Awoke to the sad news that songwriting legend and co-member of one of the most successful rock 'n' roll pop hit making teams Jerry Leiber had died aged 78 from what has been reported as cardio-pulmonary failure.
Leiber was part of Leiber and Stoller (with Mike Stoller) their 61 year partnership mined gold such as 'Stand by Me', 'Yakety Yak' and 'Hound Dog'. Their respected talent was appreciated in their own lifetime and even by mavericks such as Phil Spector that was mentored by the pair and would literally sleep on their sofa and work on his own songs after hours before showing his work the next day when they arrived. Leiber went onto write the hit 'Spanish Harlem' with Spector. Their songs managed to combine good time blues and pop with social commentary equal to that of Dylan and Lennon. The Coasters hit 'Shopping for Clothes' is a perfect example.
Here are some of my favourite versions of Leiber/Stoller songs for those of you that fancy some old skool R&B pop this rainy Tuesday morning.
*There Goes My Baby - The Drifters
*Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
*Kansas City - The Beatles
*Charlie Brown - The Coasters
*Stand By Me - Ben E King
*Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
*Searchin' - The Coasters
*Shopping for Clothes - The Coasters
*On Broadway - The Drifters
*Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
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