WORDS BY B LEE COOPER AND JACK WATKINS
American popular music has a proud history of collaborative compositions. At the dawn of the rock era, upholders of the tradition included Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. However, only a few white wordsmith/composer teams successfully crafted songs drenched in the black blues idiom, emphasising soulful lyric images and jazzy rhythm patterns. These rare partnerships included Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller – and Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, who were particularly noteworthy for crafting hit tunes for artists representing doo-wop, jazz, pop, R&B, and rock’n’roll. Their period of songwriting prominence ran from 1956 through to 1967, after which they drifted apart to collaborate with others. Together they composed in a range of styles from teen idol pop and novelty, to pop and doo-wop, to blues and R&B and outright rock. This selection provides an audio roadmap to rock’n’roll’s highway of hits.
BOOGIE WOOGIE COUNTRY GIRL