The Faculty Lounge

Goffin/King Medley

Before launching her legendary solo career in the 1970s, Carole King worked in the Brill Building, writing a series of hits with her then-husband Gerry Goffin. In total, King wrote or co-wrote an astounding 118 songs that charted on the Hot 100, beginning when she was a teenager, although I don't know how many were with Goffin (she wrote the music, he wrote the lyrics).

Here is Carole King in 1988, performing the great Goffin/King songs with occasional guests.

Hiring Announcement: University of Mississippi School of Law

From a recent email message:

The University of Mississippi School of Law invites applicants and nominations for the position of Director of the Law Library and tenure-track or tenured Professor, Associate, or Assistant Professor.  The Law School is located in Oxford, Mississippi, on the campus of the University of Mississippi, an R-1, flagship state research university. Oxford is a vibrant town nestled in the hills of north Mississippi, with access to diverse natural, cultural, and recreational attractions.  The Law School has 39 full time faculty and 546 students.  The Law Library has a wealth of traditional resources, but also is technologically sophisticated.  The Law Library serves the needs of law faculty, students, as well as the members of the Bench and Bar of the State of Mississippi.

Responsibilities:  delivering law school and library information resources to the academic and legal community; administering library operations, planning, and budget; supervising library personnel; developing library collections; overseeing library web and computer resources; supporting faculty and student legal scholarship; collaborating closely with school leadership, other University of Mississippi libraries, and university administration to ensure alignment with institutional goals and priorities; directing first-year Legal Research Program; and teaching foundational and advanced legal research classes.

For additional information, please click here.

Hiring Announcement: University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law (Director of Legal Writing)

From a recent email message:

The University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law seeks to hire a Director of Legal Writing.  This position can be tenure or non-tenure track.  The position has an anticipated start date of July 2024. 

The successful candidate will oversee the Knudson School of Law’s legal writing program which begins in the 1L year and extends throughout 2L and 3L years.  The successful candidate will have an opportunity to teach other courses in addition to assigned legal writing courses.

The Faculty Appointments Committee will begin review of applications on December 22, 2023.  Interested candidates should submit their application materials to Professor Robert Miller ([email protected]). 

Salary is negotiable depending upon the candidate’s experience and qualifications. 

The University of South Dakota is an equal opportunity employer.  USD is committed to fostering dynamic and welcoming working and learning environments for all.  USD provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to ideological, political, or sectarian opinions or perspective; or race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability, national origin, or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.  USD is committed to the principles of free expression and encourages the timely and rational discussion of topics in an environment that is intellectually and ideologically diverse.

Drifting Up, On, Under

Among their big hits in the early 1960s, The Drifters charted three songs with prepositions beginning the titles: "Up on the Roof," "On Broadway," and "Under the Boardwalk." The group itself was extremely unstable, with lead and backup singers coming and going at frequent intervals. Both Clyde McPhatter and Ben E. King were Drifters' lead singers before going on to successful solo careers, although neither sang lead on the "prepositional" songs featured in this post. The name for the group was owned by their manager George Treadwell, a former jazz trumpeter and once the husband of Sarah Vaughn. Treadwell cycled over 60 vocalists under The Drifters' name, paying most of them poorly, in a lineage often described as "Treadwell's Drifters." Early members of the group sometimes competed under other names, including "The Original Drifters," led by early member Bill Pinckney, who obtained the rights to the variant name in binding arbitration with Treadwell.

"Up on the Roof" was written by Gerry Goffin and Carol King and released in 1962 with Rudy Lewis singing lead (Clyde McPhatter and Ben E. King having already left). Goffin, the lyricist, said it was his favorite of all their songs. It reached number 4 on the Hot 100.

There are clips of "On Broadway" and "Under the Boardwalk" after the jump, with some additional covers of the Drifters' songs.

NYU Law Birnbaum Women's Leadership Center Seeks Visiting Fellows-In-Residence

This just in:

The Birnbaum Women's Leadership Center (BWLC) at NYU School of Law invites applications for Visiting Fellows-in-Residence for the 2024-25 academic year. Ideal candidates are legal scholars with sabbatical funding who seek to undertake research and writing, organize events, and otherwise collaborate on projects focused on women's rights and gender equity and justice.

Visiting Fellows-in-Residence work directly with BWLC's faculty director, executive director, staff, and students for the duration of a semester or full academic year. During that time, Visiting Fellows-in-Residence are provided with a shared on-campus office equipped with tech/support, as well as access to Law School events, communication networks/listservs, libraries, etc.