Brill Building

English

Etymology

After the Brill Building in New York City, where some (though not most) of the songs were written. The building acquired its name from a haberdasher who operated a store there and subsequently purchased the building.

Proper noun

Brill Building

1. (music, historical, attributive) A style of pop music of the early 1960s, written by teams of professional songwriters to be performed by girl groups and teen idols.
   • 2001 August 25, Jim Bessman, quoting Carol Anne Dolan, “TV's ‘Hitmakers’ Spotlights Home of Brilliant Songwriting”, in Billboard, →ISSN, page 44:

     But when a list of Brill Building songs was attached to the proposal, it seemed to go on forever and read like a history of pop music.

   • 2008, Jack R. Fischel, Encyclopedia of Jewish American Popular Culture, page 33:

     As importantly, Brill Building music tended to utilize elements of African American music, often making use of vocal stylings characteristic of rhythm and blues—and, indeed, many songs typical of the Brill Building sound were sung by African American artists […]

   • 2016, Mark A. Moore, The Jan & Dean Record, page 74:

     Located at Broadway and 51st St. in Manhattan, Aldon and Nevins-Kirshner were part of the famous Brill Building music scene.

See also

• Tin Pan Alley