Main Cast: Steve Lawrence, David Sanjek, Carole King, Doc Pomus, Jeff Barry
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
In the early days of rock & roll in the '50s, while the public knew the voices and faces of the folks who snag the tunes, it was often the people behind the scenes who truly held the talent that made a song a hit, and as the sounds of "teenage music" took over the charts, a new breed of young songwriters and producers became giants in the industry. Hit Makers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music tells the story of the kids (mostly Jewish, mostly from Brooklyn) who wrote the tunes and brainstormed the sessions for some of the biggest hits of the era out of offices in New York City's Brill Building, where music publishing mogul Don Kirschner had the likes of Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Neil Sedaka under contract. Beginning with the start of the rock era and ending with the rise of hard rock and singer/songwriters at the dawn of the '70s, Hit Makers tells the story of some of the truly unsung heroes of American popular music, complete with interviews from the songwriters and producers, as well as the performers who helped bring their great songs to life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Cast
Steve Lawrence; David Sanjek; Carole King; Doc Pomus; Jeff Barry; Tom Dowd; Jerry Wexler; Jerry Leiber; Mike Stoller; Greg Shaw; Barry Mann; Cynthia Weil; Neil Sedaka; Raoul Felder; Ruth Brown; Sharyn Felder; Don Kirschner; Ahmet Ertegun; Jack Keller; Connie Francis; Alan Warner; Brooks Arthur; Phil Ramone; Bill Medley; Dionne Warwick; Russ Titelman; Burt Bacharach; Shirley Alston Reeves; Steve Tyrell; Hal David; Little Eva; Gerry Goffin; Tony Orlando; Lamont Dozier; Ellie Greenwich; Lesley Gore; Bobby Vee; Ben E. King; George "Shadow" Morton; Mary Weiss-Stokes; John Turturro - Narrator
Credit
Morgan Neville - Director, Shaun Peterson - Editor, Carolanne Dolan - Executive Producer, Craig Spirko - Cinematographer, Peter Jones - Producer, Morgan Neville - Screenwriter, Peter Jones - Screenwriter
