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33-528: The Musicor catalog is today owned by Gusto Records . After Art Talmadge bought the Musicor label, he formed two budget subsidiary labels (MusicVoice and Music Disc/MusicO) as well as two short-lived commercial subsidiaries, Ariel and Dynamo. Reissued singles were released under the Musicor Startime Series label. Musicor's best-selling artists ran the gamut of genres. The label's most successful artist

66-507: A 1956 trip to Europe for Stoller and his first wife, Meryl, on which they met Piaf. Their return to New York was aboard the ill-fated SS Andrea Doria , which was rammed and sunk by the Swedish liner MS Stockholm . The Stollers had to finish the journey to New York aboard another ship, the Cape Ann . After their rescue, Leiber greeted Stoller at the dock with the news that " Hound Dog " had become

99-664: A 2011 Drama Desk Award nomination. On August 22, 2011, Leiber died in Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, aged 78, from cardio-pulmonary failure. He was survived by his sons Jed, Oliver, and Jake. Stoller wrote both music and lyrics to the song "Charlotte", recorded by Steve Tyrell and released in advance of the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Leiber and Stoller won Grammy awards for " Is That All There Is? " in 1969, and for

132-477: A 50% songwriting credit. In 2009, Simon & Schuster published Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography , written by Leiber and Stoller with David Ritz . As of 2007, their songs are managed by Sony/ATV Music Publishing . With collaborator Artie Butler , Stoller wrote the music to the musical The People in the Picture , with book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart . Stoller and Butler's music received

165-402: A hit for Brooks, and remains her signature tune . In 1978, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris and her pianist - composer husband William Bolcom recorded an album, Other Songs by Leiber and Stoller , featuring a number of the songwriters' more unusual (and satiric) works, including "Let's Bring Back World War I", written specifically for (and dedicated to) Bolcom and Morris; and "Humphrey Bogart",

198-689: A hit for Elvis Presley. Stoller's reply was, "Elvis who?" They would go on to write more hits for Presley, including the title songs for three of his movies— Loving You , Jailhouse Rock , and King Creole —as well as the rock and roll Christmas song, "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", for Presley's first Christmas album. On March 9, 1958, Leiber and Stoller appeared together on the TV panel quiz show What's My Line? as rock and roll composers of "Hounddog", "Jailhouse Rock" and "Don't". They were not household names and did not appear as celebrity mystery guests (a regular feature of

231-564: A hit for her in 1953. The 1956 Elvis Presley rock and roll version, which was a takeoff of the adaptation that Presley picked up from Freddie Bell 's lounge act in Las Vegas, was an even bigger hit. Presley's showstopping mock-burlesque version of "Hound Dog", playfully bumping and grinding on the Milton Berle Show , created such public outcry and controversy that on The Steve Allen Show they slowed down his act, with an amused Presley in

264-468: A tongue-in-cheek song about obsession with the actor . In 1979, Leiber and Stoller produced another album for Brooks: Live and Learn . In 1982, Steely Dan member Donald Fagen recorded their song " Ruby Baby " on his album The Nightfly . That same year, former Doobie Brothers member Michael McDonald released " I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) ", inspired by Leiber and Stoller's " I Keep Forgettin' " for which they were eventually given

297-653: A tuxedo and blue suede shoes singing his hit to a basset hound . Allen pronounced Presley "a good sport", and the Leiber-Stoller song would be forever linked to Presley. Leiber and Stoller's later songs often had lyrics more appropriate for pop music , and their combination of rhythm and blues with pop lyrics revolutionized pop, rock and roll, and punk rock. They formed Spark Records in 1954 with their mentor, Lester Sill . Their songs from this period include "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and " Riot in Cell Block #9 ", both recorded by

330-590: The Procol Harum album Procol's Ninth , which included the UK Top 20 single "Pandora's Box" and a version of Leiber and Stoller's " I Keep Forgettin' ". In the late 1970s, A&M Records recruited Leiber and Stoller to write and produce an album for Elkie Brooks ; Two Days Away (1977) proved a success in the UK and most of Europe. Their composition " Pearl's a Singer " (written with Ralph Dino & John Sembello ) became

363-591: The 1960s, Leiber and Stoller founded and briefly owned Red Bird Records , which issued the Shangri-Las ' " Leader of the Pack " and the Dixie Cups ' " Chapel of Love ". After selling Red Bird, they continued working as independent producers and songwriters. Their best-known song from this period is " Is That All There Is? " recorded by Peggy Lee in 1969; it earned her a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy . Earlier in

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396-682: The 1980s. The company’s most recent acquisitions were the Mel Street masters, the Step One master catalog, and the Atteiram masters, which included a large bluegrass catalog. Gusto owns the longest-operating recording studio in Nashville. Known as Starday-King Sound Studios , it opened in 1952 and was used until 2000 for transferring some of the older style masters to other formats and some new recordings. Gusto first signed artist Red Sovine in 1974. Moe Lytle

429-463: The Beatles did it on the pop chart in two weeks with " I Want to Hold Your Hand "). The song rose to No. 40 on the pop chart. Most recently, Gusto Records released new material recorded by Porter Wagoner in the five years prior to his death. Gusto Records does its own licensing, both master licensing and sync licensing, under the name Gusto Music Licensing. Among the master recordings Gusto acquired in

462-558: The Coasters alone, they wrote 24 songs that appeared in the US charts. In 1955, Leiber and Stoller produced a recording of their song " Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots " with a white vocal group, the Cheers. Soon after, the song was recorded by Édith Piaf in a French translation titled, "L'Homme à la Moto". The European royalties from another Cheers record, "Bazoom (I Need Your Lovin')", funded

495-524: The Platters made a comeback on Musicor with the Northern Soul classics "I Love You 1000 Times" and "With This Ring". Other artists rounding out the Musicor stable included Johnny Hartman , Kenny Dino , Harmon Bethea , Steve Rossi (of the comic duo Allen & Rossi), Puerto Rican sensation Tito Rodriguez , Former RCA Victor orchestra leader and arranger Hugo Winterhalter , Girl Group Soul vocal trio

528-675: The Robins . The label was later bought by Atlantic Records , which hired Leiber and Stoller in an innovative deal that allowed them to produce for other labels. This, in effect, made them the first independent record producers. At Atlantic, they revitalized the careers of the Drifters and wrote a number of hits for the Coasters , a spin-off of the Robins. Their songs from this period include " Charlie Brown ", " Searchin' ", " Yakety Yak ", " Stand By Me " (written with Ben E. King ), and " On Broadway " (written with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil ). For

561-517: The Toys , rock group Street People which featured Rupert Holmes . Country music singer George Jones recorded prolifically for Musicor from 1964 to 1972, including two albums of duets with labelmate Melba Montgomery . Musicor also produced some of the earliest recordings featuring the Moog synthesizer . The one-hit wonder Hot Butter scored a Top 10 hit for the label in 1972 with the song " Popcorn " (which

594-508: The cast album of Smokey Joe's Cafe , a 1995 Broadway musical revue based on their work. Smokey Joe's Cafe was also nominated for seven Tony awards , and became the longest-running musical revue in Broadway history. Other awards include: In the 1950s the rhythm and blues of the black entertainment world, up to then restricted to black clubs, was increasing its audience-share in areas previously reserved for traditional pop music , and

627-498: The decade, they had a hit with Lee with " I'm a Woman " (1962). Their last major hit production was " Stuck in the Middle With You " by Stealers Wheel , taken from the band's 1972 eponymous debut album, which the duo produced. In 1975, they recorded Mirrors , an album of art songs with Peggy Lee. A remixed and expanded version of the album was released in 2005 as Peggy Lee Sings Leiber and Stoller . Also in 1975, they produced

660-593: The guitar solo on the Drifters' " On Broadway ". After leaving the employ of Atlantic Records—where they produced, and often wrote, many classic recordings by the Drifters with Ben E. King —Leiber and Stoller produced a series of records for United Artists Records , including hits by Jay and the Americans (" She Cried "), the Exciters ("Tell Him"), and the Clovers (" Love Potion #9 ", also written by Leiber and Stoller). In

693-497: The late-1970s, Gusto purchased the Chart and Ovation catalogs. Gusto acquired the Musicor , Scepter, and Wand catalogues from the bankrupt Springboard International Records in 1984, along with many masters that were recorded by Springboard itself. Gusto also acquired Little Darlin' Records and a large classical catalog in the same purchase. The Indigo and Audiograph masters were added in

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726-514: The phenomenon now known as " crossover " became apparent. Leiber and Stoller affected the course of modern popular music in 1957, when they wrote and produced the crossover double-sided hit by the Coasters, " Young Blood "/" Searchin' ". They released " Yakety Yak ", which was a mainstream hit, as was the follow-up, " Charlie Brown ". This was followed by " Along Came Jones ", " Poison Ivy ", " Shoppin' for Clothes ", and " Little Egypt (Ying-Yang) ". They produced and co-wrote " There Goes My Baby ",

759-439: The pre- RCA recordings of The Guess Who ), Wand (except for recordings by The Kingsmen ) Musicor , Chart (except for recordings by Lynn Anderson , whose catalog is owned by Sony Music Entertainment , and a few other artists who bought their own masters), Federal , Audio Lab, Ovation , Step One, Atteiram, and others. Gusto is believed to maintain one of the largest independently owned collection of record masters. Gusto

792-779: The pseudonym Elmo Glick . In 1964, they launched Red Bird Records with George Goldner and, focusing on the " girl group " sound, released some of the notable songs of the Brill Building period. In all, Leiber and Stoller wrote or co-wrote over 70 chart hits . They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Both born to Jewish families, Leiber came from Baltimore , Maryland , and Stoller from Queens , New York , but they met in Los Angeles , California , in 1950, where Stoller

825-932: The purchase of the Scepter/Wand catalog were those of the 1960s garage band the Kingsmen , including " Louie Louie ". In 1993, group members brought legal action against Gusto to have the Wand recordings returned, alleging they had not been paid royalties since 1968. On November 9, 1998, in a story that made national headlines, the Kingsmen were awarded ownership of their Wand recordings. Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber ( / ˈ l iː b ər / ; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wrote numerous standards for Broadway . Leiber and Stoller found success as

858-603: The show) but as ordinary people with an unusual “line” of work. They even signed in under their own names, as the producers apparently were certain that the panel would not know who they were. In the beginning of the 1960s, they started Daisy Records and recorded Bob Moore and The Temps (with Roy Buchanan ) on their label. In the early 1960s, Phil Spector served an apprenticeship of sorts with Leiber and Stoller in New York City , developing his record producer 's craft while observing and playing guitar on their sessions, including

891-875: The writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog " (1952) and " Kansas City " (1952). Later in the 1950s, particularly through their work with the Coasters , they created a string of ground-breaking hits—including " Young Blood " (1957), " Searchin' " (1957), and " Yakety Yak " (1958)—that used the humorous vernacular of teenagers sung in a style that was openly theatrical rather than personal. Leiber and Stoller wrote hits for Elvis Presley , including " Love Me " (1956), " Jailhouse Rock " (1957), " Loving You ", " Don't ", and " King Creole ". They also collaborated with other writers on such songs as " On Broadway ", written with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil ; " Stand By Me ", written with Ben E. King ; "Young Blood", written with Doc Pomus ; and " Spanish Harlem ", co-written by Leiber and Phil Spector . They were sometimes credited under

924-506: Was pop star Gene Pitney , who gave Musicor its biggest hits with " It Hurts to Be in Love " and " Only Love Can Break a Heart ". Bert Berns produced Jimmy Radcliffe's recording of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song "Long After Tonight Is All Over" in 1964 that proved to be one of Northern Soul music's most enduring anthems. After a few years with no hits, popular R&B vocal group

957-449: Was Michael Stoller, but he later changed it legally to "Mike". Their first hit composition was "Hard Times", recorded by Charles Brown , which was a rhythm and blues hit in 1952. "Kansas City", first recorded in 1952 (as "K. C. Loving") by rhythm & blues singer Little Willie Littlefield , became a No. 1 pop hit in 1959 for Wilbert Harrison . In 1952, the partners wrote " Hound Dog " for blues singer Big Mama Thornton , which became

990-500: Was a freshman at Los Angeles City College while Leiber was a senior at Fairfax High . Stoller had graduated from Belmont High School . After school, Stoller played piano and Leiber worked in Norty's, a record store on Fairfax Avenue, and when they met, they found they shared a love of blues and rhythm and blues . In 1950, Jimmy Witherspoon recorded and performed their first commercial song, "Real Ugly Woman". Stoller's name at birth

1023-677: Was a fan of Sovine's and has claimed that one of the main reasons he purchased the Starday/King masters was so that he could own and market the Red Sovine catalog. The first huge hit recorded and distributed by Gusto Records was Red Sovine's single "Teddy Bear", which was released in 1976 using the Starday label and rose to No. 1 on the charts in seven weeks, which was the fastest rise to the No. 1 position for any country music 45-rpm record released before or since (

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1056-486: Was also Musicor's last big hit). The Electric Moog Orchestra was also on the Musicor roster, specializing in synthesized versions of music from the film Star Wars .. Gusto Records Gusto Records is a Nashville, Tennessee -based record company that specializes in reissuing and licensing recordings. The catalogues that Gusto owns include King Records (except for recordings by James Brown ), Starday , Scepter (except for recordings by Dionne Warwick , and

1089-586: Was founded in 1973 by Gayron "Moe" Lytle and songwriter Tommy Hill, who owned the Stop Records label. Tommy Hill operated the business while Moe was still in St. Louis. In 1974, Moe Lytle moved to Nashville and bought Tommy Hill's interest in the company, along with the Stop Records label shortly thereafter. It acquired Starday-King Records from Tennessee Recording & Publishing, which was owned by Freddy Bienstock , Hal Neely, Jerry Leiber , and Mike Stoller in 1975. In

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