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
Tony Ruffino was a respected Birmingham, Alabama concert promoter who in 1969, began bringing such acts as 
Joel Chin was the Director of A&R for the family-run reggae dynasty known as VP Records. Founded in New York City in 1979 by Chin’s Jamaican-born grandparents, Patricia and Vincent Chin, VP has grown into the world’s largest independent reggae label. Its name has become synonymous with contemporary roots reggae, dancehall and soca. During the mid ’90s, Chin joined the family business – his father is legendary reggae producer, Clive Chin who has worked with Black Uhuru and 
Rich Fitzgerald was a greatly respected music industry professional who took his tireless passion for music and made a successful career out of it. Raised in Seattle, Washington, it was the young Fitzgerald who was likely turning his classmates on to the newest records. He went as far, it has been said, as creating his own pop charts and distributing them to his friends. Fitzgerald began his career working for Capitol Records there in Seattle, and by the mid 1970s, he was employed by one of the hottest new labels at the time, RSO Records, where he played a role in the success of such artists as the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, and Eric Clapton with whom he would build a lifelong business and personal relationship. He was also directly involved with the pop culture phenomenons known as Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Fame while at RSO. He went on to work for Network, Geffen, Reprise, and Warner Bros. Fitzgerald eventually rose to the position of Vice President of Promotions while at Warner Bros. where he helped such future stars as Madonna, Prince, Green Day, and the Pretenders get their first records played on radio. During his final years, Fitzgerald was working directly with Clapton. Rich Fitzgerald was 64 when he died of esophageal cancer on August 15, 2011.