The Leiber & Stoller Story, Vol. 1: Hard Times - The Los Angeles Years 1951-56

by Leiber & Stoller

Overview

Although the first installment of this three-volume series covers a lot of ground in the early career of the famed R&B/rock & roll songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, be aware that it's not exactly a compilation of the best and most familiar interpretations of their compositions. Rather than focus on the most famous Leiber & Stoller covers, the compilers chose, as the liner notes explain, "to keep the 'obvious' content to a minimum and go for either versions of L&S songs that don't get reissued so often or, in some cases, the original versions of L&S songs that begat much better-known 'covers.'" As a consequence, some obvious highlights of their early catalog -- Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog," the Robins' "Riot in Cell Block #9," and the Cheers' "Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots," for example -- aren't here. As compensation, however, this 28-track anthology does include a lot of rare obscurities that will be treasured by both Leiber & Stoller fans and serious R&B/rock & roll collectors (and you can get the more famous covers, such as the aforementioned tracks, on other reissues). Too, it doesn't wholly ignore some of their more successful early endeavors -- the Drifters' "Ruby Baby" (covered for a big pop hit by Dion in the 1960s), Charles Brown's Top Ten 1952 R&B hit "Hard Times," and Little Willie Littlefield's original 1952 version of "Kansas City" (then titled "KC Lovin'," and made into a chart-topping rock & roll smash by Wilbert Harrison at the end of the '50s) are all here. At this point in their development, Leiber & Stoller were writing very much in the jump blues/early R&B style, only making the leap to rock & roll on some of the final cuts on this disc. While their lyrical wit was in evidence from the start, tune-wise a good deal of this is on the generic early-'50s R&B side, lacking the melodic invention that would flower in their more rock & roll-oriented work of the late '50s and 1960s. Nonetheless, at the very least it's an instructive listen, with some of the better cuts verging on the risque, like Jimmy Witherspoon's "Real Ugly Woman" and Big Mama Thornton's "I Smell a Rat." Also, there are some real intriguing oddities here, foremost among them Freddie Bell & the Bellboys' 1954 cover of "Hound Dog," which (rather than Thornton's original version) was actually the model for Elvis Presley's mega-hit interpretation; more pop-oriented covers of "Riot in Cell Block #9" (by Vicki Young) and the Coasters' "Down in Mexico" (by Ella Mae Morse), though these versions aren't nearly up to the quality of the more famous renditions; Larry Evans' "What About Me," which with some alterations would become the Coasters' "What About Us"; an Amos Milburn vocal version of the Benny Goodman-Lionel Hampton jazz classic "Flying Home," with new lyrics by Leiber & Stoller; and, weirdest of all, a French-language cover of "Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots" by none other than Edith Piaf! And for those very few collectors who might have most or all of this stuff already, there are the small added bonuses of previously unreleased alternate takes of Bobby Nunn & the Robins' "That's What the Good Book Says" and the Du Droppers' "Bam Balam." ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	08/10/2004
Label:	Ace / Acetate Records
UPC:	0029667002028
Rank:	117729

Tracks

1. That's What the Good Book Says  - Jerry Leiber  - Bobby Nunn  - Mike Stoller
2. Hard Times  - Charles Brown  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
3. Nosey Joe  - Bull Moose Jackson  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
4. Flying Home  - Benny Goodman  - Lionel Hampton  - Jerry Leiber  - Amos Milburn  - Mike Stoller
5. Gloom and Misery All Around  - Roy Hawkins  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
6. Bam Balam  -  Du Droppers  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
7. Real Ugly Woman  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller  - Jimmy Witherspoon
8. Mainliner  - Jerry Leiber  -  Little Esther  - Mike Stoller
9. Kansas City aka KC Lovin'  - Jerry Leiber  - Little Willie Littlefield  - Mike Stoller
10. Lovin' Jim  -  Champion  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
11. Too Bad Sweet Mama  - Sam Henderson  -  Henderson
12. Ten Days in Jail  - Jerry Leiber  -  Robins  - Mike Stoller
13. Squeeze Me  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller  - Milt Trenier
14. I Smell a Rat  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller  - Big Mama Thornton
15. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah  - Jerry Leiber  - Joe Liggins  - Mike Stoller
16. Come a Little Bit Closer  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller  -  Willy & Ruth
17. It's a Miracle  -  Honey Bears  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
18. Bazoom (I Need Your Lovin')  -  Cheers  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
19. Riot in Cell Block #9  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller  - Vicki Young
20. Hound Dog  -  Bell  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
21. Whadaya Want  - Jack Cardwell  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
22. Down in Mexico  - Jerry Leiber  - Ella Mae Morse  - Mike Stoller
23. Hot Dog  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller  -  Young Jessie
24. What About Me  - Larry Evans  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
25. Tears of Joy  - Etta James  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
26. Ruby Baby  -  Drifters  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
27. If It's the Last Thing I Do  - Jerry Leiber  - Frankie Marshall  - Mike Stoller
28. L' Homme ¿¿ la Moto  - Jerry Leiber  - Edith Piaf  - Mike Stoller

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Leiber & Stoller   Primary Artist
Sam "Highpockets" Henderson & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Bobby Nunn   Primary Artist
The Cheers   Primary Artist
Jimmy Witherspoon   Primary Artist
The Drifters   Primary Artist
Larry Evans   Primary Artist
Joe Liggins   Primary Artist
Edith Piaf   Primary Artist
Jack Cardwell   Primary Artist
Frankie Marshall   Primary Artist
Vicki Young   Primary Artist
Honey Bears   Primary Artist
Little Mickey Champion   Primary Artist
Little Esther   Primary Artist
Roy Hawkins   Primary Artist
Etta James   Primary Artist
Charles Brown   Primary Artist
Ella Mae Morse   Primary Artist
The Du Droppers   Primary Artist
Big Mama Thornton   Primary Artist
Amos Milburn   Primary Artist
Young Jessie   Primary Artist
Willy & Ruth   Primary Artist
Bull Moose Jackson   Primary Artist
The Robins   Primary Artist
Milt Trenier   Primary Artist
Freddie Bell & the Bellboys   Primary Artist
Little Willie Littlefield   Primary Artist
Jerry Leiber   Vocals

Technical Credits

Randy Poe   Liner Notes
Tony Rounce   Liner Notes,Archive Research,Photography
Mike Stoller   Photography,Cover Photo,Composer
Billy Vera   Photography
Lionel Hampton   Composer
Jerry Leiber   Photography,Cover Photo,Composer
Johnny Otis   Photography
Sam Henderson   Composer
Benny Goodman   Composer
Adam Skeaping   Mastering