Rock and Roll; Interview with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller [Part 3 of 7]

It's all yours. So when less than we earn again said to us listen I'm Mitt and Jerry and I love your records and we know how to sell you guys know how to make and why don't you make them for us we'll sell and because that that sounded great because prior to that time we could never cross the Rockies. And that's how I remember lose came over the mountain. There you go. Now they're coming to deal with it landing. This leads in turn to the earth blaring. OK we're going to go to the post later right. What we're going to try sort of trying to get from the robbers of the time line here. Yeah I think you know that's the most boring story of all you know I think we're going to.

Talk about it because at the same time that it comes also Elvis picks up dog writer and famous ocean disaster which maybe you could tell us a little bit that I never actually I hear you asking that question again I'm going to tell about my gallbladder operation. All right. Joy first we all know that I never win this one. Actually the story was is is probably better told by Jerry is more interesting. I'm much more objective about it. OK. Cause you know he sank on the boat. In fact he's not even here. I'll tell you about what happened then we can do that now. Well I went to New York I was supposed to meet Mike in New York and we were supposed to finalize our deal with Atlantic and I believe also

was that with RCA you know I know I know you know. Yeah yeah. When was that. 1958 was later OK when we moved to New York. OK well 56 was a finalization with Atlantic on the deal and Mike was coming on his way back from a an extended holiday in Italy on the Andrea Doria. And I was in the Algonquin Hotel and it was the first time I had been let loose in a hotel by myself. I think it was that twenty years twenty two years old was when he was 53 23 and I had I've always loved the Algonquin Hotel I've been there twice and visited places and I just looked like I knew all about the Algonquin Round Table and all that nonsense. So I checked into the Algonquin Hotel and. I remember taking a shower. And this is late in the afternoon. Like five o'clock or something like that it was six o'clock.

I don't remember exactly when and I ordered a martini and a pack of Camels. I used to smoke in those. And it came and I was just I was luxury ailing in this hotel and I had I had the radio on I think it was something somebody like Symphony said some destructing was playing something and it was just a. There was an urge a station break and this calamity you know came on and they announced this the sinking of the Andrea Doria. I couldn't believe it. My God you know I came here with this hair raising story of a fishing trip that I was in. Off the coast of Southern California you know where we almost lost our lives. We were out at 60 miles at sea fishing and we lost all power and everything and the sharks were surrounding our little fishing boat because the fishing fleet was coming in and cleaning their fish and the blood was all over the water and like thousands sharks

and our captain was drunk and he had left the tool kit. Right. I'm sure. So you couldn't fix anything. You know and I come with this hair raising story to tell Mike topped again. Him so. And then of course I recovered and I was upset. But of course at first I was really angry. I was shocked. So my god you know Mike is on the under Doria and he says we got the number one hit in the country. Well this report started coming through about some people being you know in lifeboats and some people being picked up you know by United Fruit boat et cetera et cetera. Then a telegram came through. To Atlantic from Mike saying that he was OK right. And he would be in some time right at some point the next day or whatever.

I remember exactly the same sequence when we came in at night actually and we were supposed to be in that morning but we came in and we were waiting on well the first lady and when I got to the dock the first person I saw was Jerry who came running up to me with a suit and Italian suit that he brought for me assuming that I might not have any clothes and I think you know what I mean you know you think you know I think you know I'm at any rate the first thing he said to me we got to smash his hound dog and I said No kidding Big Mama thought that record and he said no no it's somebody named Elvis Presley. I said obvious why. I deflate right has deflated. Yeah I was way over the whole of all this

affect you. What was what was your what was your take on that first after going home feeling about authenticity. The first time I heard Elvis Presley I think the first time I heard Elvis and this might be confused help me out here. I was sitting in Atlantis offices with Miriam being stark who was a partner and Jerry Wexler and I am it. I don't think Mike was there that afternoon. I was in Europe right. And you know what I think was before had on dog I think was before it was a hit I mean that's confused in terms of time sequence but they were playing Elvis Presley records and they were playing them because they were evaluating them. There were some records that there was Sun record of Elvis Presley and the discussion was do we want to go for it. Because they were Elvis is being offered to Atlantica first and they wanted $25000 advance and Atlantica turned him down. I

remember what the discussion was about at the time the sort of the you know off the cuff you know remarks were pretty good but you know he's white. I mean like you know he can't really sing the blues I mean like you know. You know it was that attitude was right. So RCA picked it up obviously visited the ABBA box who were running his publishing company with the colonel and the rest is obviously history. What he would dress like Kentucky bluegrass kind of stuff that might get a separate impression in addition to the blues stuff it was. I didn't see any distinctions being made. I don't see any distinctions between even later on the pop stuff like you know the pop blues you know pop rock n roll and the blues and the really early authentic stuff. I mean it was all nobody was nobody was like clearly you know concern about making those kinds of sort of academic static judgments or was anybody

concerned with making judgments about where this might be. You don't get the impression that nobody was particularly that concerned about his development but he wasn't really sure nobody thought it was really at the time I think that this study was about a version of a Bill Hely then think I didn't know who he was yet you know even with one head or two heads you know people in that business you know be very very hard and kind of you know blind sided and cynical is just you know it's what he's doing hits you know but once his name was better everybody thought he votes and Ray Peterson. Pretty woman over Iarbus Yeah I what I mean is that they would say he's he's great he's good but he's not really heartless and. When I did the have the working couple so you work harder.

Yes yes I'm here all day long here. OK. Any time after Hound of the opera box the publishers handled all of Elvis's music. I asked Jerry and me if we had any other songs that might be good for Elvis and Jerry thought of this song that we've done with R&B duet on Spark records Willie and Ruth a song called Love Me and. It was submitted to oversee like for the recorders that came out and became a big big hit. After that they started to give us assignments for movies. The first one being loving which I think had been called something like Lonesome Cowboy. Until we had submitted the song Loving You and I changed the title and the next one was a song

a movie I forget the result title it ultimately was Jailhouse Rock and Jerry and I were in New York having a great time we were staying at the Goring Hotel. We had a suite with two bedrooms and a living room where we rented an upright piano. And we were having a great time and we were presented with this god awful script. We didn't even bother to look at it for a week. And I think it was a Saturday morning. Jean our boss came to the hotel and said Boys I need the songs for the movie. And he just finished this book.