Back in the early 1950s Country music and the Blues had a baby and they named it Rock & Roll. Two of the Godfathers there for the christening were lyricist Jerry Leiber and composer Mike Stoller. In those early years there were singers and there were songwriters and they weren’t the same people. Leiber and Stoller wrote many of the biggest hits of the ’50s and ’60s – twenty songs for Elvis alone.
Leiber & Stoller’s first song was written when they were both 17 and was first recorded by Big Momma Thornton in 1952. They also produced the record themselves. Here’s a version from 1965 with Buddy Guy on guitar:
RIP Jerry Leiber
by
Tags:
Comments
14 responses to “RIP Jerry Leiber”
-
Are we there yet?
-
Are we there yet?
-
Bad day for songwriters:
Nick Ashford, half of the Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson that penned songs for Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan and others, died Monday at age 70, his former publicist said.
Mr. Ashford, who along with wife, Valerie Simpson, wrote some of Motown’s biggest hits, died in a New York City hospital, said publicist Liz Rosenberg, who was Mr. Ashford’s longtime friend. He had been suffering from throat cancer and had undergone radiation treatment, she told the Associated Press.
Though they had some of their greatest success at Motown with classics like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Reach Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand” by Ms. Ross, Ashford & Simpson also created anthems for others like “I’m Every Woman” by Ms. Khan (and later remade by Whitney Houston). Mr. Ashford and Ms. Simpson had success writing for themselves as well. Perhaps the best-known song they sang was the 1980s hit “Solid As A Rock.”
-
Bad day for songwriters:
Nick Ashford, half of the Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson that penned songs for Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan and others, died Monday at age 70, his former publicist said.
Mr. Ashford, who along with wife, Valerie Simpson, wrote some of Motown’s biggest hits, died in a New York City hospital, said publicist Liz Rosenberg, who was Mr. Ashford’s longtime friend. He had been suffering from throat cancer and had undergone radiation treatment, she told the Associated Press.
Though they had some of their greatest success at Motown with classics like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Reach Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand” by Ms. Ross, Ashford & Simpson also created anthems for others like “I’m Every Woman” by Ms. Khan (and later remade by Whitney Houston). Mr. Ashford and Ms. Simpson had success writing for themselves as well. Perhaps the best-known song they sang was the 1980s hit “Solid As A Rock.” -
Hambone, I’m not much of a music aficionado, but I, like you grew up in the 50’s-60’s and liked rock and roll, didn’t much care for the country music of that era, although I like the newer country. That said, I really enjoyed the video, I had NO idea who Big Momma Thornton was, but that was good. 😉
-
Hambone, I’m not much of a music aficionado, but I, like you grew up in the 50’s-60’s and liked rock and roll, didn’t much care for the country music of that era, although I like the newer country. That said, I really enjoyed the video, I had NO idea who Big Momma Thornton was, but that was good. 😉
-
Here’s a song Leiber & Stoller wrote with Ben E. King:
-
Here’s a song Leiber & Stoller wrote with Ben E. King:
-
Johnny Winter gets in on the L&S action:
Pass the dynamite ’cause the fuse is lit.
-
Johnny Winter gets in on the L&S action:
Pass the dynamite ’cause the fuse is lit. -
Hadta throw this one in. Classic combination of Jumpin’ Jack Flash and the L&S-penned song Young Blood sung by Leon Russell at George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh:
-
Hadta throw this one in. Classic combination of Jumpin’ Jack Flash and the L&S-penned song Young Blood sung by Leon Russell at George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh:
-
Here Ya’ go ” Elvis Presley- Gospel, If That Isn’t Love”
This is one of my Bride’s favorites. It was on an obscure album that she had as a kid, she stilllhadhas the album but we didn’t have any way to play it. A buddy of mine bought a turntable to convert all of his 10,000 recordings to digital, so I took it to him and he made me a CD and the boy scaned the album cover and made a label for the disc. One of THE BEST Christmas gifts that I ever gave her, and it cost dang near nuttin”. 😀 Hey it IS the thought that counts! -
Here Ya’ go ” Elvis Presley- Gospel, If That Isn’t Love”
This is one of my Bride’s favorites. It was on an obscure album that she had as a kid, she stilllhadhas the album but we didn’t have any way to play it. A buddy of mine bought a turntable to convert all of his 10,000 recordings to digital, so I took it to him and he made me a CD and the boy scaned the album cover and made a label for the disc. One of THE BEST Christmas gifts that I ever gave her, and it cost dang near nuttin”. 😀 Hey it IS the thought that counts!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.