Lyricist Jerry Leiber died on Monday at age 78. As I write in today's Wall Street Journal (go here), Leiber was the first major wordsmith of the rock 'n' roll era, composing hundreds of songs with writing partner Mike Stoller starting in 1952. His list of hits includes Hound Dog, Kansas City, Jailhouse Rock, Love Potion #9, Stand By Me and Peggy Lee's "Brill meets Weill" opus, Is That All There Is?
What made Leiber special was a deep, passionate knowledge of R&B, the ability to tell an edgy story with a sense of humor, and a complete understanding of what black and white teens wanted. Both Leiber and Stoller loved jazz, blues and R&B. As a teen, Stoller even took piano lessons from James P. Johnson. [Pictured: Mike Stoller, left, and Jerry Leiber]
As a tribute, here are five clips with words by Jerry Leiber and music by Mike Stoller, plus a documentary:
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Marc Myers writes frequently on music and the arts for the Wall Street Journal. He is author of "Why Jazz Happened" (University of California Press). In 2012, JazzWax was named the Jazz Journalists Association's "Blog of the Year."
R.I.P. Jerry Leiber
Here's what Ray Charles had to say about the two creative songwriters:
“I knew all about Leiber and Stoller. They were those bad white boys who wrote the blackest songs this side of Mississippi. I loved what they did.”
How couldn't he? There ain't nothing like a hound dog.
Posted by: Bruno Leicht | August 24, 2011 at 02:11 PM
RIP Jerry Leiber
Love those videos, thanks!
Posted by: Lou Malerba | August 24, 2011 at 11:17 PM