Don Kirshner Dies At 77 Years Of Age

Don Kirshner, legendary American music publisher, died Monday in Boca Raton, Florida of heart failure. He was 77.

Time magazine once dubbed him “The man with the golden ear.”

Kirshner is best known for managing the songwriting talent behind the successful pop music television series The Monkees and later The Archies, and also for his signature television program Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.

He achieved his first major success in the late 1950s and early 1960s thanks to the "Brill Building'" artists he had under contract including Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. He was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2007.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Sheila and his children Ricky and Daryn.