{"id":3272,"date":"2011-08-23T03:17:52","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T10:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/?p=3272"},"modified":"2011-08-23T03:17:52","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T10:17:52","slug":"rip-jerry-leiber-of-leiber-stoller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/?p=3272","title":{"rendered":"RIP: Jerry Leiber of Leiber & Stoller"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jerry Leiber<\/strong> of Leiber & Stoller<\/strong> has passed away.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Richard Berry<\/strong>, the man who wrote LOUIE LOUIE, sang on one of the earliest hit records ever released by the Leiber & Stoller songwriting\/production team.<\/p>\n

Richard Berry was the uncredited lead singer for the Robins<\/strong> (who later became the Coasters<\/strong>) with their 1954 recording of the hit song “Riot in Cell Block #9.” At the time, Richard Berry was signed to the Bihari Brothers<\/strong>‘ Modern Records, so he wasn’t supposed to sing for any other record labels. As a favor to his friends Jerry Leiber<\/strong> and Mike Stoller<\/strong>, Richard did this recording, thinking this would remain a secret.<\/p>\n

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.”<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> plays bass, and The Simplistics were the back-up band.<\/p>\n

I dedicate this performance to Jerry Leiber with great love and appreciation for all the music he’s written in his life.<\/p>\n

Rest in peace, Jerry.<\/p>\n