Saturday Pop, Jazz, and Blues at the 2024 Birthday Celebration for Jerry Leiber, Ella Fitzgerald, and Albert King

by Robert Wilkinson

Today’s early show celebrates the birthdays of three outstanding musical talents of the 20th century, one a legendary songwriter, one a blues Master, and the third the "First Lady of Jazz." Dancing to dozens of Top Ten hits, jazz, and blues! What more could we want? Because of our wide range of musical styles today, we’ll begin this dance early and go late.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) with partner Mike Stoller (March 13, 1933) were two of the greatest songwriters of rock and roll, and wrote some of the most famous songs of the second half of the 20th century over a 60 year collaboration. Mike wrote the tunes and Jerry wrote the lyrics for such amazing songs as "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," "Love Me," "King Creole," "Yakety Yak," "Searchin'," "Young Blood," "Love Potion #9," "Kansas City," "Charlie Brown," "Drip Drop," "Poison Ivy," "Stand By Me," "Spanish Harlem," "Smokey Joe's Cafe," "Riot in Cell Block #9," "On Broadway," and the immortal Christmas song, "Santa Claus Is Back in Town," among the many that shaped a couple of generations of musical fans.

They created the hits of the 50s and 60s, and their songs were done by many of the greatest of rock and rollers, including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Dion, the Coasters, the Drifters and Ben E. King. They created a joyous new musical songwriting style by combining blues, jazz, and pop in a sound that captivated millions over decades. They also produced more major hits than I can list here.

Over their career, they had 15 # 1 hits in a variety of genres by 10 different artists. Among the performers who took their hits to the top of the charts we can include Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Otis Redding.

From Wikipedia,

… they created a string of ground-breaking hits that are some of the most entertaining in rock and roll, by using the humorous vernacular of the teenagers sung in a style that was openly theatrical rather than personal, songs that include “Young Blood,” “Searchin’,” and “Yakety Yak.” They were the first to surround black music with elaborate production values, enhancing its emotional power with the Drifters in “There Goes My Baby” and 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 period.

Here are a few of the songs that made the team of Leiber and Stoller immortals:

From The Milton Berle Show in 1956, Elvis belting out “Hound Dog” (with the great Scotty Moore) cranking out his prototypical leads!)

From The Steve Allen Show in 1956, Elvis doing "Hound Dog."

Here's a treat! I found a clip from 1965 featuring Buddy Guy smokin' on guitar, backing Big Mama Thornton doing her version of "Hound Dog." Elvis heard Big Mama doing this version in 1952, then took it into the stratosphere!)

From the movie, here's "Jailhouse Rock"

From a 1956 Ed Sullivan performance, here's the King performing "Love Me"

The original studio version of one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time, delivered as only the King could! This is one of my top 15 Christmas songs! "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" This one's great!

FWIW, in no particular order the other 14 are “Do They Know It’s Christmas” (Band Aid), “Father Christmas” (Kinks) “Christmas [Baby Please Come Home] (Darlene Love),” “Christmas Bells” (John Gorka), “Christmas Time Is Here Again” (Beatles), “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (the Boss), “Blue Christmas” and “Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me” (Elvis), “Christmas” (The Who), “Run Run Rudolph” (Mister Chuck Berry), “Christmas All Over Again” (Tom Petty), “Christmas on TV” (Chris Isaak), “Happy Xmas [War is Over] “ (John Lennon) and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by just about anyone, though Tull’s version is great!

Another Lieber-Stoller hit made huge by Elvis just before he was neutered by "Colonel Tom Parker," this was actually a good movie! Here's the title song from "King Creole."

By the Coasters, their timeless teen age lament, "Yakety Yak"

Also from the Coasters, a very funny 1959 live lip-synched performance on Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show of "Charlie Brown." Here’s the original studio single with King Curtis wailing on sax on “Charlie Brown”

From 1956, the Coasters’ original studio version of the Lieber-Stoller hit, “Ruby Baby.” For the more famous version from a few years later, here’s the legendary Dion DiMucci live on television in 1963 with his unmistakeable New York attitude belting out “Ruby Baby”

From 1957, a great live performance by the original Coasters on the Steve Allen show of “Searchin’”

Here’s the Silver Beatles in 1962 with Paul on lead vocals offering up their studio version of “Searchin’”

From 1958, also with King Curtis on sax, the original studio version by the Coasters of “Three Cool Cats”

From 1962 with George singing lead, here are the Silver Beatles giving us their studio version of “Three Cool Cats”

From 1959, the Coasters in the original studio version of "Poison Ivy"

From 1963, 2 Rolling Stones studio versions of “Poison Ivy” - Version 1 and “Poison Ivy” - Version 2

From 1962, the original studio version by the Coasters with King Curtis on Sax grinding out “Little Egypt”

As we originally saw in the movie Roustabout, here’s the King mugging for the camera while giving us a slick performance of “Little Egypt”

From 1965, the Coasters in a live performance of “Along Came Jones”

Here’s a later vintage of the Coasters in a live performance of “Young Blood”

From June 1963 on Pop Goes the Beatles, “Young Blood”

It’s gone again! Last year I had the fantastic video performance from The Concert for Bangladesh, of the great Leon Russell preaching the gospel of “Jumping Jack Flash/Young Blood,” but this year it’s gone. So this year we have the audio of that iconic performance! “Young Blood” followed by ”Jumping Jack Flash” (which obviously wasn’t written by Leiber/Stoller!)

From 1954, the Robins’ original studio version of “There’s A Riot Going On (Up In Cell Block Number 9)”

The Robins doing the classic "Smokey Joe's Cafe" Here's another great version by Buddy Holly of "Smokey Joe's Cafe"

Here is the original Clovers' version of "Love Potion #9." I found another great version by the Searchers in 1964 of "Love Potion #9"

They produced the Drifters when they recorded this #2 pop, #1 R&B smash hit written and sung by Ben E. King when he fronted that group in their immortal Atlantic era. This blew my mind as a kid! Please enjoy listening to the majestically sad "There Goes My Baby."

From the 1987 Montreux Jazz Festival, here's the great Ben E. King doing his signature hit written by Leiber and Stoller, "Stand By Me"

Here's Ben E. King doing another of his greatest, "Spanish Harlem"

From Hullabaloo in 1965, a live performance by Jay and the Americans of an iconic tune written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Cynthia Weil, and Barry Mann. It was originally a scathingly satiric commentary on the lack of civil rights at the time, “Only In America” (Originally written for the Drifters, it is not the tune "America" from West Side Story.) From Songfacts: The song was written at a time before integration, and the lyrics were originally about racism. It had the following chorus: "Only in America, land of opportunity, can they save a seat in the back of the bus just for me. Only in America, Where they preach the Golden Rule, will they start to march when my kids go to school." Atlantic Records had a problem with the lyrics, and insisted Leiber and Stoller change them to be a satiric message of patriotism, which so upset Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann they demanded changes in their contract to give them more control over future songs.

Here’s the original Drifters’ studio version of “Only In America”

From Shindig 1964, the great Jay and the Americans in a very real live performance doing the very funny "Come A Little Bit Closer"

From The Mike Douglas Show in 1969, another live performance by Jay and the Americans of the iconic “Come A Little Bit Closer”

From 1959 on the Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show hosted by Dick Clark, here’s Wilbert Harrison in a live performance of “Kansas City”

And from 1964, here are the Beatles live on Shindig with Paul singing the lead on “Kansas City”

We'll close today with one of my faves when I was too young to mention. Here's Elvis in Jailhouse Rock doing the Leiber-Stoller hit, "(You're so square) Baby I Don't Care." For another great version, here's Buddy Holly doing "You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)"

Speaking of Buddy, here's the Bobby Fuller Four live in 1965 cranking out their version of "You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)"

We'll close this birthday tribute with a live performance by Queen in 1986 at Wembley Stadium bopping a version of "You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)"

You can check out both of these legendary songwriters at the official Leiber-Stoller website

You can check out more at the Songwriters Hall of Fame - Leiber-Stoller

Thanks for all the fabulous tunes across the decades, Jerry! Glad Mike is still with us. You two are truly in the immortal greats of rock and roll!

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Our next set celebrates the life and music of the First Lady of Jazz, one of the greatest voices of the 20th century! Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was a transcendent performer, and certain one of the all-time greats of scat singing, as well as interpreting standards as few others could. From Wikipedia:

Over the course of her 59-year recording career, she sold 40 million copies of her 70-plus albums, won 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush….

Her 1945 scat recording of "Flying Home" arranged by Vic Schoen would later be described by The New York Times as "one of the most influential vocal jazz records of the decade....Where other singers, most notably Louis Armstrong, had tried similar improvisation, no one before Miss Fitzgerald employed the technique with such dazzling inventiveness." Her bebop recording of "Oh, Lady be Good!" (1947) was similarly popular and increased her reputation as one of the leading jazz vocalists.

From the same source, we read she recorded the Cole Porter Songbook, the Duke Ellington Songbook, toured all over the world, and was universally loved and respected when she left us at age 79. She collaborated with the vocal quartet Bill Kenny & The Ink Spots, trumpeter Louis Armstrong, the guitarist Joe Pass, and the bandleaders Count Basie and Duke Ellington. She was, and is, very simply, “the First Lady of Song” and “The Queen of Jazz.” For your enjoyment, Ms. Ella Fitzgerald!

From 1979 in Montreaux with Count Basie, Ella doing her first big scat hit, the rockin’ “Flyin’ Home,” and from the same show, the classic “Sweet Georgia Brown”

From 1960, a very danceable version of the classic “Mack The Knife”

We got more great live scat for happy feet! From 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show, here’s Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Junior cookin’ on “’S Wonderful”

Here’s a great early live set! For your enjoyment, a 1 hour and 6 video of Ella Fitzgerald at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1969 with the Tommy Flanagan Trio

Here’s one of my faves done as only Ella could in Milan, 1984! “All of Me” (It’s clipped about 10 seconds before the end of the song, and unfortunately, part 2 with Ella singing “I’m Gonna To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter” has disappeared. So instead, from her album Live at Newport from 1957, “I’m Gonna To Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter”

From 1956, the classic album as only two jazz greats could give us! For your enjoyment, an audio-only 54 minutes of Ella and Louis (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong)

Back to a very live 1969 film performance of “One Note Samba”

Nat King Cole and Ella doing a live duet of “It’s All Right With Me”

On a lighter, more “contemporary” note, from 1970 here’s a video of Ella and Tom Jones doing a very jazzed up version of “Sunny” (While sitting in rocking chairs? Wow.)

Here’s Ella and Joe Pass in Berlin in 1984 giving us A Duke Ellington/Jobim Medley

We begin to close this tribute by going to Helsinki in 1965 to find Ella and the 4tet laying down a cool set! Last year they were in separate clips, but this year they’re gone and the entire 33 minute set is here!

Ella Fitzgerald and the 4tet Live in Helsinki” (Set list: “Hello Dolly,” Hard Days Night,” “Boy From Ipanema,” “Angel Eyes,” and “Smooth Sailing”)

For our finale, from October 1975 in Hannover, here’s the video of the entire 1 hour 12 minute concert! Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass – Duets in Hannover

I found them again! Our first encore is courtesy of the wayback machine, stepping back in time to a fantastic 24 minute video of her performance at Jazz At The Philharmonic in Amsterdam - 1957.

Our second encore is her legendary 1963 performance in Sweden! For your enjoyment, 22 minutes of Ella on Jazz Icons - Ella in Sweden

Our third and final encore is from 1969. Here’s an hour and 6 of Ella Fitzgerald – Live in Montreux 1969

Ms Ella, you left the world a treasure of beautiful and classy music. Thanks for lifting our spirits and raising the bar for all jazz singers to come!

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This past week brought the birthday of one of the greatest blues legends of all time! Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was considered one of "the Three Kings" in blues, along with B.B. King and Freddie King. I had the privilege of seeing all three more than once during the years I lived in Austin. Each had a unique style, and each smoked! Because of other pressing work, I can't do a complete tribute to this blues giant, but I will give you these classics for your enjoyment:

Very live in Montreux with Rory Gallagher, an audio only track of one of his most famous tunes! "As The Years Go Passing By"

Here’s that awesome second album, considered to be one of the best of all time! Born Under A Bad Sign (1967)

Here's a live video from the Fillmore in 1970 of the great Albert King offering up “Oh Pretty Woman” (Not the Roy Orbison tune!)

From the same gig, "Blues Power" The whole show is our encore!

From the Summer of 1968, a full audio-only one hour 13 live show from Chicago! Albert King Live at the Chicago Blues Fest - 1968

From 1980 on Swedish television, an hour of Albert live! Albert King Live in Sweden - 1980

Here's a great 90 minute video! For your amazement, Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan in Session – 1983

At the 1989 Montreux Jazz Fest, 49 minutes of live performance blues gold! Albert King at Montreux - 1989

We'll close this with an awesome 60 minute PBS live show from 1981! This is a classic! Albert King - Maintenance Shop Blues

For our encore, 15 minutes of some serious blues, complete with a cranking horn section! Albert King Live at the Fillmore East - 1969

You lived the blues, so you got to play them sweet, hot, and very intense, oh Master of the Flying V. I was definitely privileged to see you in action!

© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson

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