Week of 24 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 24 - 30:

24 - Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones), 1936; Ted Templeman (Harper's Bizarre), 1944; J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), 1930 (died 1959)
25 - Helen Reddy, 1941; Jon Anderson (Yes), 1944; John Hall (Orleans), 1947
26 - Keith Hopwood (Herman's Hermits), 1946
27 - Simon LeBon (Duran Duran), 1958; Byron Allred (Steve Miller Band), 1949; Garry Tallent (E Street Band), 1949; Lee Greenwood, 1942
28 - Thelma Hopkins (Dawn), 1948; Charlie Daniels, 1936; Wayne Fontana, 1940; Curtis Lee, 1941

29 - David Brigati (The Starliters), 1940; Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), 1946; Leon Redbone, 1929;
Denny Laine (Wings), 1944; Randy Jackson (The Jacksons), 1961
30 - David Green (Air Supply), 1949; Timothy B.Schmidt (The Eagles), 1947; Otis Williams (The Temptations), 1949; Grace Slick (Jefferson Starship), 1939

In remembrance of those who left us:

25 Oct 1992 - Roger Miller
29 Oct 1971 - Duane Allman

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Week of 17 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 17 - 23:

17 - Jim Seals (Seals & Crofts), 1941; Gary Puckett, 1942
18 - Chuck Berry, 1926
20 - Tom Petty, 1953
21 - Eric Faulkner (Bay City Rollers), 1955; Manfred Mann, 1940
22 - Annette Funicello - 1942; Eddie Brigati (The Rascals), 1946
23 - 'Weird' Al Yankovic, 1959

In remembrance of those who left us:

17 Oct 2008 - Levi Stubbs
18 Oct 2008 - Dee Dee Warwick

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Week of 10 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 10 - 16:

11 - Darryl Hall (Hall & Oates), 1949
12 - Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), 1935
13 - Marie Osmond, 1959; Robert Lamm (Chicago), 1944; Paul Simon, 1941
14 - Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), 1946; Cliff Richard, 1940
15 - Tito Jackson (The Jacksons), 1953; Richard Carpenter (The Carpenters), 1946
16 - Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), 1947

In remembrance of those who left us:

10 Oct 2010 - Solomon Burke
12 Oct 1997 - John Denver
12 Oct 1971 - Gene Vincent
13 Oct 2009 - Al Martino
14 Oct 2006 - Freddie Fender

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Release Party for Lost Pets 2 - Mark Wirtz

Mark Wirtz is going to be the guest of honor at a release party for his new CD, Lost Pets 2, at Rock and Roll Heaven in Orlando, Florida.  This will take place on Saturday, October 8, 2011, beginning at 12:00 noon.  Mark will be meeting and greeting fans and signing autographs.  If you live in the area (or even if you don't), here's a rare opportunity to rub elbows with the artist himself.  Be there or be square!

Week of 03 October 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of October 3 - 9:

03 - Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac),1951; Chubby Checker, 1941; Eddie Cochran, 1938 (died 1960)
05 - Bob Geldof, 1954; Steve Miller, 1943; Richard Street (The Temptations), 1942
07 - John Mellencamp, 1951; David Hope (Kansas), 1949
09 - Jackson Browne, 1948; John Lennon, 1940 (died 1980); John Entwistle, 1944 (died 2002)

In remembrance of those who left us:

04 Oct 1970 - Janis Joplin
05 Oct 1992 - Eddie Kendricks

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Mark Wirtz - Lost Pets 2

Today, 27 September 2011, is the official release date in America for the newest CD by singer/songwriter/producer Mark Wirtz, entitled Lost Pets 2.  All of the baker's dozen tracks were composed or co-composed by the artist, and LP2 is a collection that has "hit" written all over it, from the rocking, rollicking title cut "Lost Pets (Loose Ends)" to the wistful "I Need to Fall In Love" (co-written by Jim David, the son of legendary Brill Building composer Hal David, and "Elusive Butterfly" composer/singer Bob Lind); from the energetic, electric-guitar-laden "Sindee" to the excruciatingly romantic "For Just You."

Mark Wirtz first came to prominence during the 1960s, after he moved from his native Germany to London, became an Englishman, and began working at the fabled Abbey Road Studios (then called EMI Studios) alongside Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick.  By 1966 Wirtz had written, produced and arranged "A Touch of Velvet - A Sting of Brass" which was released under the name Mood Mosaic and subsequently became the signature tune of Radio Caroline's deejay Dave Lee Travis.  In 1967, Keith West recorded "Excerpt From a Teenage Opera (Grocer Jack)," which he co-wrote along with Wirtz and which Wirtz produced and arranged.  These two songs remain among Wirtz's most well known efforts; but they are far from his only efforts.  With the exception of some fifteen years away from the music business while raising his daughter as a single parent during the '80s and '90s, Mark Wirtz has been a working arranger, producer, songwriter and singer ever since he first set foot in EMI Studios (which, as it happens, was on the same day in 1962 when The Beatles were auditioning for George Martin).  During the last several years, Wirtz has realized a long-held dream by adding stand-up comedy work to his list of accomplishments.





In the late 1970s, Mark Wirtz began work on an album, Lost Pets, but the project was abandoned when two of his band-mates, Jeff Poccaro and David Hungate, departed to record and tour with their newly successful group, Toto.  Tracks from the "lost" Lost Pets album were subsequently released on two CDs: Kitschinsync: The Hollywood Years, Vol. 1 - 1971-82 and Dreamer of Glass Beach: The Hollywood Years, Vol. 2 - 1971-82.  A few years later, in 2005, Wirtz released the delightful collection Love Is Eggshaped.  The most recent Wirtz release up to now had been Wirtz and Music, which is a reissue of Maestro Wirtz's albums, Latin A Go-Go and Smooth and Easy.  Lost Pets 2 brings Wirtz full circle, in a sense; for, as Wirtz points out on the CD booklet: "Only by returning to where we lost ourselves can we hope to find ourselves again."

Week of 26 September 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of September 26 - October 2:

26 - Craig Chaquico (Jefferson Starship), 1954; Olivia Newton-John, 1948; Bryan Ferry, 1945; Lynn Anderson, 1947
27 - Meatloaf, 1947; Randy Bachman (BTO / Guess Who), 1943
28 - Nick St. Nicholas (Steppenwolf), 1943
29 - Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad), 1948; Mike Pinera (Iron Butterfly), 1948; Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935; Tommy Boyce (Boyce & Hart), 1939 (died 1994)
30 - Marilyn McCoo (5th Dimension), 1943; Johnny Mathis, 1935; Cissy Houston, 1933; Frankie Lymon, 1942 (died 1968); Marc Bolan, 1947 (died 1977)
02 Oct - Sting, 1951; Don McLean, 1945

In remembrance of those who left us:

26 Sep 2003 - Robert Palmer
27 Sep 1979 - Jimmy McCulloch (Wings)

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Week of 19 September 2011 - Arrivals and Departures

Birthdays for the week of September 19 - 25:

19 - Lol Creme (10cc), 1947; Bill Medley (Righteous Brothers), 1940; "Mama" Cass Elliot, 1941 (died 1974); Otis Redding, 1941 (died 1967); Brook Benton, 1931 (died 1988)
21 - Don Felder (The Eagles), 1947
22 - Joan Jett, 1960; Debby Boone, 1956
23 - Bruce Springsteen, 1949; Julio Iglesias, 1943; Ben E. King, 1938; Ron Bushy (Iron Butterfly), 1945; Ray Charles, 1930 (died 2004)
24 - Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers), 1942; Linda McCartney, 1941 (died 1998)
25 - Dee Dee Warwick, 1945 (died 1998)

In remembrance of those who left us:

19 Sep 1973 - Gram Parsons
19 Sep 2009 - Arthur Ferrante
20 Sep 1973 - Jim Croce
25 Sep 1980 - John Bonham (Led Zeppelin)

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Arrivals and Departures - Week of September 12. 2011

Birthdays for the week of September 12 - 18:

12 - Gerry Beckley (America), 1952; George Jones, 1931; Barry White, 1944 (died 2003)
13 - Peter Cetera, 1944; David Clayton Thomas (Blood Sweat & Tears), 1941; Dave Quincy (Manfred Mann's Earth Band), 1939
14 - John 'Bowzer' Bauman (Sha Na Na), 1947
15 - Lee Dorman (Iron Butterfly), 1945
16 - Bernard Calvert (the Hollies), 1943; B.B. King, 1925; Kenny Jones  (The Who), 1948
17 - LaMonte McLemore (the 5th Dimension), 1940
18 - Kerry Livgren (Kansas), 1949; Frankie Avalon, 1940

In remembrance of those who left us:

12 Sep 2003 - Johnny Cash
15 Sep 2008 - Rick Wright (Pink Floyd)
16 Sep 1977 - Marc Bolan
16 Sep 2009 - Mary Travers (Peter, Paul & Mary)
18 Sep 1970 - Jimi Hendrix

Did I forget anybody?  If so, please let me know in the Comments.

Thank you and have a nice week!

Jerry Leiber, R.I.P.

On August 22, 2011, the voice of Jerry Leiber was stilled forever.  Yet, although Mr. Leiber was a legend in the world of music, it was not his voice for which he was best known, but his words.  Jerry Leiber (on the left in the book cover graphic above) was the lyrics half of the legendary songwriting team Leiber and Stoller.  Even those unfamiliar with either name are surely familiar with their music, with the possible exception of those who have been hiding under a rock for the last sixty years.

Actually, it was sixty-one years ago, to be exact, when the 17-year-old Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller first met.  Within just a few years, the partners already had a couple of hits under their composers' belt, most notably "Kansas City" (aka "K.C. Loving") and "Hound Dog," by Wilbert Harrison and Big Mama Thornton, respectively.  Before the decade was over, the Leiber and Stoller team would pen a number of songs that would go on to become classics, for groups such as The Drifters ("Fools Fall In Love"), The Coasters ("Charlie Brown," "Poison Ivy," "Yakety Yak"), and The Cheers ("Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots").  They also wrote several tunes for Elvis Presley after Presley made their "Hound Dog" one of his earliest hits (Presley's version was based on that of Freddie Bell, who'd changed a few of its lyrics for his own recording of it in 1955; by all accounts, Leiber was not pleased with the revised lyrics).  Among the Leiber/Stoller tunes that became hits for Elvis were "Loving You," "Jailhouse Rock," and "Don't."

During the 1950s and 1960s, it was impossible to turn on the radio without hearing a Leiber/Stoller song.  Yet it didn't end there.  Over the course of their partnership, which lasted from their initial meeting in 1950 until the day Leiber passed away, the duo gave the world an enduring catalog of songs, songs that are still widely broadcast and performed.  As record-label owners and producers, they had their talented hands in many other hits as well, including several by The Dixie Cups ("Chapel of Love;" "Iko Iko") and Jay and The Americans ("She Cried").







Jerry Leiber, along with Mike Stoller, was the recipient of a number of awards and honors during his lifetime, including the duo's induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1985); the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987); the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award (1996); and the NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) Trustees Award (1999).




In 1995, a musical revue, Smokey Joe's Cafe, showcasing the songs of Leiber and Stoller, opened on Broadway, where it ran for more than 2,000 performances.  Smokey Joe's Cafe presented 39 Leiber/Stoller tunes with no dialogue and no unifying theme; the music was enough to make the show a hit.  During its run, there were special appearances by several name artists, including Gladys Knight, Tony Orlando, and Rick Springfield.  Its cast recording earned the team a Grammy Award in 1996.

In 2001, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller appeared in the A&E Network's presentation Hitmakers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music.  And, in 2009, Leiber and Stoller's autobiography, Hound Dog, written with David Ritz, was published.  The video series (which includes the dedicated episode Words and Music by Leiber & Stoller in addition to the duo's appearance in the 90-minute series opener) and the book give the world an opportunity to get to know these two talented gentlemen through their own words and thoughts and first-hand observations, as do this Rolling Stone interview from 1990 and this Fresh Air audio interview on NPR from 1991.




And that isn't all there is.  According to this writeup on The Guardian (UK), Leiber and Stoller had been in the process of working with writer Michael Bywater on a musical about the life of Oscar Wilde, and eleven brand-new, never-before-heard songs had already been written by the team prior to Leiber's death.  Stoller and Bywater are hoping to premiere the musical in 2012.  Thanks to Stoller's decision to push forward with the project, we may not have heard the last of Mr. Leiber.

Whatever else happens, though, we have an enduring legacy from the pen of Jerry Leiber, whose lyrics so brilliantly merged with Mike Stoller's music that we can hear one of their songs for the first time (if that's at all possible) and feel as though we've always known it.  And who among us hasn't sung along with their great tunes?  Who among us hasn't heard "Yakety Yak" and chimed in with the response "Don't talk back"?  Or theatrically whined, "Why is everybody always picking on me?" in sympathy with "Charlie Brown"?  How many of us don't know what's coming when we hear the opening chords of "On Broadway" or the first few bars of "Ruby Baby" or that familiar riff that starts off "Jailhouse Rock"?  It doesn't matter whether or not we were even born when the songs originated; they're as much a part of our lives as the air we breathe.  And thanks to people like Jerry Leiber, that air is a lot sweeter than it would have been had this man not graced the planet.

Jerry Leiber's voice may not be with us any longer, but his words will live forever.

Recommended Music:

The Leiber & Stoller Story Volume 1: Hard Times - The Los Angeles Years, 1951-1956
The Leiber & Stoller Story Volume 2: On The Horizon, 1956-1962

The Leiber & Stoller Story Volume 3: Shake 'Em Up & Let 'Em Roll, 1962-1969

Related Websites:

Jerry Leiber on Legacy.com
Leiber & Stoller official website
Leiber & Stoller Wikipedia page

Additional Writeups and Obits:

Jerry Leiber, Prolific Writer of 1950s Hits, Dies at 78 (NY Times obit)
Jerry Leiber dies at 78; lyricist in songwriting duo Leiber and Stoller (LA Times obit)
Songwriter Jerry Leiber Dies at 78 (Rolling Stone)
Some Cats Know: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Legacy of Jerry Leiber - Part I and Part II (Pop Culture Cantina)
'Master of songwriting' Jerry Leiber dies (BBC news; features audio of Peter Stoller remembering his father's longtime songwriting partner)
Jerry Leiber appreciation: A songwriter who helped change pop music (Pop & Hiss: The L.A. Times music blog)