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On this day, April 3, 1938, Jeff Barry was born.
Jeff Barry
Birth name: Joel Adelberg
Born: April 3, 1938 (age 86); Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me", "Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love", and "River Deep - Mountain High" (all written with his then-wife Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector); "Leader of the Pack" (written with Greenwich and Shadow Morton); "Sugar, Sugar" (written with Andy Kim); "Without Us" (written with Tom Scott).
Early career
Barry was born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family. His parents divorced when he was seven, and his mother moved him and his sister to Plainfield, New Jersey, where they resided for several years before returning to New York.
Chart success
Further information: List of songs written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich
Barry and Ellie Greenwich with The Dixie Cups on the cover of Cash Box, August 29, 1964
In 1964, Leiber and Stoller brought Barry and Greenwich on board their new label, Red Bird Records, as songwriter-producers. Of Red Bird's first 20 releases, 15 hit the charts; all were written and/or produced by the Barry-Greenwich team, including "Chapel of Love", "People Say", and "Iko Iko" by The Dixie Cups, and "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" (co-produced by Artie Ripp) and "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las.
In late 1966, Barry was asked to produce tracks for the Monkees, a music group put together specifically as the stars of an NBC sitcom, also called The Monkees. Drafted by the show's musical supervisor, Don Kirshner, Barry brought with him a few tunes penned by Neil Diamond for the group to record. One among them, "I'm a Believer", under Barry's production, would sail up the U.S. charts to No. 1 and become one of the biggest-selling records of all time. The group also had a hit with another single composed by Diamond and produced by Barry, "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You". After Kirshner's dismissal from Colgems Records, however, Barry would not produce songs for the Monkees again until 1970's Changes, which contained many songs co-written by Barry, and their 1971 single Do It in the Name of Love.
Having been removed from the Monkees project, Kirshner became music supervisor for a new Saturday morning cartoon, The Archie Show, in 1968, and enlisted Barry as producer and main songwriter. During the next three years, Barry composed dozens of songs for the fictional Archies group, including the show's theme, "Everything's Archie", and the "Dances of the Week" (a staple of the show's first season). Barry had also recently founded his own label, Steed Records, and one of his most successful recording artists was Montreal native Andy Kim, who had hits with remakes of Barry's Ronettes tunes "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You". Barry and Kim collaborated on several tunes for The Archies to record, including their best-known single, "Sugar, Sugar", which hit No. 1, became the RIAA Record of the Year for 1969, and earned the group a gold record.
In 1970, Barry wrote and produced singles and albums for Archies lead singer Ron Dante, Bobby Bloom ( "Montego Bay" ), and Robin McNamara ( "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me" ), among others. In addition, Barry penned his first music for motion pictures (Hello Down There (1969) and Where It's At) and wrote the music for and produced Tom Eyen's hit off-Broadway revue The Dirtiest Show in Town. In 1975 he produced "Ooh, I'm Satisfied" for the briefly successful mid-'70s pop singer and later session vocalist, Polly Cutter.
{snp}
Birth name: Joel Adelberg
Born: April 3, 1938 (age 86); Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me", "Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love", and "River Deep - Mountain High" (all written with his then-wife Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector); "Leader of the Pack" (written with Greenwich and Shadow Morton); "Sugar, Sugar" (written with Andy Kim); "Without Us" (written with Tom Scott).
Early career
Barry was born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family. His parents divorced when he was seven, and his mother moved him and his sister to Plainfield, New Jersey, where they resided for several years before returning to New York.
Chart success
Further information: List of songs written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich
Barry and Ellie Greenwich with The Dixie Cups on the cover of Cash Box, August 29, 1964
In 1964, Leiber and Stoller brought Barry and Greenwich on board their new label, Red Bird Records, as songwriter-producers. Of Red Bird's first 20 releases, 15 hit the charts; all were written and/or produced by the Barry-Greenwich team, including "Chapel of Love", "People Say", and "Iko Iko" by The Dixie Cups, and "Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)" (co-produced by Artie Ripp) and "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las.
In late 1966, Barry was asked to produce tracks for the Monkees, a music group put together specifically as the stars of an NBC sitcom, also called The Monkees. Drafted by the show's musical supervisor, Don Kirshner, Barry brought with him a few tunes penned by Neil Diamond for the group to record. One among them, "I'm a Believer", under Barry's production, would sail up the U.S. charts to No. 1 and become one of the biggest-selling records of all time. The group also had a hit with another single composed by Diamond and produced by Barry, "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You". After Kirshner's dismissal from Colgems Records, however, Barry would not produce songs for the Monkees again until 1970's Changes, which contained many songs co-written by Barry, and their 1971 single Do It in the Name of Love.
Having been removed from the Monkees project, Kirshner became music supervisor for a new Saturday morning cartoon, The Archie Show, in 1968, and enlisted Barry as producer and main songwriter. During the next three years, Barry composed dozens of songs for the fictional Archies group, including the show's theme, "Everything's Archie", and the "Dances of the Week" (a staple of the show's first season). Barry had also recently founded his own label, Steed Records, and one of his most successful recording artists was Montreal native Andy Kim, who had hits with remakes of Barry's Ronettes tunes "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You". Barry and Kim collaborated on several tunes for The Archies to record, including their best-known single, "Sugar, Sugar", which hit No. 1, became the RIAA Record of the Year for 1969, and earned the group a gold record.
In 1970, Barry wrote and produced singles and albums for Archies lead singer Ron Dante, Bobby Bloom ( "Montego Bay" ), and Robin McNamara ( "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me" ), among others. In addition, Barry penned his first music for motion pictures (Hello Down There (1969) and Where It's At) and wrote the music for and produced Tom Eyen's hit off-Broadway revue The Dirtiest Show in Town. In 1975 he produced "Ooh, I'm Satisfied" for the briefly successful mid-'70s pop singer and later session vocalist, Polly Cutter.
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