SONG BIZ SONGWRITER PROFILE John Braheny 1938-2013 By Dan Kimpel John Braheny, the man known as the “Songwriters Best Friend,” and the author of the best-selling book The Craft and Business of Songwriting, died Jan. 19 in Los Angeles, CA. He was 74. Through his book, his lectures and his advocacy, Braheny cast a major influence over successive generations of songwriters. He was also the first freelance journalist hired by a then fledgling Music Connection magazine back in 1977, to write about songwriters and the songwriting community. Community was the soul of Braheny’s enduring commitment. Along with partner Len Chandler, Braheny was the co-founder and director of the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase (LASS), a national non-profit organization that provided exposure and encouragement to an impressive list of later-tobe-successful new writers and writerartists from 1971-1996 including Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, Janis Ian, Warren Zevon, Karla Bonoff, Stephen Bishop, Wendy Waldman and pop music’s most successful contemporary songwriter, Diane Warren, for whom Braheny and Chandler critiqued over 150 songs when she was only 15. The weekly showcases, held at a variety of venues across L.A., featured the publisher song evaluation Cassette Roulette and the A&R/ project sessions, Pitch-A-Thon. Most significantly, these weekly events were the flashpoints for countless collaborative hookups. In addition, LASS’ national membership could send in songs for the appropriate publishers, artists or projects. In 1977, Braheny, Chandler and a tight circle of creative friends— among them, the late Mandi Martin—devised the first-ever Songwriters Expo. For over two decades, this event reigned as the largest and most comprehensive annual education and discovery event held exclusively for songwriters in the world. In recent years, Braheny taught songwriting and music business seminars across North America and classes at UCLA, Musicians Institute, L.A. Recording School (Hollywood) and the Songwriting School of Los Angeles while also consulting and coaching. He was a longtime screener at TAXI, the independent A&R company who hired him early in the company’s history as a consultant. As a journalist, John Braheny published over 600 in-depth interviews for a variety of magazines including the magazine he co-founded and edited for, LASS, The Songwriters Musepaper. John conducted audio conversations with 55 hit songwriters for United Airlines in-flight Entertainment Network from 1998 - 2005, and was the on-air co-host of Samm Brown’s For the Record broadcast on KPFK, Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles. Born in Iowa, Braheny first broke into the music business as a touring and recording artist and released a solo album in 1970 titled Some Kind of Change. His songs were recorded by others including “December Dream” (Linda Ronstadt & the Stone Poneys). Braheny served three terms on the Board of Governors of the L.A. Chapter of the Recording Academy. He was past president of the California Copyright Conference (CCC), and served on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Songwriters (NAS), the Songwriters Guild of America, and on the boards of advisors for many organizations throughout the US and Canada. On a personal note: when I arrived in Los Angeles, John hired me for my first job in the business, selling advertising space in The Songwriters Musepaper, and I became an interviewer because John needed me to cover when he was unable to interview songwriter and producer Thom Bell (the Stylistics, the Delfonics, the Spinners, Elton John and Dionne Warwick). John loved to play his fiddle and jam with other musicians. His level of enthusiasm for songwriters never waned, and his excitement at discovering new songs and artists was inspiring. When I interviewed John and his wife JoAnn for my book Electrify My Soul: Songwriters and the Spiritual Source, he said, “When people have come to this world with gifts, there are many opportunities for them to either deny these gifts or to embrace them.” John truly embraced what he had been given for the benefit anyone who came in contact with him; to provide an unshakeable moral compass, and an incredible depth of wisdom and compassion. In addition to his wife, JoAnn, John is survived by a brother Kevin, a sister Mary, a son, Michael Toth, a grandson, Evan, and thousands of grateful songwriters. Plans for a memorial celebration are pending. Visit the Facebook page “Friends of John Braheny.” 30 March 2013 www.musicconnection.com
THE ONLY U.S. MUSIC CONFERENCE 100% DEDICATED TO SONGWRITERS AND COMPOSERS! TAKE YOUR MUSIC TO THE NEXT LEVEL The ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO puts you face-to-face with the most successful songwriters, composers and producers who generously share their knowledge and expertise. 78!!9:' ;,'?+,5/' +@+5A
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