Leiber, Stoller and Spector
In October 1955 Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller scored a West Coast hit with Los Angeles-based vocal group The Robins, who released version of the Leiber-Stoller song "Smokey Joe's Cafe" on the duo's own Spark Records label. Seeking a national outlet, they leased the master to Atco and in November Atlantic purchased Spark and its catalog; Leiber and Stoller moved back to New York and signed a landmark deal with Atlantic that made them America's first independent record producers. In 1956 two members of The Robins, Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn, formed The Coasters who finally provided Atlantic with the crossover success it had been striving for. Their first (March 1956) Atco release (recorded in Hollywood) was "Down in Mexico", a Top 10 R&B hit: the double-sided "Young Blood"/"Searchin'" (also recorded in Hollywood) followed, with both sides entering the pop Top 10 after radio exposure and both charting for over 20 weeks - "Young Blood" reached #3 and "Young Blood" #8. Relocating to New York, The Coasters' then cut "Yakety Yak" (June 1958), featuring the saxophone of King Curtis, and this became Atlantic's first pop #1; "Charlie Brown" made #2 on both the pop and R&B charts in February 1959, "Along Came Jones" also reached the pop Top 10 as did "Poison Ivy" (#7, Aug. 1959). "Shopping for Clothes" (1960) was their only single that failed to make the pop chart. "Little Egypt" (1961) was their last hit, reaching #21 in the pop chart.
Leiber and Stoller also wrote and produced the classic "Ruby Baby" for The Drifters, a 1956 #13 R&B hit that featured Johnny Moore as lead vocalist (replacing Clyde McPhatter, who had been drafted); it became a pop standard and reached #2 in 1962 when re-recorded by Dion. By 1958 The Drifters had undergone many lineup changes and their former popularity was waning. That May, after one of the members got into a fight with the manager of the Apollo Theater, group manager George Treadwell sacked the entire lineup and recruited the members of The Five Crowns to become the 'new' Drifters. Leiber and Stoller produced "There Goes My Baby" with this second incarnation, featuring a lead vocal by Ben E. King, who also co-wrote the song. It was the first R&B song to feature a string arrangement, but Ertegun disliked it and Jerry Wexler was appalled, reportedly telling the producers; "Get that out of here. I hate it. It's out of tune and it's phony and it's shit and get it out of here". They refused to release it for several months, but when they finally relented and released it as a single in April 1959 the song shot to #1.
Phil Spector had learned the basics of record production working for Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood's Trey Records label (which was distributed by Atlantic) in California in the late 1950s. At Sill's recommendation he returned to New York to work for Leiber and Stoller in early 1960. Leiber and Stoller assigned him to produce Ray Peterson's "Corrine, Corrina" and Curtis Lee's "Pretty Little Angle Eyes" (released on Petersen's Dunes Records label), both of which became hits. As a result, Atlantic signed him as a staff producer, though his difficult personality was already evident, and Ahmet Ertegun was reportedly the only Atlantic executive who liked him. Leiber later remarked, "He wasn't likeable. He was funny, he was amusing - but he wasn't nice." Wexler reportedly had no time for him and Miriam Bienstock, in her typically blunt fashion, described Spector's erratic behavior "insane" and considered him "a pain in the neck". When Ertegun took Spector to meet Bobby Darin, he openly criticized Darin's songwriting, with the result that Darin had him thrown out of the house.
Despite these issues, Spector contributed to the production of several notable Atlantic singles by The Coasters, Ben E. King and the Drifters, although the extent of his contributions was later disputed by Leiber and Stoller. He also produced The Top Notes' original version of "Twist and Shout," but it flopped. Bert Berns, the song's writer, was incensed by Spector's arrangement, which he believed had ruined the song, so Berns re-recorded it the way he thought it should sound with The Isley Brothers, and it became a huge hit. Spector also produced Jean DuShon, Billy Storm, LaVern Baker and Ruth Brown during his short stay at Atlantic, with only moderate success. He left Atlantic in 1961 and returned to Los Angeles, where he founded Philles Records with Lester Sill and soon established himself as the preeminent American pop producer of the mid-1960s
In early 1960 the 'new' Drifters debuted with "Dance With Me", which reached #15 on the pop chart and #2 R&B. "This Magic Moment" reached #16 on the pop chart, and their classic rendition of Doc Pomus' poignant "Save The Last Dance For Me" became a major international pop hit, reaching #1 in the USA and #2 in the UK. However, in May 1960, after only one year and just 10 recordings with the Drifters, lead singer Benjamin Nelson left the group due to a dispute with manager George Treadwell. Assuming the stage name Ben E. King, he launched a successful solo career, although the Drifters went on to score several more big hits.
King's first solo single, "Spanish Harlem" (co-written by Leiber and Spector), became a Top 10 pop hit in early 1961. It was followed by "Stand By Me", a re-interpretation of the gospel standard "Lord, Stand By Me", with new lyrics by King and orchestration by Stan Applebaum. Reaching #4 on the pop chart, the song quickly became a standard covered by many artists including John Lennon. It has since been included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll listing and in 2001 it was voted #25 in the 'Songs of the Century' poll conducted by the Recording Industry Association of America. In late 1962 The Drifters returned to the charts, fronted by new lead vocalist Rudy Lewis, performing hits recorded with Ben E. King on stage and TV. "Up On The Roof", co-written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, was another major crossover hit making the Top 5 on both the pop and R&B charts and Mann and Weill's "On Broadway", made the Top 10 on both charts. It has since been covered by many artists. The Drifters' last hit, "Under The Boardwalk" (1964) was produced by Bert Berns and orchestrated by British arranger-producer-composer Mike Leander. Lead singer Rudy Lewis was found dead on the morning of the recording session (21 May 1964) and former lead singer Johnny Moore was brought in to replace him: despite this tragedy, the song became a big hit, reaching #4 on the pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart, and went on to be covered by many other acts, notably by The Rolling Stones.
The Leiber & Stoller/Atlantic partnership was enormously successful, but by 1962 the relationship was deteriorating. The duo reportedly resented the credit accorded to Spector, but their own artistic and financial demands alienated the Atlantic executives. From the beginning, Miriam Bienstock "couldn't see why it was necessary to use them" and they infuriated Jerry Wexler by asking for producers' credits on record labels and sleeves, although this was grudgingly granted. The breaking point came when duo asked for a producer's royalty, which was also granted informally, but their accountant insisted on a written contract and also requested an audit of Atlantic's accounts. When this was carried out (over Jerry Wexler's strenuous objections) it was found that Leiber and Stoller had been underpaid by $18,000. Although Leiber considered dropping the matter, Stoller insisted on pressing Atlantic for payment, but when they presented their request, Wexler exploded, telling them it would mean the end of their relationship with Atlantic. Leiber and Stoller backed down but the showdown ended the partnership anyway: Ertegun and Wexler told them they would not be involved in The Drifters next recording, giving the assignment to Phil Spector. Atlantic quickly filled the gap left by Leiber and Stoller's departure with the hiring of producer and songwriter Bert Berns, who had recently scored a major hit with his remake of "Twist and Shout" for The Isley Brothers.
The ramifications of the split continued after Leiber and Stoller left Atlantic: in 1963 they set up Red Bird Records with George Goldner. Although they scored major hits (including The Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love" and The Shangri-Las "Leader of the Pack") the label's business position was precarious, so in late 1964 they approached Jerry Wexler, proposing a merger with Atlantic. When interviewed in 1990 for Ertegun's biography, Wexler declined to discuss the matter, but Ertegun himself claimed that these negotiations soon developed into a plan to buy him out. At this time (September 1964) the Ertegun brothers and Wexler were in the process of buying out the company's other two shareholders, Dr Sabit and Miriam Bienstock and it was proposed (presumably by Wexler) that Leiber and Stoller would buy Sabit's shares. Leiber, Stoller, Goldner and Wexler pitched their plan to Ertegun at a fateful lunch meeting at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Though Leiber and Stoller were adamant it was not their intention to buy Ertegun out, Ahmet was aggravated by Goldner's high-handed attitude and became convinced that Wexler was conspiring with them. Wexler then told Ertegun that if he refused, Wexler would do the deal without him, but this was impossible since the Ertegun brothers still held the majority share, while Wexler only controlled about 20%. Ertegun nursed a lifelong grudge against Leiber and Stoller and the affair drove an irreparable wedge between Ertegun and Wexler.
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