What's On

This course is now sold out. If you are interested in being added to a waitlist, please send an e-mail to learningforlife@skirball.org indicating the course you are interested in, your full name, and complete contact information, including e-mail address and telephone number. We will contact you in case a space becomes available for this course.

Between 1958 and the 1964 "British Invasion," most of the chart-topping songs on American radio were written by teenagers from Brooklyn and Queens, New York. Neil Diamond, Carole King, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, Neil Sedaka, Paul Simon, and other young songwriters produced mainstream popular music that dominated the charts, creating hit after hit out of a building that some referred to as "a magic place," the Brill Building. An Art Deco structure just north of Times Square, the Brill Building was a place where a musician could find a publisher, cut a demo, and sign with a record company to release and promote his/her song without ever leaving the building. This in-depth course will include lectures, rare video clips, and insider stories providing insight into these amazing songwriters who contributed to the soundtrack of our lives.

Instructor: Steve Barri is a composer, lyricist, music industry executive, and a musical theater enthusiast. As vice president of Dunhill Records, he was involved in signing several acts, including Steely Dan, Jimmy Buffet, and Three Dog Night. While working at Warner Bros. and Motown Records, he was a producer for Lionel Ritchie and served as advisor on the classic soundtrack for The Big Chill.