Jerry Leiber
April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011
Jerry Leiber along with partner, Mike Stoller was arguably the greatest pop songwriting team of the second half of the 20th century if not all time. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Leiber moved to Los Angeles where he met Stoller in 1950 while the pair were still in high school. Leiber, a record store clerk, and Stoller, a pianist quickly realized that they shared a love of the blues and rhythm & blues music and immediately began collaborating on songs. Within the next few years, their creations were becoming hits for singers of jazz, blues, R&B and rock ‘n roll alike. The list of their early hit songs includes “Hard Times” by Charles Brown, “Kansas City” by Little Willie Littlefield, and “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley by way of Big Mama Thornton. They also penned “Jailhouse Rock,” “Yakety Yak,” “Stand By Me,” “Love Potion No. 9,” and “Searchin,'” to name just a few. In 1953, Leiber and Stoller formed their own label, Spark Records where they produced numerous hits including “Riot in Cell Block #9” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.” The label was eventually sold to Atlantic Records where they continued to produce for the label. After leaving Atlantic during the ’60s, the pair continued to write and produce independently, but also worked for United Artists and later, A&M Records. Leiber and Stoller are largely credited for taking rhythm and blues music out of the black clubs and spreading it to white America and beyond. By doing so, they were essentially the first to have what we now call “crossover” hits. And without a doubt, they were responsible – either directly or indirectly – for the pop music soundtrack of the past 60 years. Jerry Leiber was 78 when he passed away on August 22, 2011.
Thanks to Craig Rosen of Number 1 Albums for the assist.