Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Leiber and Stoller | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Genres | Popular music, R&B, rock and roll, Broadway tunes |
Occupation(s) | Songwriter and record producer duo (Leiber – Lyricist Stoller – composer) |
Years active | 1950–2011 |
Labels | Spark Records |
Jerry Leiber | |
Birth Name | Jerome Leiber[1] |
Born | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | April 15, 1933
Died | August 22, 2011 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 78)
Mike Stoller | |
Birth name | Michael Stoller |
Born | Queens, New York , U.S. | March 13, 1933
Leiber and Stoller were an American
.Leiber and Stoller found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as "Hound Dog" (1952) and "Kansas City" (1952). Later in the 1950s, particularly through their work with the Coasters, they created a string of ground-breaking hits—including "Young Blood" (1957), "Searchin'" (1957), and "Yakety Yak" (1958)—that used the humorous vernacular of teenagers sung in a style that was openly theatrical rather than personal.[4]
Leiber and Stoller wrote hits for
In all, Leiber and Stoller wrote or co-wrote over 70 chart hits. They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.[7]
Biography
1950s
Both born to Jewish families, Leiber came from Baltimore, Maryland,[3] and Stoller from Queens, New York,[8] but they met in Los Angeles, California in 1950, where Stoller was a freshman at Los Angeles City College while Leiber was a senior at Fairfax High. Stoller had graduated from Belmont High School. After school, Stoller played piano and Leiber worked in Norty's, a record store on Fairfax Avenue,[9][10] and when they met, they found they shared a love of blues and rhythm and blues.[3] In 1950, Jimmy Witherspoon recorded and performed their first commercial song, "Real Ugly Woman".[11] Stoller's name at birth was Michael Stoller, but he later changed it legally to "Mike".[citation needed]
Their first hit composition was "Hard Times", recorded by Charles Brown, which was a rhythm and blues hit in 1952.[3] "Kansas City", first recorded in 1952 (as "K. C. Loving") by rhythm & blues singer Little Willie Littlefield, became a No. 1 pop hit in 1959 for Wilbert Harrison.[3] In 1952, the partners wrote "Hound Dog" for blues singer Big Mama Thornton,
Leiber and Stoller's later songs often had lyrics more appropriate for pop music, and their combination of rhythm and blues with pop lyrics revolutionized pop, rock and roll, and punk rock.
They formed Spark Records in 1954 with their mentor, Lester Sill.[3] Their songs from this period include "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and "Riot in Cell Block #9", both recorded by the Robins.[15]
The label was later bought by Atlantic Records[when?], which hired Leiber and Stoller in an innovative deal that allowed them to produce for other labels.[3] This, in effect, made them the first independent record producers.[15] At Atlantic, they revitalized the careers of the Drifters and wrote a number of hits for the Coasters, a spin-off of the Robins.[3] Their songs from this period include "Charlie Brown", "Searchin'", "Yakety Yak",[16] "Stand By Me" (written with Ben E. King), and "On Broadway" (written with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil). For the Coasters alone, they wrote 24 songs that appeared in the US charts.
In 1955, Leiber and Stoller produced a recording of their song "
On March 9, 1958, Leiber and Stoller appeared together on the TV panel quiz show What's My Line? as rock and roll composers of "Hounddog", "Jailhouse Rock" and "Don't". They were not household names and did not appear as celebrity mystery guests (a regular feature of the show) but as ordinary people with an unusual “line” of work. They even signed in under their own names, as the producers apparently were certain that the panel would not know who they were.
Post-1950s
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2021) |
In the beginning of the 1960s, they started Daisy Records and recorded Bob Moore and The Temps (with Roy Buchanan) on their label.
In the early 1960s, Phil Spector served an apprenticeship of sorts with Leiber and Stoller in New York City, developing his record producer's craft while observing and playing guitar on their sessions, including the guitar solo on the Drifters' "On Broadway".
After leaving the employ of Atlantic Records—where they produced, and often wrote, many classic recordings by the Drifters with Ben E. King—Leiber and Stoller produced a series of records for United Artists Records, including hits by Jay and the Americans ("She Cried"), the Exciters ("Tell Him"), and the Clovers ("Love Potion #9", also written by Leiber and Stoller).
In the 1960s, Leiber and Stoller founded and briefly owned Red Bird Records, which issued the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" and the Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love".[3]
After selling Red Bird, they continued working as independent producers and songwriters. Their best-known song from this period is "Is That All There Is?" recorded by Peggy Lee in 1969;[3] it earned her a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy. Earlier in the decade, they had a hit with Lee with "I'm a Woman" (1962).
Their last major hit production was "
In the late 1970s,
In 1982,
2000s
In 2009,
With collaborator
On August 22, 2011, Leiber died in
Stoller wrote both music and lyrics to the song "Charlotte", recorded by Steve Tyrell and released in advance of the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.[23]
Awards and honors
Leiber and Stoller won
Other awards include:
- 1985 – Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame[24][25]
- 1987 – Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- 1988 – Grammy Hall of Fame
- 1991 – ASCAP Founders' Award
- 1994 – A star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of 7083 Hollywood Blvd., and their handprints embedded into the Hollywood Rockwalk
- 1996 – National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1997 – Distinguished Artist Award/Los Angeles Music Center
- 1998 – Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music[26]
- 1999 – NARAS (Grammy) Trustees Award
- 2000 – Johnny Mercer Award/National Academy of Popular Music
- 2000 – Ivor Novello International Songwriters Award
- 2005 – ASMAC President's Award
- 2005 – "Kansas City" named official song of Kansas City, Missouri
- 2005 – World Soundtrack Award/Flanders International Film Festival
- 2017 – Grammy Hall of Fame
- 2022 – BMI Icon Award[27]
Legacy
In the 1950s the
Leiber and Stoller affected the course of modern popular music in 1957, when they wrote and produced the crossover double-sided hit by the Coasters, "
They produced and co-wrote "
Discography
References
- ^ a b c William Grimes, Jerry Leiber, Prolific Writer of 1950s Hits, Dies at 78, The New York Times, August 22, 2011
- ^ Kilgour, Colin. "JERRY LEIBER". Rockabilly.nl. Archived from the original on 2003-11-25. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ISBN 0-306-80683-5.
- ^ a b "Johnny Mercer Award – Songwriters Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on October 1, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
- ISBN 0-679-73728-6.
- ^ "Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller – inductees". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
- ISBN 978-1-55753-623-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-5938-2.
- ^ "History of Jewish songwriters told in 'Beautiful' – Crescent City Jewish News". Crescentcityjewishnews.com. August 1, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-7759-3. Retrieved September 29, 2014 – via Mcfarlandbooks.com.
- ^ a b Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 30. CN 5585.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 7 – The All American Boy: Enter Elvis and the rock-a-billies. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ a b c Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 19. CN 5585.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 55. CN 5585.
- ^ a b Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 40. CN 5585.
- ^ Peggy Lee Sings Leiber and Stoller. 2005. Archived from the original on 2016-11-07. Retrieved 2011-08-27 – via peggylee.com.
- ^ Joan Morris and William Bolcom, Other Songs by Leiber and Stoller, Nonesuch Records H-71346, 1978
- ISBN 9781416559399. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Sony/ATV Music Publishing Acquires Leiber Stoller Catalogue". Sony.com. Sony Corporation of America. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Jonze, Tim, "Songwriter Jerry Leiber dies at 78", The Guardian, August 23, 2011.
- ^ Steve Tyrell, "Charlotte (Mike Stoller song)" YouTube
- ^ "Jerry Leiber at the Songwriters at the Songwriters Hall of Fame". Songwritershalloffame.org. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ^ "Mike Stoller at the Songwriters at the Songwriters Hall of Fame". Songwritershalloffame.org. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ^ Archerd, Army (April 17, 1998). "Harlin next to use 'Titanic' tank". Variety.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Songwriting Legends Carole Bayer Sager and Mike Stoller Honored as BMI Icons at the 70th Annual BMI Pop Awards". bmi.com. May 11, 2022.
- ISBN 0-306-80683-5.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 72. CN 5585.
- ISBN 0-679-73728-6.
External links
- Official Leiber and Stoller website
- Interview with Mike Stoller
- Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- Spectropop Leiber and Stoller site
- A list of Leiber/Stoller songs at the Wayback Machine (archived August 18, 2007)
- Article on the career of Leiber and Stoller
- Jerry Leiber at Library of Congress, with 36 library catalog records
- Mike Stoller at LC Authorities, with 18 records
- Mike Stoller Archived 2017-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, Leiber-Stoller Big Band Archived 2017-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, and Leiber-Stoller Orchestra Archived 2017-08-10 at the Wayback Machine at WorldCat
- NAMM Oral History Interview with Jerry Leiber (2007)
- NAMM Oral History Interview with Mike Stoller (2007)