Jerry Leiber of Leiber & Stoller has passed away.
It’s difficult to properly convey the cultural impact this songwriting team has had on 20th Century music, so I won’t even bother. There’s certainly others that can do a better job of writing the proper historic overview of this creative team, so I would hope you’ll do proper research, if you haven’t done so already.
Today (or tonight), as I write this quick little blog post in the early morning hours, I’d simply to remind folks of the connection that Leiber & Stoller had to the LOUIE LOUIE universe.
Richard Berry, the man who wrote LOUIE LOUIE, sang on one of the earliest hit records ever released by the Leiber & Stoller songwriting/production team.
Richard Berry was the uncredited lead singer for the Robins (who later became the Coasters) with their 1954 recording of the hit song “Riot in Cell Block #9.” At the time, Richard Berry was signed to the Bihari Brothers‘ Modern Records, so he wasn’t supposed to sing for any other record labels. As a favor to his friends Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Richard did this recording, thinking this would remain a secret.
Of course, for anyone that knew Richard’s voice, there was mistaking who the actual singer was. Richard wound up recording “The Big Break” for the Bihari Brothers, which was pretty much a sound-alike of “Riot.”
Years ago, I shot some footage of Richard Berry performing “Riot in Cell Block #9” at a little blues club in Mountain View, California. In this performance, Richard’s son Marcel Berry plays bass, and The Simplistics were the back-up band.
I dedicate this performance to Jerry Leiber with great love and appreciation for all the music he’s written in his life.
Rest in peace, Jerry.
Very sad news today that Jerry Leiber has passed away. He and Mike Stoller wrote so many of the greatest Rock and Roll songs of all time.