From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Wed Mar 13, 2002 1:16 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Mike Stoller MIKE STOLLER Born 13 March 1933, Belle Harbor, Long Island, New York Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller began their extraordinary songwriting and production partnership at the age of 17. Leiber was a blues enthusiast and record store assistant, while Stoller played jazz piano. Based in Los Angeles, they provided numerous songs for the city's R&B artists during the early '50s. Hard Times by Charles Brown was the first Leiber and Stoller hit, but their biggest songs of the era were Hound Dog and K.C. Lovin' (later renamed Kansas City). Originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton, Hound Dog was one of the songs which defined rock 'n' roll when Elvis Presley performed it. Kansas City had its greatest success (# 1) in a 1959 version by Wilbert Harrison, and went on to become part of every UK beat group's repertoire. In 1954, the duo set up their own Spark label to release material by the Robins, a vocal group they had discovered. Renamed the Coasters a year later, when Leiber and Stoller moved to New York, the group was given some of the songwriters' most clever and witty compositions. Songs like Smokey Joe's Cafe, Searchin', Yakety Yak and Charlie Brown bridged the gap between R&B and rock 'n' roll, selling millions in the mid to late '50s, while Leiber And Stoller's innovative production techniques widened the scope of the R&B record, prompting hosts of imitators. In New York, Leiber and Stoller had a production deal with Atlantic Records, where they created hits for numerous artists. They wrote Lucky Lips for Ruth Brown and Saved for Lavern Baker, but their most notable productions were for the Drifters and the group's lead singer Ben E. King. Among these were: On Broadway, Spanish Harlem, There Goes My Baby, I (Who Have Nothing) and Stand By Me, which was an international hit when reissued in 1986. Away from Atlantic, Leiber and Stoller supplied Elvis Presley with songs like Jailhouse Rock, Baby I Don't Care, Loving You, Treat Me Nice, Don't and King Creole. In 1964, the duo set up the Red Birdand Blue Cat record labels with George Goldner. Despite the quality of many of the releases (Alvin Robinson's Down Home Girl was later covered by the The Rolling Stones), the only big hits came from the Shangri-Las, who were produced by George 'Shadow' Morton rather than Leiber and Stoller. Subsequently, the duo took several years away from production, purchasing the King Records group and creating the Cabaret-like songs for Peggy Lee's album Mirrors (1976). They returned to the pop world briefly in 1972, producing albums for UK acts like Stealer's Wheel and Elkie Brooks, for whom they part-wrote Pearl's A Singer. During the '70s, they were in semi-retirement, developing Only in America, a stage show involving 30 of their compositions. Another musical based on their work -Yakety Yak - was presented in London with oldies band The Darts. During most of the eighties, their public appearances seemed to be confined to awards ceremonies where they were made members of several Halls of Fame, including that of Rock 'n' Roll in 1987. Yet another musical centred around their compositions, Smokey Joe's Cafe, was a big hit on Broadway, running from 1995 till 2000 and currently still touring the USA. Further reading: Robert Palmer, Baby That Was Rock & Roll : The Legendary Leiber and Stoller. New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978. (Jerry Leiber was born on April 25, Baltimore, Maryland. There won't be a separate entry for him.)