Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller may just be the greatest songwriting tream in all of rock and roll. They've written some of the most enduring songs in rock and roll like "Stand by Me" for Ben E. King, "Rudy Baby" for Dion and "On Broadway" for the Drifters. Their vast songwriting book includes almost every major hit for The Coasters like "Yakety Yak" and "Young Blood" and they also wrote some of Elvis Presley's best songs like "Jailhouse Rock".

As musical directors who wrote and produced countless songs for the artists mentioned above, Leiber and Stoller took rock and roll to new heights of wit and sophistication. The duo were especially influential in rock and roll's first flowering starting with Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" in 1953 and progressing to The Difters' "On Broadway" in 1963.

The two brought in a range of different flavors to their songs ranging from wisecracking, finger-sapping rock songs to soft romantic songs. They even took a stab at doing country when they wrote "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello." Just about all the songs that Leiber & Stoller wrote had a firm grounding in rhythm and blues.

The only other songwriting duo that could stand up to them would be Garry Goffin and Carole King.

By the way, Zach. Here are some of my non-musical interests and hobbies:

Art particularly Renaissance and Impressionism paintings.

Travel

History/Politics

Food

Movies

Nature

Posted by Andrew on Sunday, 04/14/2013 @ 21:43pm