New (not Lieber) Leiber And Stoller Bio

Who up in this Hound Dog knew they were doing a book tour and why didn't they tell anybody? Missed them by a week.

This book is supposed to suck.

Really? Sez who? And even so, I would still have liked to have seen Jerry and Mike in person.

NYT book review killed this thing. Made them sound like assholes.

Assholes in the music industry? Who would have thought...

Yeah, exactly. I read that Times review. Guy says found some examples where they overstated their own role and diminished somebody else's. But to say he made them sound like ahats is an exaggeration. Times also put an excerpt on line which was really good. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/books/excerpt-hound-dog.html

Here's the review, if anyone's interested.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/books/review/Windolf-t.html

People had the same criticism of the Geoff Emerick book and I liked that. I think you have to take any first person account with a huge truck load of salt.

Leiber bluntly describes their mind-set: “We were two guys looking to write songs for black artists with black feelings rendered in black vernacular.”

Otis [originally credited as co-writer] made the case for his “Hound Dog” contribution in a 2000 interview: “Parts of it weren’t really acceptable. I didn’t like that reference to chicken and water­melon, said, ‘Let’s get that . . . out of there.’ . . . Then Elvis Presley made it a megahit, and they got greedy. They sued me in court. They won, they beat me out of it.” The alleged presence of “chicken” and “watermelon” in the original lyric, as well as other complications, goes unmentioned in “Hound Dog.”

The part in the review about Divided Soul is certainly true.

I couldn't read the Geoff Emerick book because of all of his George Harrison hate. Anyway I've already read the Ken Emerson book about the Brill Building,the Alex Halberstadt bio of Doc Pomus and the David Ritz Jerry Wexler autobio so I'm gonna have to take a look at this.

In fact, you guys should dig up Ahmet Ertegun and lambaste his bones for the time he bought a song off Doc Pomus for $50 and put his name on it.

I couldn't read the Geoff Emerick book because of all of his George Harrison hate.

what did he say?

The usual. George couldn't play, had butterfingers, held up the whole session with one bad solo after another.

Here is the Ken Scott critique of that book http://www.komosproductions.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=37

Emerick didn't like John too much either. Basically it boiled down to "John's a weird dude on drugs." LOL. Lots of embarrassing McCartney slobbering in that book. Harrison being a bad musician is just bonkers.

Yup.

I'm not going to read this book so much for the who-wrote-what-when but for the portraits of people like Colonel Parker. I'm kind of wondering how Jerry Wexler is going to come across in this book given that Ritz was also his co-author.

And if Harrison did hold up recording sessions, I’m sure it's more, "Hey, I'm going to redo this solo until it's absolutely perfect." Harrison is the last musician I'd ever accuse of being sloppy. Funnily enough, Paul gets praise for being just as meticulous. Emerick definitely has his blind spots.

I still thought it was an enjoyable book despite the discrepancies.

OK, maybe I'll give that one a go. But think I'm gonna give How The Beatles Destroyed Rock And Roll a pass for now.

Emerick definitely has his blind spots.

Of course, we weren't there...

I just read the Leiber and Stoller chapter Josh Alan Friedman book. It was great.

Gotta get a hold of that. Started reading Hound Dog last night and so far so good. Haven't got to the problematic "And Then We Wrote" part. Based on the first twenty pages, guy in Times did a good job of avoiding the interesting parts.

man that's a dilemma of book reviewing: spoiling book for the readers VS making your review a good read.

Hm. Didn't think about that. Just thought he doing some other kind of spoiling.

Guy in the Times should read that Josh Alan Friedman book for a different view on the "Hound Dog" songwriting credits.

Thanks, Dan, for fixing thread title. I guess Jerry spells his last name the same as Fritz, even though he pronounces it differently.

OMG, last week while in the Florida Panhandle I bought some OK Elvis and Johnny Cash comps at a truckstrop- well, a CVS- for driving listening and remember that Jerry Lieber has a credit on "Jackson."

Still can't spell his name though.

So many books to read...If I could win the lottery then I would have more time...

https://www.thecut.com/2019/04/i-was-married-four-times-once-to-a-famous-artist.html

I enjoyed this book very much! True infotainment. I'm sure some of the people mentioned would describe some of it differently, if you want to get out the ouija board.

Yes, exactly. You should also read the chapter in that one Josh Alan Friedman book, as well as Ken Emerson's magisterial tome.

https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/mike-stoller-jerry-leiber-on-the-brill-building.html

I am not familiar with this song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Denim_Trousers_and_Motorcycle_Boots

it's v proto-splatter platter !

What did you think of Brill Building depiction in Carol King Beautiful musical?

Ha, somebody asked me that the other day. Have only read about it, haven't seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HaavKyReys

The reaction of the panel and the host! Is it “rock and roll” …

"What are you going to do when you grow up?"

Gunther

Gleephen

Leiber

Stollen