My love of music and my years in the music industry as a songwriter, producer and music executive have given me insights and personal stories that I love to share. My lectures include classes on Rock & Roll, Broadway, The Great American Songbook**, and much more.
Here are some of the lectures that we'll be doing in 2024. You can only register for classes through the venue, not through us and sign ups will be available approximately 6-8 weeks before the start date of the course.
The '70s: Decade of the Singer-Songwriter
Even though many people think of the ‘70s as the decade of Disco music, the truth is the Disco craze really didn’t take hold until the end of the ‘70s. Throughout the decade, it was the singer-songwriter that dominated. Paul Simon, Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Elton John, Tom Petty, Billy Joel and Neil Diamond were just some of these brilliant artists that emerged as superstars, selling records at a pace never before imaginable.
In this course, we take an in-depth look at the careers of all of the singer-songwriters of the period, as well as the excitement, the excesses and the tragedies of the 1970s.
(This will be a six-week course at UCLA Extension Gayley Center,
each Wednesday, April 3rd through May 8, 2024,1:00PM to 3:00PM and will be in-person and on Zoom)
Rock & Roll and the ‘60s
From the Brill Building hits of the early ‘60s, to the Surf songs of The Beach Boys; From the British Invasion led by The Beatles, to the Greenwich Village Folk music scene, the first half of the decade was a reflection of Bob Dylan’s social consciousness. The times, they were a changin’, and so was the music.
The second half of the ‘60s gave us the Monterey Pop Festival, the San Francisco Flower Power movement and the culmination of the decade, Woodstock. Through personal stories and video clips, this course will focus on the excitement and turbulence of the decade, when Rock & Roll was re-invented and became an art form.
(This will be a six-week course at The Calabasas Senior Center, each Wednesday, July 10th through August 14, 2024, 1:00PM to 3:00PM and will be in person only, not on Zoom).
The Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals - Part 1
Much like the history of popular music, The Golden Age of the Hollywood Musical also had a Jewish influence. From the first talking picture about the son of a cantor in 1927’s “The Jazz Singer” it was mostly European immigrants that were in charge of the movie studios. From the moment sound was born it was the musical that audiences flocked to see between the mid 1930s and the late 1950s.
For seven weeks, this course will look at the highlights of these musicals that enraptured movie goers with spectacle, romance, athleticism, great performances, and, of course, song and dance…. Relive these great moments with the stars, directors, producers & choreographers on Skirball’s big movie screen the way they were originally seen during “The Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals”.
(This will be a seven-week course at The Skirball Cultural Center, each Wednesday, October 9, through November 20, 2024, 1:00PM to 3:00PM and will be in person only, not on Zoom)
Hope you can make it to some or all of these classes.
Best regards,
Steve Barri
**People have asked what songwriters and singers are featured in the four volumes of “The Great American Songbook”. Here’s a list:
Volume 1:
The Songwriters: Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Rodgers & Hart.
The Singers: Al Jolson, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Eddie Fisher, Bobby Darin and Andy Williams.
Volume 2:
The Songwriters: Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin, Gus Kahn, Howard Dietz & Arthur Schwartz, Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn.
The Singers: Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Mel Tormé, Tony Martin, Rosemary Clooney, The Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller and more.
Volume 3:
The Songwriters: Harold Arlen, Burton Lane, George M. Cohan, Dorothy Fields, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, DeSylva, Brown & Henderson, Mack Gordon, Alan & Marilyn Bergman.
The Singers: Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis, Jr., Perry Como, Dean Martin, Frankie Laine, Johnny Ray and a look at some big bands such as Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and more.
Volume 4:
The Songwriters: Harry Warren, Duke Ellington, Leo Robin, Yip Harburg, Livingston & Evans, Paul Francis Webster, Henry Mancini, Vernon Duke, Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby, Walter Donaldson, Ned Washington, Frank Loesser and Jules Styne.
The Singers: Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé, The Mills Brothers, Billie Holiday, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Peggy Lee and a wrap up of any songwriters or singers we’ve missed along the way.
All of the songwriters mentioned above have given us some of the best music the world has ever known.
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