LEIBER AND STOLLER WON'T LEAVE.

I know I just posted the Coasters a while back but here's a couple curiosities. Songs by Leiber and Stoller that were hits by the Coasters but recorded earlier by women. "Down In Mexico" by Ella Mae Morse and "Riot In Cell Block #9" by Vicki Young. Both awesome, more rhythm and blues than doo wop. As a bonus, an early version of "Hound Dog" (also written by Leiber and Stoller) by Freddy Bell and the Bellboys that pre-dates Elvis's version (not sure about Big Mama Thornton's). All three of these are pre-1956 because they're from Leiber and Stoller's California era, before they exploded back East with the Coasters and others.

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Listen:
Ella Mae Morse - Down In Mexico mp3 at Internet Archive
Vicki Young - Riot In Cell Block #9 mp3 at Internet Archive
Freddy Bell and the Bellboys - Hound Dog mp3 at Internet Archive

FUELED BY LEIBER AND STOLLER

I don't listen to a lot of doo wop, but I dig it. Because I don't listen to a lot of it, I'm limited to the better known vocal groups. I know there were a shitload of them, but that's one of those sub-genres that I'll get around to learning more about when I get around to it. That said, there are a handful I spin semi-regularly. The Drifters, the Olympics, the Cadets and, probably the best known (or at least the most played) vocal group of the era, the Coasters. The Coasters recorded for Atlantic, and a bunch of their hits were written by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Leiber and Stoller were a damn machine, writing hit after hit not just for the Coasters but Elvis and the Drifters, among others, as well. The Coasters though benefited the most and in return Leiber and Stoller finally bought that boat.

Here's a handful. Not rock 'n' roll enough for you? "Poison Ivy" was covered by the Stones, "Bad Detective" was covered by the New York Dolls. That's just two. Good enough for me.

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Listen:
The Coasters - Poison Ivy mp3 at Internet Archive
The Coasters - Down in Mexico mp3 at Internet Archive
The Coasters - Bad Detective (streaming) at YouTube
The Coasters - Young Blood mp3 at Internet Archive

YOU OWE HIM BIG TIME

You've probably heard that Jerry Leiber, half of the Leiber-Stoller songwriting team, checked out yesterday. The duo is responsible for a shitload of R & B, doo wop, and early rock n' roll songs that you probably know like the back of your hand. (Really, check out the list of songs, and the artists that performed them here.) They were incredibly prolific. To wit, they wrote "Hound Dog" in twelve minutes. (That's less time than it takes me to make lunch.) Along with the songwriting teams of Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, and Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Leiber & Stoller helped shape the music of the fifties and sixties. A major difference is that Leiber and Stoller also produced, and their production credits are almost more impressive than the writing credits. How's about Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner, the Coasters, Ruth Brown, the Drifters, LaVern Baker, the Exciters, the Dixie Cups, and T-Bone Walker? Dude is royalty.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog mp3 at The Beiderbecke Affair
Wilbert Harrison - Kansas City mp3 at The Soul Girl
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Alligator Wine mp3 at Api.ning.com
Wanda Jackson - Riot In Cell Block Number 9 mp3 at Tillooman
The Coasters - Down In Mexico mp3 at Hell's Belles
The Clovers - Love Potion Number 9 mp3 at Hell's Belles
Peggy Lee - Is That All There Is? mp3 at Little Manatee Springs
The Cheers - Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots mp3 at Miami High 1955
Further listening:
Jerry Leiber at Funky 16 Corners Three obscure cuts and a nice tribute
Jerry Leiber at Probe is Turning-On the People (Scroll to Session 352) Seven song mix, including Leiber on vocals!
Visit:
Leiber & Stoller's Official site
Leiber & Stoller's songwriting discography
Leiber & Stollers production credits
Jerry Leiber at the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Jerry Leiber's obituary at the NY Times