Lieber Passes

JERRY LEIBER, 78, who, with his songwriting partner Mike Stoller, created a songbook that infused the rock and roll scene of the ‘50s and early '60s with energy and sly humor, died today at L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of cardiopulmonary failure, said Randy Poe, President of the songwriters' publishing company. With his partner Stoller, Leiber penned such crossover hits as “Hound Dog” and “Kansas City.” Later in the ‘50s, with the Coasters, they created a string of ground-breaking hits that used the tongue-in-cheek vernacular of teenagers sung in a style that was openly theatrical rather than personal, songs that include “Young Blood” and “Yakety Yak.” They were the first to surround black music with elaborate productions, enhancing its emotional power with The Drifters’ “There Goes My Baby,” influencing Phil Spector, who worked with them on recordings of The Drifters and Ben E. King. Leiber and Stoller went into the record business and, focusing on the “girl group” sound, released some of the greatest classics of the Brill Building. They wrote several hits including “Jailhouse Rock” and “King Creole.” They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. For the complete story, go here. (8/22p)