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 2024/25. 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 - And the Beat Goes On"
In the decade of the ‘70s, the ever-expanding music business was earning more money than the movie industry. The singer/songwriters were selling millions of records, but that was just a part of what was happening. There was so much more.
This course will take us through the decade and highlight most of the great music being made. From the soft Rock music of The Carpenters to the Punk Rock music of The Talking Heads, to the Disco sounds of The Bee Gees, to the great Soul music from Philadelphia. We may not get to it all in seven weeks but we’ll get to hear most of the soundtrack of “The ‘70s…And the Beat Goes On”.
(This will be a seven week course at UCLA Extension, each Wednesday, February 5 through March 19, 2025, 1:00PM - 3:00PM and will be in person AND on Zoom)
The Great American Songbook - Vol. 3
The Songwriters, The Singers and the Songs
American popular song is this country’s invention and our great gift to the world. The songwriters and singers of this gift express our innermost feelings and elevate the mundane to the magnificent.
Volume 3 of this course will look at the history of Tin Pan Alley and many of its greatest contributors - Harold Arlen, Burton Lane, George M. Cohan, Dorothy Fields, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, DeSylva, Brown & Henderson, Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown, Frank Loesser, as well as the great lyric writing team of Alan & Marilyn Bergman.
The singers will include: Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis, Jr., Perry Como, Louie Prima and Keely Smith, Dean Martin, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, Nat King Cole, as well as some of the great big bands of the early 1900s.
Come along and continue our journey through The Great American Songbook, the soundtrack of American life over much of the past century.
(This will be a six week course at Calabasas Senior Center, each Wednesday, March 26 through April 30, 2025, 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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