15 Facts About Don Kirshner

1.

Donald Kirshner was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter.

2.

Don Kirshner was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx, New York, United States, the son of Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor, and Belle Jaffe.

3.

Don Kirshner graduated from George Washington High School in Manhattan, and went on to study at Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey.

4.

Don Kirshner was responsible for finding Tony Orlando, Neil Diamond, Carole King, and Sarah Dash of Labelle, as well as discovering the occasional rock act, such as Kansas.

5.

Don Kirshner later had two other record labels: Calendar Records, which had early hits by the Archies, and later morphed into the Don Kirshner label, which had later hits by the Archies and Kansas.

6.

Don Kirshner later became president of COLGEMS, a subsidiary of the COLPIX label, in 1966.

7.

Don Kirshner was hired by the producers of The Monkees to provide hit-worthy songs to accompany the television program, within a demanding schedule.

8.

Don Kirshner used songwriting talent from his Brill Building stable of writers and musicians to create catchy, engaging tracks which the band could pretend to perform on the show.

9.

Don Kirshner was a music consultant or music supervisor for nearly two dozen TV series between 1966 and 1977, such as Bewitched.

10.

One instance brought Phil Spector, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart together on the TV show I Dream of Jeannie, a program on which Don Kirshner was credited as music consultant for 35 episodes from 1966 to 1967.

11.

From 1970 to 1979, Don Kirshner served as producer or executive producer for a number of made for TV movies, TV specials, and TV series.

12.

Shaffer and Don Kirshner worked together on the short-lived situation comedy, A Year at the Top, which Don Kirshner co-produced with Norman Lear, and in which Shaffer starred.

13.

Don Kirshner received the 2007 Songwriters Hall of Fame Abe Olman Publishing Award.

14.

Don Kirshner was a creative consultant for Rockrena, a company founded by Jack Wishna, and launched in 2011 to promote new music talent online.

15.

Don Kirshner died of heart failure in a Boca Raton, Florida hospital on January 17,2011, at age 76, survived by his wife of 50 years, Sheila; his son, Ricky Kirshner; daughter, Daryn Lewis; and five grandchildren.