Leiber & Stoller Wrote for Elvis, But Also for Themselves

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote numerous hits for Elvis Presley and others, but, mainly they wrote songs that they liked, first and foremost.

"Gear Guy Chris," who writes about instruments and gear, was a roving reporter at the recent NARM convention.

Part II of my NARM 2010 Convention coverage brought the distinct honor and pleasure of a sit down chat with legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They were in Chicago being honored with the NARM Outstanding Achievement Award For A Lifetime Of Musical Collaboration, which they can add to their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and a litany of awards amassed over their 60 year partnership – that’s right 6 – 0!

The Leiber & Stoller songbook contains tunes that defined a generation and arguably lit the fuse on a new genre of music that morphed its way from American rhythm and blues into what kids in the 1950’s called, “rock and roll.” 

There are the iconic hits such as “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Stand By Me”, and hundreds of others covered by just about everyone: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sinatra, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix…talk about a résumé!
 
Gear Guy Chris: Congratulations on your NARM award and happy 60th anniversary.

Mike Stoller: Thank you.

GGC: The MA50 web site is a forum for folks getting into or returning to music later in life; do you have any songwriting advice for that audience?

MS: Listen to our songs, buy them, and pay for them {laughter}.

Jerry Leiber: Listen to the music that’s caught your attention most of all, and listen to as much as you can, over and over again, especially the hits. Because every hit has something positive about it.

GGC: What was a typical songwriting session like back in the day?

MS: I would be at the piano just doing stuff, and Jerry would pace around, and he would shout out phrases, lines, words, and if something that came together sounded good – then OK, there’s an idea.

JL: Now let’s work on it from there.

MS: And we both smoked, incessantly in those days. I haven’t smoked in forty years.

JL: We only look this way due to the smokes; we’re really only twelve years old each {laughter}.

GGC: So would you say there’s a Leiber and Stoller songwriting formula?

MS: I think the formula, if there is one, is that we wrote to please and impress ourselves first and foremost.

GGC: There’s the story in your book where Elvis’s music publisher barricaded you in your hotel room and wouldn’t leave until you guys wrote him some songs – so you cranked out four in one day, including “Jailhouse Rock.” Any other examples of that type of lightning in a bottle moment?

JL: “Kansas City,” that one came quick.

CCG: That’s back in 1952 if I’m correct.

MS: You are correct.

GGC: And how about the flip side – where there was more of a struggle?

JL: We spent a lot of extra time on “Is That All There Is?” {A huge hit for Peggy Lee in 1969}.

MS: As a matter of fact, the spoken word parts were finished first, and the artist we were demonstrating for at that time was the British singer-actress Georgia Brown, who liked it but she needed something else. We needed a chorus, so I went home and the next day I called Jerry and excitedly said I’ve got the music, I know it’s the right tune.  Jerry said I’ve got the words, let me show you…and when we got together and sat down, then finally…{gestures hands together, fingers interlocking}.

CCG: It fit like a glove.

MS: Yeah, it was unbelievable. That never happens.

JL: And it never happened again!

MS: That’s for sure.

CCG: How about songwriters you admire or a song you wish you had written?

MS: Oh, there are a lot of them. ”Where or When,” Rodgers and Hart –”Day and Night,” Cole Porter.

CCG: And more contemporary?

JL: Some of the Beatles stuff, oh yeah, and Randy Newman.

CCG: Your book comes out in paperback soon; what can people expect?

MS: We’ll, we’re pleased with it. It’s about us, the songs we wrote and who we wrote for, and other things that are more personal and less about our work, bur mostly about our work.

And as not to forget that this is a ‘Gear Guy’ post after all, I followed up with Mr. Stoller via email about the keyboards that created the magic. He wrote:

 “Back in the day, I used to have an ancient pre-pre-pre-owned upright piano. I have no idea what make. From 1957 to 1967 I had a new Baldwin and then I got a 6’6″ 1902 Steinway with an incredible bass. It’s now in my living room along with an 1895 Steinway. I rarely touch them – my wife uses them. However, my wife bought me a Yamaha grand, which I have in my workroom. It’s a terrific piano, but I tend to write on an old Yamaha PF/10 with earphones. I’m very private when I write, even if I’m all alone.”
 
Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography is out now in paperback. It’s a quick paced, back and forth conversational romp through the lives and careers of this legendary American songwriting team. It’s a terrific read and a definite ‘Gear Guy’ pick of the month, as it reveals the stories behind the men and the classic songs they wrote together as one of the most iconic songwriting duos in Rock and Roll history.

“Gear Guy Chris,” aka Chris Grova has been providing shelter, love, and a good home to wayward guitars, amps, effects pedals, and other assorted musical gizmos for over 30 years. Luckily, his wife and neighbors don’t seem to mind.