Jerry Lieber life and biography

Jerry Lieber was an American songwriting and record producer. He was a long time partner with Mike Stoller.

Their first successes were as the writers of such crossover hit songs as "Hound Dog" and "Kansas City." Later in the 1950s, particularly through their work with The Coasters, 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.

They wrote hits including "Love Me," "Loving You," "Don't," "Jailhouse Rock," and "King Creole," among others for Elvis Presley. They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Jerry Leiber died on 22 August 2011 from cardio-pulmonary failure.

Honors and awards:

1985 – Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
1987 – Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
1988 – Elvis Presley's recording of "Hound Dog" placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame
1991 – ASCAP Founders' Award
1994 – A star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of 7083 Hollywood Blvd., and their handprints embedded into the Hollywood Rockwalk
1996 – National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award
1997 – Distinguished Artist Award/Los Angeles Music Center
1999 – NARAS Trustees Award
2000 – Johnny Mercer Award/National Academy of Popular Music
2000 – Ivor Novello International Songwriters Award
2005 – ASMAC President’s Award
2005 – "Kansas City" named official song of Kansas City, Missouri
2005 – World Soundtrack Award/Flanders International Film Festival

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