Gerry Goffin

Okay, maybe I'm overreaching here, but it seems like we used to revere songwriters more than we do now.  Gerry Goffin certainly was an ace one.  His lyrics matched with Carole King's melodies, and others, put both of them near the top of 60's songwriters.  But there were others from that era.  Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Burt Bacharach/Hal David, Bert Berns and don't forget Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman, who began charting hits in the 50's.   What I'm talking about are writers who didn't have hit records (outside of Carole King).  And whose catalog holds up years later, and continues to be covered. Goffin, along with many of the names above was part of the Brill Building stable of writers.  Do we have that type anymore?

Today, Max Martin is the first name I thought of whose work will be remembered.  From the 80's and late 70's there was the overlooked Rod Temperton (a member of Heatwave). Both are songwriters who didn't sing. Nostalgia plays a big part in all of this.  But the death of someone like Gerry Goffin will make us all sentimental for a bygone era.

Take a look at Gerry Goffin's songwriting credits (inducted into the Rock Hall in 1990):

List of Gerry Goffin Songs