Do-Wah-Diddy: Words And Music By Ellie Greenwich And Jeff Barry
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CD Details
Edition: Music CDFormat: Import
CD Release Date: 2008-10-07
Music Label: Ace Records UK
Soundtracks:
- I Can Hear Music - THE BEACH BOYS
- I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing - THE DRIFTERS
- Out In The Streets - THE SHANGRI-LAS
- Maybe I Know - LESLEY GORE
- He Ain't No Angel - THE AD-LIBS
- I Have A Boyfriend - THE CHIFFONS
- Baby Be Mine - THE JELLY BEANS
- Do-Wah-Diddy - THE EXCITERS
- Everybody Come Clap Your Hands - MOODY & THE DELTAS
- Nobody But You - THE TOKENS
- Here She Comes - THE DARLETTES
- Hold On Baby - SAM HAWKINS
- You Should Have Seen The Way He Looked At Me - THE DIXIE CUPS
- Goodnight Baby - THE BUTTERFLYS
- I Hear You Say (I Love You) - ANDY KIM
- Little Boy - KAREN VERROS
- I Want You For My Sweetheart - BOBBY SHEEN
- That Boy Is Messing Up My Mind - THE ORCHIDS
- Hanky Panky - THE SUMMITS
- What Have You Been Doin' - THE MAJORS
- Every Little Beat - THE FLEETWOODS
- I Won't Be Me Anymore - VIC DONNA
- True True Love - TONY PASS
- River Deep-Mountain High - NILSSON
Music reviews of Do-Wah-Diddy: Words And Music By Ellie Greenwich And Jeff Barry
Music Review: Brill Building songwriting juggernaut
Rating: 4 Stars
As one of the husband-and-wife songwriting teams from the famed Brill Building in New York City, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich wrote their way into pop music-writing history in the early and mid-60's. Many of the top-100 songs of the day came from the pens of Barry and Greenwich and were popularized by the artists of Phil Spector's Philles label and later, by way of Leiber and Stoller's Red Bird Label's cadre of performers.
Here, in this new installment in Ace Records' salute to these prolific songwriting teams of the golden age of American rock and roll, is gathered a mere sampling, by necessity, of Barry and Greenwich's monumental output from the few years of their collaboration. And, rather than a `greatest-hits" collection, included here is a mix of a few major hits, some minor hits and quite a few obscurities. While Lesley Gore's "Maybe I Know" heads up the most recognizable tunes, there is a wealth of tunes that, in spite of their strength, were lost in the shadow of even larger hits that came before - tunes often also the product of Barry and Greenwich. Coming on the heels of top-10 hits, the third outing for the Dixie Cups "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me", the Jelly Beans' "Baby Be Mine", the Shangri-Las "Out in the Streets" and the Chiffons' "I Have a Boyfriend" all had to vie for the attention of the fickle teenage market.
About half of the recordings in this collection are either failed singles or tunes that, when reworked by other performers, had extraordinary success. "Hanky Panky", first issued on a single by the Summits sank without a trace but two years later the tune was recycled by Tommy James and the Shondells into a number one hit. "Do Wah Diddy" was only a minor hit by the Exciters but again, somewhat frustratingly for Barry and Greenwich, it was recycled by Manfred Mann into a massive hit. And while everything they wrote didn't turn to gold, so much of the top-100 music of the era was a product of this amazing pair of songwriters.
As one would expect of Ace, the production quality here is outstanding. Sound quality is first-rate with tracks 1,2,4,5,7,13,14 and 24 appearing in stereo. The 20-page liner notes booklet provides lots of illustrations, photos and fascinating background on each of the tracks on the CD. So why only four stars? Nothing from the Phil Spector artists is included and these songs are an integral part of the Barry-Greenwich musical library. Licensing restrictions prevented their inclusion, and Ace certainly would have presented at least a few of the Crystals', Ronettes' or Bobby Sox and the Bluejeans' recordings had they been available. Nonetheless, without any of them, this collection can't be all that it would have been had the owners of the Philles catalog been more cooperative.
Shortcomings aside however, this is an outstanding addition to Ace's series on the Brill Building songwriters of the era and deserves a space in the collection of fans everywhere.
Description of Do-Wah-Diddy: Words And Music By Ellie Greenwich And Jeff Barry
Three husband and wife songwriting teams ruled the airwaves of the Kennedy era: Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil and Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry.Ace paid tribute to Goffin & King in 2007 with a big selling collection of their compositions, and a compendium of songs by Mann & Weil is scheduled for later this year, but first it's the turn of top Brill Building hitmakers Greenwich & Barry.
Although they wrote together for just three or four years, you'd need a box set to contain all the hit songs of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. Until such a pipedream becomes a reality, this single disc compilation of hits, rarities and other gems can't be beaten as a representation of their work.
The collection contains famous tracks by the Shangri-Las, the Jelly Beans, the Dixie Cups, the Butterflys, Lesley Gore, the Chiffons, the Drifters and the Beach Boys; the first released versions of Do-Wah-Diddy and Hanky Panky (from before the Manfreds and Tommy James got their hands on the songs); plus new-to-CD collectables from the Darlettes, Karen Verros, the Fleetwoods, the Majors and Tony Pass. And that's just for starters...
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