevins, which had under contract at various times several of the most important songwriters of the so-called "Brill Building" school, including Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Jack Keller. As a producer-promoter, Kirshner was influential in starting off the careers of singers and songwriters, including Bobby Darin, (with whom he collaborated on a number of advertising jingles and pop ditties, their first was called "Bubblegum Pop"), Neil Diamond, Carole King, and Sarah Dash of Labelle, as