The Brilliant Brill - A Building and Its Music Quiz

Answer: All of these

All these big bands showcased songs from Brill Building writers and publishers. Glenn Miller had a hit with a Buddy Feyne/ Erskine Hawkins composition "Tuxedo Junction" in 1939. Lyricist Billy Rose promoted his songs through the big bands, and featured the first Benny Goodman Orchestra in his Billy Rose Music Hall opened in 1934. Publisher Irving Mills actually formed his own recording studio group which included Tommy Dorsey.

The Brill Building on Broadway took its name from the Brill Brothers. They opened a clothing store on the ground floor and later the business acquired the entire building. The Great Depression played a hand in the building's future. The office space was originally intended to house financiers, but the straitened times of the early thirties saw the office space let to the music industry instead.

Answer: Elvis Presley

This writing duo was responsible for the Presley hits "Love Me" (1956), "Jailhouse Rock" (1957) and "Hound Dog", Elvis Presley's 1956 remake of the 1952 version originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. The writing pair are Hall of Famers - both for Song Writing and for Rock and Roll contributions.

The building has even been credited with developing its own sound - The Brill Building Sound - which was loosely based on Latin music combined with rhythm and blues.

Answer: Will You Love Me Tomorrow

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" has been ranked in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Shirelles' version went to number one despite some initial trepidation about the song's suitability. Gene Pitney had a hit with "Every Breath I Take" in 1961, "Take Good Care of My Baby" was a hit for Bobby Vee in the same year and "The Loco-Motion" was a hit for Little Eva in 1962 and Australia's Kylie Minogue in 1988. Goffin and King were indeed prolific Brill writers, both as a team and individually. King's 1971 album "Tapestry" was one of the most enduring albums of the late 20th century.

Carole King described their Brill working conditions as "cubby holes". There was just enough room for the bare essentials - a piano and stool, and if the lyricist was really lucky - perhaps a chair.

Answer: Burt Bacharach and Hal David

All answer options were Brill writers, but Bacharach and David really made wonderful music with Miss Warwick. Her first hit with them was "Don't Make Me Over" in 1962. The threesome followed this with 1963's "Anyone Who Had a Heart", "Walk on By" in 1964, "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1966) and "I Say a Little Prayer" in 1967. There were many more collaborations before her final Bacharach/David single in 1971 with "Who Gets the Guy".

The Brill Building garnered itself quite a reputation as something of a pressure cooker, with the demand for hit songs keeping song writers competing with each other to produce hits.

Answer: Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka and Carole King attended Queens College together. She inspired the hit "Oh! Carol" which reached number nine on the US charts in 1959. King responded with the song "Oh Neil" in 1960.

Sedaka teamed with a neighbourhood friend, Howard Greenfield, and together they produced a string of hits including "Calendar Girl" (1960), "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (1961) and their big hit "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (1962). Sedaka also wrote for other artists and penned hits for The Monkees, The 5th Dimension and Franki Valli.

The Brill Building was something of an all in one department store for music. Aspiring writers could have their song duplicated, recorded and then the demo could be taken to the in-house record companies - the building was literally home to all facets of the music industry.

Answer: Last Train to Clarksville

The duo wrote "Last Train to Clarksville" for the Monkees; it was released in 1966 and reached number one in the US. The Monkees also recorded the Boyce /Hart song "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" in the same year. The songwriters also had success in their own right, recording the hit "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" in 1967.

Many of the Brill writers were contracted to Aldon Music under the guidance of Don Kirshner. The Aldon publishing company didn't actually originate in the Brill, but at 1650 Broadway.

Answer: Neil Diamond

As a Brill writer, Diamond penned songs for The Monkees and Jay and the Americans. His first hit in his own right was "Solitary Man" (1966). "Sweet Caroline" was a hit in 1969. His signature album "Hot August Night" was released in 1972.

Diamond's association with the Brill obviously made an impression on him. He released "Up on the Roof: Songs from the Brill Building" in 1993. The track listing included songs by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Hal David and Neil Sedaka - all Brill stalwarts.

Answer: A Brill producer thought he heard Carole King playing when it was actually Ellie.

Ellie had an appointment at the Brill to meet with John Gluck, Jr. who couldn't see her immediately. While she waited, she started playing the piano in the office. The piano and the office belonged to songwriter and producer Jerry Leiber - the rest as they say - is history.

Greenwich wrote with husband Jeff Barry. In the early 1960s they penned hits for The Ronettes and the Crystals. In 1964, Manfred Mann had a number one hit with their "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and in the same year, the Dixie Cups went to the top of the charts with "Chapel of Love".

The Brill Building has even been a movie star! "Grace of My Heart", released in 1996, looked at life in the Brill with a character very loosely resembling the legendary Carole King.

Answer: The Beatles

When the British groups began storming the USA with their own style of music, they were more often than not performers who relied on their own compositions for their releases. Brill songwriters tended to be in the business of writing for performers other than themselves. The emphasis on the number of Brill songs written for girl groups like The Shirelles and The Crystals is a strong example of this trend.

The Beatles - specifically Lennon and McCartney - declared Gerry Goffin and Carole King to be their major influence where songwriting was concerned. While the pair wrote most of the group's music, the Beatles also covered older Brill songs. "Boys" was a lesser known song for The Shirelles, and "Chains" was a hit for The Cookies. Both songs were included on the album "Please Please Me" released in 1963.

The Brill Building is eleven stories high.

Answer: True

Spector and three high school friends had a 1958 hit with "To Know Him Is to Love Him" and that was about the limit of their success. The group broke up in 1959.

Phil Spector then attracted the attention of Brill personnel, and it was arranged that he work with writers and music producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Spector learned his trade well, absorbing all aspects of the music industry. As well as producing major talent, he co-wrote songs with the Brill's best - Goffin and King, Greenwich and Barry, and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil all worked with Spector.

Most well known musically for his Wall of Sound production techniques, Spector remained a major influence in the music world for decades. One of the Brill's finest sons, his productions are as fresh today as at their inception in the '60s.

This quiz could have been endless. Jim Croce, John Denver, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Paul Anka, Bobby Darin, Paul Simon and Gene Pitney all worked in the Brill. The roll call of artists, songwriters, producers and music greats who owe their career success to the Brill's existence is legion.

And still the building sits and muses. And still the music echoes.