We were going to feature some groovy Ethiopian pop today, but we'll put that on hold for a few days in order to pay our respects to the late, great Jerry Leiber, who died yesterday. He was one of the greatest writers of popular songs there has ever been, as this small selection demonstrates.
"Lucky Lips" - Ruth Brown
"Ruby Baby" - Dion
"If You Don't Come Back" - The Drifters
"Don't" - Elvis Presley
"Kansas City" - Wanda Jackson
"Jackson" - Johnny Cash & June Carter
"Girls, Girls, Girls" - The Cornell Hurd Band
"Baby I Don't Care" - Bryan Ferry
"Spanish Harlem" - Laura Nyro & Labelle
"On Broadway" - Jess Roden
I know there are a lot of Elkie Brooks fans out there who hang on my every word, so it would be remiss of me not to mention that Jerry had a hand in this smash hit as well:
Although if you could only choose one Leiber-Stoller cover version, it would probably have to be this one:
Lieber& Stoller produced two albums for Elkie Brooks. "Two Days Away" and "Live and Learn. They also co-wrote with Elkie on some tracks. Elkie does a great version of "Love Potion No. 9 " .
ReplyDeleteBig Mamma Thornton's version of "Hound Dog" beats the Elvis version by a mile.