Friday, March 13, 2009

Music Box: Olde Tyme Rock and Roll

Ten years ago today, the Number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Believe" by Cher. Luckily, no one since then has thought to use the gimmick of Auto-Tune on a pop record. Neil Sedaka has a birthday today. He wrote "Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do" and "Calendar Girl." But the big birthday today is another creator of Brill Building pop, Mike Stoller. As half of Leiber and Stoller, he has been one most influential songwriters and producers in rock history; responsible for songs like "Stand by Me," "Kansas City," the Drifters' classic "There Goes My Baby," and hits for Elvis Presley including "Love Me," "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock." Here's another little Elvis nugget from the Leiber and Stoller catalog, "Baby I Don't Care":