Songwriter Gerry Goffin dies at 75

CNN ^ | 6/19/14 | Rachel Wells

[SoFloFreeper]

Gerry Goffin, a hit songwriter and former husband of Carole King, died early Thursday. He was 75.

Together with King, he wrote such classics as "The Loco-Motion," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Up on the Roof."

[SoFloFreeper]

Lots of memories....just a PARTIAL list of songs he wrote is here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_written_by_Goffin_and_King

[tomkat]

AND the lyrics could be understood.

RIP, GG

[knarf]

I was watching a Pink Floyd clip earlier ... Live At Pompeii .. and it occurred to me what I loved about the 60's and early 70's was the creativity and work ethic of that time/era.

People's minds were fertile and actively producing and manifesting quality.

I stopped after the word 'quality' because I realized ... it wasn't as an adjective I was thinking ... but a noun.

[wideawake]

What you also loved about the 60s and 70s is that the music was the music of your youth, and so it has instilled a heuristic in your mind that makes you less likely to perceive the creativity and hard work that go into contemporary music.

[Carriage Hill]

“...former husband of Carole King...”
Not a resume enhancer, IMO.

RIP.

[Borges]

She wrote the music for all the best songs he wrote the lyrics for. She enhanced him quite a bit.

[left that other site]

I teach guitar and piano. The majority of my students are between the ages of 8 and 15.

WITHOUT EXCEPTION, these kids ask me to teach them the music of the 60’s and 70’s, what is now called “Classic Rock”.

Sometimes they do an occasional contemporary pop hit, but usually they drop the song after a few weeks and go back to their usual repertoire of Beatles, Stones, Motown, Carole King, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, and Lots and Lots of Blues.

It makes my job extremely pleasant! :-)

[ArtDodger]

I am a guitar teacher also, along with another half dozen instruments, and couldn’t agree more! Students that learn 60s and 70s songs are absolutely prepared for anything that comes at them. Of course, reading music (not just tab) is a must for kids,though I give the ‘old-timers’ a little slack on the reading..

[knarf]

I would't say that I can't or don't perceive the creativity and hard work of contemporary music/musicians ... I AM saying that I'm not aware of contemporary forms of (Allman Bros. Whipping Post ((e.g.)) going live for 50 or 60 minutes).

I appreciated the physicality of R&R bands on stage for hours ... or three bands at Watkin's Glen performing all together at the close of a two day festival (or was it three?)

I think also the words of that musical era were more .. I don't know .. adult ... than the teenage love of the 50's/early 60's

But .... you also may be correct.

[knarf]

Appreciate your comments ... thanx

[latina4dubya]

She wrote the music for all the best songs he wrote the lyrics for. She enhanced him quite a bit.

i agree! she is top-notch... she started so young... plus i think it is extraordinary that she was friends with Paul Simon in high school, and they used to do recording sessions together... and she also dated Neil Sedaka--another great song writer... what a terrific circle of friends!

[knarf]

What a terrific era

[left that other site]

Thank you for your affirmation! :-)

I love the special guitar music paper that combines Staff lines, tab and Chord frames all on the same page. By seeing all three visual graphs combined with hearing the notes and the muscle memory in the fingering, new pathways are formed in the brain.

One of the tunes that I use for sight-reading is “As Tears Go By” by the Stones.

[left that other site]

:-)

[Red Badger]

They KNOW it sounds good.
Always will.
Quality lasts thru the ages.

Look at Renaissance painting or classical Greek and Roman statuary.

REAL ART lasts forever.

RAP/HIP HOP will eventually wind up in the landfill of forgotten wannabes.................

[knarf]

As Tears Go By

[JennysCool]

What a terrific era

And with Jersey Boys opening this weekend, it could be due for a little resurgence.

[left that other site]

Indeed.

Much of today’s pop music is sung over a “loop”. There is even software that produces “loops” on a computer, and then the lyrics are merely floated over it. Some loops have as little as ONE chord. Recording software has “Auto-correct” for vocals, so there is no need to even sing on pitch!

The result is soul-less, formulaic, and forgettable.

That’s why our few forays into contemporary pop music end up sounding pathetic when played on real instruments.

You are right...Quality lasts through the ages, and does not become “dated”

[left that other site]

thanks for that! ;-)

[skeeter]

What you also loved about the 60s and 70s is that the music was the music of your youth, and so it has instilled a heuristic in your mind that makes you less likely to perceive the creativity and hard work that go into contemporary music.

Thats part of it.

But more than ever music is a reflection of public tastes, and no one can accuse public tastes of becoming more nuanced and refined since the 60s.

I also believe its harder for innovation, Pet Sounds in 66 for example, possibly because of the corporatization of the industry.

Just my uninformed opinion.