Jerry Leiber (b. 25 April 1933, Baltimore, Maryland, USA) and Mike Stoller (b. 13 March 1933, New York City, New York, USA) began their extraordinary songwriting and production partnership at the age of 17. Leiber was a blues enthusiast and record store assistant, while Stoller played jazz piano. Based in Los Angeles, they provided numerous songs for the city's R&B artists during the early 50s. "Hard Times" by Charles Brown was the first Leiber and Stoller hit, but their biggest songs of the era were "Hound Dog" and "K.C. Lovin'" (later renamed "Kansas City"). Originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton, "Hound Dog" was one of the songs that came to define rock 'n' roll after Elvis Presley performed it. "Kansas City" had its greatest success in a version by Wilbert Harrison, and went on to become part of every UK beat group's repertoire.
In 1954, the duo set up their own Spark Records label to release material by the Robins, a vocal group they had discovered. Renamed the Coasters a year later, when Leiber and Stoller moved to New York, the group was given some of the songwriters' most clever and witty compositions. Songs such as "Smokey Joe's Cafe", "Searchin'", "Yakety Yak" and "Charlie Brown" bridged the gap between R&B and rock 'n' roll, selling millions in the mid to late 50s, while Leiber And Stoller's innovative production techniques widened the scope of the R&B record, prompting hosts of imitators. In New York, Leiber and Stoller had a production contract with Atlantic Records, where they created hits for numerous artists. They wrote "Lucky Lips" for Ruth Brown and "Saved" for LaVern Baker, but their most notable productions were for the Drifters and the group's lead singer Ben E. King. Among these were "On Broadway", "Spanish Harlem", "There Goes My Baby", "I (Who Have Nothing)" and "Stand By Me", which was an international hit when reissued in 1986. Away from Atlantic, Leiber and Stoller supplied Elvis Presley with songs including "Jailhouse Rock", "Baby I Don't Care", "Loving You", "Treat Me Nice" and "His Latest Flame". They also wrote hits for Perry Como, Peggy Lee ("I'm A Woman") and Dion. In 1964, the duo set up the Red Bird and Blue Cat record labels with George Goldner. Despite the quality of many of the releases (Alvin Robinson's "Down Home Girl" was later covered by the Rolling Stones), the only big hits came from the Shangri-Las, who were produced by Shadow Morton rather than Leiber and Stoller.
Subsequently, the duo took several years away from production, purchasing the King Records group and creating the Cabaret-like songs for Peggy Lee's album Mirrors (1976). They returned to the pop world briefly in 1972, producing albums for UK acts including Stealers Wheel and Elkie Brooks, for whom they part-wrote "Pearl's A Singer". During the 70s, they were in semi-retirement, developing Only In America, a stage show involving 30 of their compositions. Another musical based on their work - Yakety Yak - was presented in London with oldies band Darts. During the 80s Leiber and Stoller's songs were featured in the cartoon film Hound Dog and they were reported to be working on a musical. However, their public appearances seemed to be confined to awards ceremonies where they were made members of several Halls of Fame, including that of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987. In 1979, US critic Robert Palmer wrote a highly praised biography of the duo. The stage musical Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs Of Leiber And Stoller, which opened to rave reviews in March 1995 at New York's Virginia Theatre, featured nearly 40 songs by the duo.
