Ellie Greenwich
Encyclopedia
Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American
pop music
singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby
", "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
", "Da Doo Ron Ron
", "Leader of the Pack
", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy
", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others. She discovered Neil Diamond
and sang backing vocals on several of Diamond's hit songs.
father and a Jewish mother, who both were of Russian
ancestry. At age ten, she moved with her parents and younger sister to Levittown, New York
. In time she began taking lessons on the accordion
. By her teens, she was composing songs; eventually she taught herself to compose on the piano
rather than the accordion. In high school, Greenwich and two friends formed a singing group, The Jivettes, which took on more members and performed at local functions.
At 17, around the time she began attending Queens College, Greenwich recorded her first single for RCA Record
s, the self-written "Silly Isn't It", backed with "Cha-Cha Charming". The single was issued under the name "Ellie Gaye" (which she chose as a reference to Barbie Gaye, singer of the original version of "My Boy Lollipop
"). The record was released in 1958 and indirectly led to her decision to transfer from Queens College to Hofstra University
after one of her professors at the former institution belittled her for recording pop music.
met formally as adults was at a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by her maternal uncle, who was married to Barry's cousin. Greenwich had brought her accordion, and she and Barry recognized their mutual love of music. Romance was not yet in the air as Barry was married to his first wife, who was at the dinner. Yet within a couple of years, the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich would be among the most successful and prolific of Brill Building
composers.
Greenwich and Barry began dating after his marriage was annulled, but musically they continued separate careers. Still in college, in 1962, Greenwich got her first break in the business when she traveled to the Brill Building to meet John Gluck, Jr., one of the composers of the Lesley Gore
hit "It's My Party
". Needing to keep another appointment, Gluck installed Greenwich in an office and asked her to wait. The office turned out to be that of songwriter-producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
. Hearing piano music from the cubicle, Leiber poked his head in and, expecting Carole King
, was startled to see Greenwich, who introduced herself and explained her reasons for being there. Recognizing her potential as a songwriter, Leiber and Stoller agreed to allow her to use their facilities as she wished in exchange for first refusal on songs she wrote. They eventually signed Greenwich to their publishing company, Trio Music, as a staff songwriter.
Before marrying Barry, Greenwich wrote songs with different partners, including Ben Raleigh (co-writer on Barry's first hit as a composer, "Tell Laura I Love Her
," in 1960) and Mark Barkan. She was also a session singer, recording so many demos
that she became known as New York's Demo Queen. Her biggest hits during this period were written with Tony Powers. The Greenwich-Powers team made the charts with tunes such as "He's Got The Power" (The Exciters
), "(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" (Darlene Love
), and "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others' Hearts?" (Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
, with Love on lead vocal). These last two were co-written and produced by Phil Spector
, who had been introduced to the songs, and to Greenwich, by music publisher Aaron Schroeder.
In October 1962, Barry and Greenwich married, and shortly afterwards decided to write songs exclusively with each other — a decision that disappointed Tony Powers as well as Barry's main writing partner, Artie Resnick. Barry was subsequently signed to Trio Music, and he and Greenwich were given their own office with their names on the door. Before the end of 1963, Barry-Greenwich had scored hits with songs such as "Be My Baby
" and "Baby, I Love You
" (The Ronettes
), "Then He Kissed Me
" and "Da Doo Ron Ron
" (The Crystals
), "Not Too Young To Get Married" (Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans), and "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
" by Darlene Love, all co-written and produced by Phil Spector. Greenwich and Barry also recorded singles and an album under the name The Raindrops
, with Greenwich providing all the female vocals through overdubbing, and Barry singing backgrounds in a bass voice.
In addition to "What A Guy" (actually a demo, with Greenwich on piano and Barry on drums, sold to Jubilee Records and released as the first Raindrops single) and the U.S. Top 20 hit "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget," the couple wrote and recorded "Hanky Panky", which later became a hit for Tommy James & the Shondells
in 1966 and, in 1964, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy
", was taken to the No. 1 spot on the charts, in both the UK and the US, by Manfred Mann
. Toward the end of 1963, the Raindrops recorded "That Boy John", a catchy fusion of jazz and rhythm and blues that reached the middle of the charts; President John F. Kennedy
had just been assassinated and, according to Barry and Greenwich, radio stations were loath to play the song. Barry and Greenwich also penned songs for Connie Francis
and Lesley Gore
.
When Red Bird Records
was founded in 1964 by Leiber and Stoller, Barry and Greenwich were brought in as songwriters and producers. The label's first release was The Dixie Cups
' "Chapel of Love
" (written with Phil Spector and originally recorded by The Ronettes), which sailed up the U.S. charts to No. 1. Barry and Greenwich continued to write and/or produce hits for Red Bird, including several other releases by The Dixie Cups as well as The Ad-Libs ("He Ain't No Angel" and "Remember"), The Jelly Beans ("I Wanna Love Him So Bad"), and The Shangri-Las
("Leader of the Pack"), co-written by George "Shadow" Morton
. Morton, Barry and Greenwich penned "You Don't Know," which Greenwich recorded on Red Bird under her own name in 1965, at the same time Barry recorded and released another Barry–Greenwich tune, "Our Love Can Still Be Saved".
However, the couple's marriage could not be saved; before the end of the year, Barry and Greenwich divorced. The couple continued to work together for much of 1966, partly due to Greenwich's discovery of a talented singer-songwriter
named Neil Diamond
. Barry, Greenwich and Diamond joined to form Tallyrand Music to publish Diamond's songs. Diamond was subsequently signed to Bert Berns
's Bang Records
, and had a number of hits such as "Cherry Cherry" and "Kentucky Woman
", all produced by Barry and Greenwich, who also sang backgrounds on many tracks. In addition, Barry and Greenwich teamed with Phil Spector
one last time to pen "I Can Hear Music
", recorded by The Ronettes
in 1966, which was their final single for the Philles label, and by The Beach Boys
in 1969; and "River Deep - Mountain High
", which Spector produced for Ike and Tina Turner, although Ike was officially banned from the studio recording. Although "River Deep" peaked at #3 in the UK, the song was a commercial failure in the US, stalling at #88. A few years later, in 1970-71, The Supremes
and The Four Tops had a No. 14 (U.S. charts) hit with their revival of "River Deep".
, and over the next few years the Greenwich-Rashkow team wrote and/or produced recordings for Greenwich herself as well as for Dusty Springfield
, The Definitive Rock Chorale, The Other Voices
, The Fuzzy Bunnies, and The Hardy Boys
. Also in 1967, Greenwich recorded her first solo album, Ellie Greenwich Composes, Produces and Sings, released in 1968, which produced two chart hits, "Niki Hoeky" (#1 in Japan) and "I Want You to Be My Baby
".
Additionally, Greenwich continued to provide background vocals and vocal arrangements for diverse artists such as Dusty Springfield
, Bobby Darin
, Lou Christie
and Frank Sinatra
, as well as Electric Light Orchestra
, Blondie
, Cyndi Lauper
and Gary U.S. Bonds
. She did studio work for her ex-husband as well, singing backgrounds for Andy Kim
, who was recording for Barry's Steed Records
, and The Archies
. At one such recording session, Greenwich met Steve Tudanger, with whom she and Steve Feldman would later form the company Jingle Habitat to write and produce jingle
s for radio and television. Tudanger and Feldman also co-produced Greenwich's second LP, Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung, in 1973. Her song "Sunshine After The Rain" was a hit in the UK for singer Elkie Brooks
. It was produced by Leiber and Stoller and taken from the Elkie Brooks album, Two Days Away
.
After her partnership with Rashkow ended in 1971, Greenwich would collaborate with writers such as Ellen Foley
and Jeff Kent; the Greenwich-Kent-Foley team penned "Keep It Confidential", a hit for Nona Hendryx
on the R&B
charts in 1983. That same year, "Right Track Wrong Train", which Greenwich wrote with Kent and Cyndi Lauper
, was the B-side of Cyndi's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
", which hit No. 2 on the U.S. charts.
show that resurrected her 1960s music. When Foley and Hendryx performed at the Bottom Line
cabaret in New York City, Greenwich was there to see them. Bottom Line owner Allan Pepper convinced Greenwich to meet him and discuss putting together a revue showcasing her hits. In 1984, Leader of the Pack
, a show based on Greenwich's life and music, opened at the Bottom Line. Greenwich appeared as herself in the second act, which focused on her early years in Long Island and her marriage and partnership with Barry. The show was revamped for Broadway and opened at the Ambassador Theater the following year. Cast members included Greenwich, Darlene Love
, Annie Golden
, Dinah Manoff
as young Ellie, and Patrick Cassidy
as Jeff Barry. Leader of the Pack was nominated for a Tony Award
for Best Musical and a Grammy Award
for the cast album, and the play garnered The New York Music Critics' Award for Best Broadway Musical. During the 1990s and into the new millennium, the musical has enjoyed several revivals and continues to be performed at schools and community theaters. Leader Of The Pack is still performed all over the world, and until her death Greenwich oversaw the various productions.
In 1991, Greenwich and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
. In 2004, Rolling Stone
's list of the 500 greatest rock songs included six Greenwich-Barry compositions, more than any other non-performing songwriting team. In 1964 alone, the duo were responsible for writing 17 singles that reached the Billboard Hot 100
chart.
On December 15, 2009, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
announced that Greenwich and Barry would receive the Ahmet Ertegun
Award in March 2010 for helping to define the Brill Building sound. At the ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria, which was telecast on the Fuse TV
cable network, Carole King
inducted Greenwich, Barry, and other songwriting colleagues from the 1950s and early 1960s, including Barry Mann
& Cynthia Weil
, Otis Blackwell
(also posthumously), Mort Shuman
and Jesse Stone
. Ellie's award was accepted by her sister Laura, while Barry's acceptance was read by Steve van Zandt.
at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital
, New York City
, where she had been admitted a few days earlier for treatment of pneumonia
.
On February 3, 2010, Patti Smith dedicated an improvised cover of "Be My Baby" to Greenwich while playing a show on the Santa Monica Pier in California.
On February 20, 2010, Bruce Springsteen
and the E Street Band dedicated "Da Doo Ron Ron" to Greenwich while playing the song during a concert at the United Center, Chicago. Springsteen called Greenwich an "incredible rock and soul songwriter" before playing the song.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby
Be My Baby
"Be My Baby" is a 1963 single written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, performed by The Ronettes and produced by Spector. When released as a single, the song reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles Chart and #4 on the UK's Record Retailer...
", "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
"Christmas " is a Christmas holiday song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 Christmas compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records. The song was written by Phil Spector, along with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, with the intentions of being sung by Ronnie...
", "Da Doo Ron Ron
Da Doo Ron Ron
"Da Doo Ron Ron" is a 1963 hit single by The Crystals, produced by Phil Spector in his Wall of Sound style. The song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Spector. The drummer was Hal Blaine....
", "Leader of the Pack
Leader of the Pack
"Leader of the Pack" is a 1964 pop song recorded by girl group The Shangri-Las. It became number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 28, 1964.-Original Shangri-Las recording:...
", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy
Do Wah Diddy Diddy
"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963 by the American vocal group The Exciters.It was soon covered by British R&B, Beat and pop band Manfred Mann...
", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others. She discovered Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
and sang backing vocals on several of Diamond's hit songs.
Early years
Greenwich was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
father and a Jewish mother, who both were of Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
ancestry. At age ten, she moved with her parents and younger sister to Levittown, New York
Levittown, New York
Levittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
. In time she began taking lessons on the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
. By her teens, she was composing songs; eventually she taught herself to compose on the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
rather than the accordion. In high school, Greenwich and two friends formed a singing group, The Jivettes, which took on more members and performed at local functions.
At 17, around the time she began attending Queens College, Greenwich recorded her first single for RCA Record
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
s, the self-written "Silly Isn't It", backed with "Cha-Cha Charming". The single was issued under the name "Ellie Gaye" (which she chose as a reference to Barbie Gaye, singer of the original version of "My Boy Lollipop
My Boy Lollipop
"My Boy Lollipop" is a song written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in New York in 1956 by Barbie Gaye...
"). The record was released in 1958 and indirectly led to her decision to transfer from Queens College to Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
after one of her professors at the former institution belittled her for recording pop music.
Partnership with Jeff Barry
In 1959, still at college, Greenwich met the man who would become her husband and main songwriting partner. Although it is possible they had been acquainted as children, since they shared a relative, the first time Greenwich and Jeff BarryJeff Barry
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
met formally as adults was at a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by her maternal uncle, who was married to Barry's cousin. Greenwich had brought her accordion, and she and Barry recognized their mutual love of music. Romance was not yet in the air as Barry was married to his first wife, who was at the dinner. Yet within a couple of years, the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich would be among the most successful and prolific of Brill Building
Brill Building
The Brill Building is an office building located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood...
composers.
Greenwich and Barry began dating after his marriage was annulled, but musically they continued separate careers. Still in college, in 1962, Greenwich got her first break in the business when she traveled to the Brill Building to meet John Gluck, Jr., one of the composers of the Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore is an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.- Biography :Gore was born in New York City, New York. She was raised in...
hit "It's My Party
It's My Party
It's My Party may refer to:*"It's My Party" , a 1963 number-one single by Lesley Gore*It's My Party , a 1996 film*It's My Party , a weekly reality TV show broadcast by RTÉ in summer 2006...
". Needing to keep another appointment, Gluck installed Greenwich in an office and asked her to wait. The office turned out to be that of songwriter-producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
. Hearing piano music from the cubicle, Leiber poked his head in and, expecting Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
, was startled to see Greenwich, who introduced herself and explained her reasons for being there. Recognizing her potential as a songwriter, Leiber and Stoller agreed to allow her to use their facilities as she wished in exchange for first refusal on songs she wrote. They eventually signed Greenwich to their publishing company, Trio Music, as a staff songwriter.
Before marrying Barry, Greenwich wrote songs with different partners, including Ben Raleigh (co-writer on Barry's first hit as a composer, "Tell Laura I Love Her
Tell Laura I Love Her
"Tell Laura I Love Her," a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh, was an American Top Ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...
," in 1960) and Mark Barkan. She was also a session singer, recording so many demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
that she became known as New York's Demo Queen. Her biggest hits during this period were written with Tony Powers. The Greenwich-Powers team made the charts with tunes such as "He's Got The Power" (The Exciters
The Exciters
The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, although a male member was added later. The group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker....
), "(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" (Darlene Love
Darlene Love
Darlene Love is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a #1 American single in 1962, and was part of the Phil Spector stable that produced a celebrated Christmas album in 1963....
), and "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others' Hearts?" (Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans was an early 1960s vocal group produced by Phil Spector, and was initially conceived as a vehicle for the lead vocals of Bobby Sheen, who took the stage name Bob B. Soxx...
, with Love on lead vocal). These last two were co-written and produced by Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
, who had been introduced to the songs, and to Greenwich, by music publisher Aaron Schroeder.
In October 1962, Barry and Greenwich married, and shortly afterwards decided to write songs exclusively with each other — a decision that disappointed Tony Powers as well as Barry's main writing partner, Artie Resnick. Barry was subsequently signed to Trio Music, and he and Greenwich were given their own office with their names on the door. Before the end of 1963, Barry-Greenwich had scored hits with songs such as "Be My Baby
Be My Baby
"Be My Baby" is a 1963 single written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, performed by The Ronettes and produced by Spector. When released as a single, the song reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles Chart and #4 on the UK's Record Retailer...
" and "Baby, I Love You
Baby, I Love You
"Baby, I Love You" is a pop song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, produced by Spector, and originally recorded in 1963 by The Ronettes...
" (The Ronettes
The Ronettes
The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett ; her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley...
), "Then He Kissed Me
Then He Kissed Me
"Then He Kissed Me" is a song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The song was released as a single in September 1963 by The Crystals. It is a narrative of a young woman's encounter, romance, and eventual marriage with a fellow youth. The single is one of The Crystals' most...
" and "Da Doo Ron Ron
Da Doo Ron Ron
"Da Doo Ron Ron" is a 1963 hit single by The Crystals, produced by Phil Spector in his Wall of Sound style. The song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Spector. The drummer was Hal Blaine....
" (The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
), "Not Too Young To Get Married" (Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans), and "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
"Christmas " is a Christmas holiday song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 Christmas compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records. The song was written by Phil Spector, along with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, with the intentions of being sung by Ronnie...
" by Darlene Love, all co-written and produced by Phil Spector. Greenwich and Barry also recorded singles and an album under the name The Raindrops
The Raindrops
The Raindrops were an American pop group from New York, associated with the Brill Building style of 1960s pop. The group existed from 1963 to 1965 and consisted of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, both of whom worked as writer/producers for numerous other acts before, during and after their tenure...
, with Greenwich providing all the female vocals through overdubbing, and Barry singing backgrounds in a bass voice.
In addition to "What A Guy" (actually a demo, with Greenwich on piano and Barry on drums, sold to Jubilee Records and released as the first Raindrops single) and the U.S. Top 20 hit "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget," the couple wrote and recorded "Hanky Panky", which later became a hit for Tommy James & the Shondells
Tommy James & the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover" — and also charted 12 other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: "Crystal...
in 1966 and, in 1964, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy
Do Wah Diddy Diddy
"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963 by the American vocal group The Exciters.It was soon covered by British R&B, Beat and pop band Manfred Mann...
", was taken to the No. 1 spot on the charts, in both the UK and the US, by Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
. Toward the end of 1963, the Raindrops recorded "That Boy John", a catchy fusion of jazz and rhythm and blues that reached the middle of the charts; President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
had just been assassinated and, according to Barry and Greenwich, radio stations were loath to play the song. Barry and Greenwich also penned songs for Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
and Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore
Lesley Gore is an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.- Biography :Gore was born in New York City, New York. She was raised in...
.
When Red Bird Records
Red Bird Records
Red Bird Records was a record label started by American pop music songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1964. Though often thought of as a "girl-group" label, female-led acts made up only 40% of the artist roster on Red Bird and its associated labels...
was founded in 1964 by Leiber and Stoller, Barry and Greenwich were brought in as songwriters and producers. The label's first release was The Dixie Cups
The Dixie Cups
The Dixie Cups are an American pop music girl group of the 1960s. They are best known for their 1964 million selling disc, "Chapel of Love".-Career:...
' "Chapel of Love
Chapel of Love
"Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. There have also been many other versions of this song...
" (written with Phil Spector and originally recorded by The Ronettes), which sailed up the U.S. charts to No. 1. Barry and Greenwich continued to write and/or produce hits for Red Bird, including several other releases by The Dixie Cups as well as The Ad-Libs ("He Ain't No Angel" and "Remember"), The Jelly Beans ("I Wanna Love Him So Bad"), and The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
("Leader of the Pack"), co-written by George "Shadow" Morton
Shadow Morton
George 'Shadow' Morton is an American record producer and songwriter best known for his influential work in the 1960s and the introduction of girl group The Shangri-Las to the pop music world....
. Morton, Barry and Greenwich penned "You Don't Know," which Greenwich recorded on Red Bird under her own name in 1965, at the same time Barry recorded and released another Barry–Greenwich tune, "Our Love Can Still Be Saved".
However, the couple's marriage could not be saved; before the end of the year, Barry and Greenwich divorced. The couple continued to work together for much of 1966, partly due to Greenwich's discovery of a talented singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
named Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
. Barry, Greenwich and Diamond joined to form Tallyrand Music to publish Diamond's songs. Diamond was subsequently signed to Bert Berns
Bert Berns
Bertrand Russell Berns , most commonly known as Bert Berns as well as Bert Russell and Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s...
's Bang Records
Bang Records
Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegün, Nesuhi Ertegün and Jerry Wexler...
, and had a number of hits such as "Cherry Cherry" and "Kentucky Woman
Kentucky Woman
"Kentucky Woman" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond. Another well-known version is the 1968 recording by Deep Purple....
", all produced by Barry and Greenwich, who also sang backgrounds on many tracks. In addition, Barry and Greenwich teamed with Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
one last time to pen "I Can Hear Music
I Can Hear Music
"I Can Hear Music" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It was originally performed by the Ronettes in 1966, and later covered by the Beach Boys in 1969, by Larry Lurex in 1973, by José Hoebee in 1983, and by She & Him in 2010.-Beach Boys version:"I Can Hear Music"...
", recorded by The Ronettes
The Ronettes
The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett ; her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley...
in 1966, which was their final single for the Philles label, and by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
in 1969; and "River Deep - Mountain High
River Deep - Mountain High
"River Deep – Mountain High" is a 1966 single by Ike & Tina Turner. Considered by producer Phil Spector to be his best work, the single was successful in Europe, peaking at #3 in the United Kingdom, though it flopped on its original release in the United States...
", which Spector produced for Ike and Tina Turner, although Ike was officially banned from the studio recording. Although "River Deep" peaked at #3 in the UK, the song was a commercial failure in the US, stalling at #88. A few years later, in 1970-71, The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
and The Four Tops had a No. 14 (U.S. charts) hit with their revival of "River Deep".
Later career
During 1967, Greenwich formed Pineywood Music with Mike RashkowMike Rashkow
Michael Rashkow was an American songwriter and record producer. He wrote "Mary in the Morning" with Johnny Cymbal. It was recorded by Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Al Martino, Dire Straits's Guy Fletcher, and many other artists. He formed Pineywood Productions with Ellie Greenwich in the late 1960s...
, and over the next few years the Greenwich-Rashkow team wrote and/or produced recordings for Greenwich herself as well as for Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, The Definitive Rock Chorale, The Other Voices
Paul Levinson
Paul Levinson is an American author and professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. Levinson's novels, short fiction, and non-fiction works have been translated into twelve languages....
, The Fuzzy Bunnies, and The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional teenage brothers and amateur detectives who appear in various mystery series for children and teens....
. Also in 1967, Greenwich recorded her first solo album, Ellie Greenwich Composes, Produces and Sings, released in 1968, which produced two chart hits, "Niki Hoeky" (#1 in Japan) and "I Want You to Be My Baby
I Want You to Be My Baby
I Want You to Be My Baby is a jump blues song written by Jon Hendricks for Louis Jordan whose recording - made 28 May 1953 - was an R&B hit that autumn....
".
Additionally, Greenwich continued to provide background vocals and vocal arrangements for diverse artists such as Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, Lou Christie
Lou Christie
Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco , known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American singer-songwriter best known for three separate strings of pop hits in the 1960s , including his 1966 smash, "Lightnin' Strikes" and his incredible 3 octave vocal range.-Biography:Sacco was born in Glenwillard,...
and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, as well as Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
, Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
and Gary U.S. Bonds
Gary U.S. Bonds
Gary U.S. Bonds is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer. He is also a prolific songwriter.-Career:...
. She did studio work for her ex-husband as well, singing backgrounds for Andy Kim
Andy Kim
Andrew Youakim, performing as Andy Kim, is a Lebanese Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. He grew up in Montreal, Quebec in Canada. Kim is known for a number of hit singles that he released in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as "Rock Me Gently", which topped the US singles charts. In 1968,...
, who was recording for Barry's Steed Records
Steed Records
Steed Records was a record label founded by songwriter-record producer Jeff Barry in 1967 in New York City. The label was active until 1971. It was first distributed by Dot Records, then by Gulf+Western's Famous Music Group after it absorbed Dot....
, and The Archies
The Archies
The Archies are a garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones, a group of adolescent fictional characters of the Archie universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show...
. At one such recording session, Greenwich met Steve Tudanger, with whom she and Steve Feldman would later form the company Jingle Habitat to write and produce jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s for radio and television. Tudanger and Feldman also co-produced Greenwich's second LP, Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung, in 1973. Her song "Sunshine After The Rain" was a hit in the UK for singer Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
. It was produced by Leiber and Stoller and taken from the Elkie Brooks album, Two Days Away
Two Days Away
-Background:Brooks' breakthrough second album, released in 1977, propelled her into solo stardom in the UK and Europe. Featuring the top ten hits "Pearl's a Singer" and "Sunshine After the Rain", it had a distinct American sound largely due to the work of legendary writers and producers Jerry...
.
After her partnership with Rashkow ended in 1971, Greenwich would collaborate with writers such as Ellen Foley
Ellen Foley
Ellen Foley is an American singer and actress, who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the sitcom Night Court. In music, she has released three solo albums but is best known for her collaborations with the singer Meat Loaf.- Early life and career :Foley was born in St....
and Jeff Kent; the Greenwich-Kent-Foley team penned "Keep It Confidential", a hit for Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx is an American vocalist, producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, dance, and R&B to hard rock, art...
on the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
charts in 1983. That same year, "Right Track Wrong Train", which Greenwich wrote with Kent and Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, was the B-side of Cyndi's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun may refer to:In music:* "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", the first major single released by singer Cyndi Lauper on She's So UnusualIn film:...
", which hit No. 2 on the U.S. charts.
Legacy
Greenwich's affiliation with Ellen Foley and Nona Hendryx indirectly led to a BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
show that resurrected her 1960s music. When Foley and Hendryx performed at the Bottom Line
Bottom Line
The Bottom Line was a music venue at 15 West Fourth Street between Mercer Street and Greene Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
cabaret in New York City, Greenwich was there to see them. Bottom Line owner Allan Pepper convinced Greenwich to meet him and discuss putting together a revue showcasing her hits. In 1984, Leader of the Pack
Leader of the Pack (musical)
Leader of the Pack is a musical with liner notes by Anne Beatts and additional material by Jack Heifner, music by Ellie Greenwich, and lyrics by Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector, George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Kent, and Ellen Foley.-Background:...
, a show based on Greenwich's life and music, opened at the Bottom Line. Greenwich appeared as herself in the second act, which focused on her early years in Long Island and her marriage and partnership with Barry. The show was revamped for Broadway and opened at the Ambassador Theater the following year. Cast members included Greenwich, Darlene Love
Darlene Love
Darlene Love is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a #1 American single in 1962, and was part of the Phil Spector stable that produced a celebrated Christmas album in 1963....
, Annie Golden
Annie Golden
-Career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, Golden began her career as the lead singer of The Shirts . During the early 1990s she performed as part of the duo Golden Carillo with Frank Carillo. They released three albums,Fire in Newtown, Toxic Emotion, and Back for More. She then returned to The Shirts...
, Dinah Manoff
Dinah Manoff
Dinah Beth Manoff is an American stage, film and television actress and television director best known for her roles as Elaine Lefkowitz on Soap, Marty Maraschino in the film Grease, Libby Tucker in both the stage and film adaptations of I Ought to Be in Pictures, for which she won a Tony award,...
as young Ellie, and Patrick Cassidy
Patrick Cassidy (actor)
Patrick Cassidy is an American actor best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.-Personal life:...
as Jeff Barry. Leader of the Pack was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Musical and a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for the cast album, and the play garnered The New York Music Critics' Award for Best Broadway Musical. During the 1990s and into the new millennium, the musical has enjoyed several revivals and continues to be performed at schools and community theaters. Leader Of The Pack is still performed all over the world, and until her death Greenwich oversaw the various productions.
In 1991, Greenwich and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
. In 2004, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
's list of the 500 greatest rock songs included six Greenwich-Barry compositions, more than any other non-performing songwriting team. In 1964 alone, the duo were responsible for writing 17 singles that reached the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart.
On December 15, 2009, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
announced that Greenwich and Barry would receive the Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
Award in March 2010 for helping to define the Brill Building sound. At the ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria, which was telecast on the Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
cable network, Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
inducted Greenwich, Barry, and other songwriting colleagues from the 1950s and early 1960s, including Barry Mann
Barry Mann
Barry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
& Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with her husband Barry Mann....
, Otis Blackwell
Otis Blackwell
Otis Blackwell was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose work significantly influenced rock 'n' roll...
(also posthumously), Mort Shuman
Mort Shuman
Mort Shuman was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas"...
and Jesse Stone
Jesse Stone
Jesse Stone was an American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter whose influence spanned a wide range of genres...
. Ellie's award was accepted by her sister Laura, while Barry's acceptance was read by Steve van Zandt.
Death
On August 26, 2009, Greenwich died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she had been admitted a few days earlier for treatment of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
On February 3, 2010, Patti Smith dedicated an improvised cover of "Be My Baby" to Greenwich while playing a show on the Santa Monica Pier in California.
On February 20, 2010, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and the E Street Band dedicated "Da Doo Ron Ron" to Greenwich while playing the song during a concert at the United Center, Chicago. Springsteen called Greenwich an "incredible rock and soul songwriter" before playing the song.
Further reading
- Browne, David, "Ellie Greenwich: Brill Building Legend", Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, September 17, 2009, p. 43. - Kreps, Daniel, "Be My Baby songwriter Ellie Greenwich dead at 68", Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, August 26, 2009.
External links
- Ellie Greenwich Official Website
- Ellie Greenwich at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
- Ellie Greenwich - Daily Telegraph obituary