The Post-Gazette obit page reports today of the recent death of Jerry Leiber at the age of 78. The name of Jerry Leiber may not ring any bell with you, but how about if I refer to the team of "Leiber-Stoller"? Still drawing a blank? How about the following titles:
Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock, Treat Me Nice, On Broadway, Charlie Brown, and Yakety Yak?
You know those songs, all (dare I say it) iconic songs for the early years of Rock & Roll, all written by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber (lyrics) and Mike Stoller (music). And there are hundreds of other titles in their catalog. I once heard an NPR radio interview with Leiber & Stoller and it was amazing how they came up with stuff. Once, when their families were dining together at one of their homes, and it was time to clean up after dinner, one for them said to the other, "take out the papers and the trash." The other then quickly responded "or you don't get no spending cash."
That's how classic songs get born. That's a true story.
RIP Jerry Leiber.
Oh, and here's a bonus video for you of a Leiber-Stoller classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRu3tw9fYxE&feature=fvst
No comments:
Post a Comment