Ellie Greenwich (October 23, 1940 - ) is an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ...

Childhood in New York City

Ellie Greenwich was born Eleanor Louise Greenwich in Brooklyn, New York, to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother. At the age of eleven she moved with her parents and younger sister to Levittown, Long Island, and around this time began taking lessons on the accordion. By her teens, Ellie was composing her own songs; eventually Ellie taught herself to compose on the piano rather than the accordion. In high school, Ellie and two of her friends formed a singing group, The Jivettes, which gradually took on more members and performed at local functions. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch city Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. ... NY redirects here. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Levittown, a suburb of New York City, is a hamlet and unincorporated political subdivision of New York State located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. ... Map showing Long Island; to the north is Connecticut and to the west are New York City and New Jersey. ... This article is about the instrument as a whole. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ...

At the age of seventeen, around the time she began attending Queens College, Ellie recorded her first single for RCA Records, the self-penned "Silly Isn't It" b/w "Cha-Cha Charming." The single was issued under the name "Ellie Gaye" (which she chose as a reference to singer Barbie Gaye [1]). The record was released in 1958 and indirectly led to Ellie's decision to transfer from Queens College to Hofstra University after one of her professors at the former institution belittled her for recording pop music. Queens College, Queens College or Queens College is the name of more than one institution, see: Queens College, Cambridge Queens College, Charlotte Queens College, Hong Kong Queens College, London Queens College, New York Queens College, Nassau The Queens College, Oxford Queens College was the... RCAs logo as seen today on many products. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hofstra University is a private institution of higher learning located in Hempstead, Long Island, New York (USA) founded in 1935 on the basis of the estate of wealthy lumber magnate William Hofstra and widow Kate Williams Hofstra. ...

Partners with Jeff Barry

In 1959, while still at college, Ellie met the man who would ultimately become her husband and main songwriting partner. Although it's very possible they had been acquainted as children, since they shared a common relative, the first time Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry met formally as adults was at a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Ellie's maternal uncle, who was married to Jeff's cousin. Ellie had brought along her accordion, and she and Jeff immediately recognized their mutual attraction - to music. Romance was not yet in the air as Jeff was still married to his first wife, who was in attendance at the dinner. Yet within just a couple of years, the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich would become among the most successful and prolific of the Brill Building composers. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg, 1938, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Ellie Greenwich (born 1940, Brooklyn, N.Y.) comprised one of the most prolific and successful Brill Building song writing and production teams in the early 1960s. ... The Brill Building (1930- ) in the United States is located at 1619 Broadway, in New York City, New York, just north of Times Square. ...

Ellie and Jeff began dating after Jeff's marriage was annulled, but musically they continued to forge separate careers. Prior to graduating college, in 1962, Ellie got her first major break in the music business when she traveled to the Brill Building to meet with John Gluck, Jr., one of the composers of the Lesley Gore hit "It's My Party." Needing to run out to keep another appointment, Gluck installed Ellie in an office and asked her to wait for his return. The office turned out to be that of songwriter-producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Hearing piano music emanating from the cubicle, Leiber poked his head in and, expecting Carole King, was startled to see Ellie, who introduced herself and explained her reasons for being there. Recognizing her potential as a songwriter, Leiber and Stoller agreed to allow her to use their facilities as often as she wished in exchange for the right of first refusal on any songs she wrote. They eventually signed Ellie to their publishing company, Trio Music, as a staff songwriter. 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Lesley Gore (born May 2, 1946 in New York City as Lesley Sue Goldstein) is an American singer and songwriter of the so-called girl group era. She is perhaps best-known for her 1963 Pop hit, Its My Party, which she recorded at the age of 16. ... Its My Party is a song popularized by singer Lesley Gore in 1963. ... Jerry Leiber (born April 25, 1933) and Mike Stoller (born March 13, 1933) are among the most important songwriters and music producers in post-World War II popular music. ... Jerry Leiber (born April 25, 1933) and Mike Stoller (born March 13, 1933) are among the most important songwriters and music producers in post-World War II popular music. ... Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ...

Prior to marrying Jeff, Ellie wrote songs with several different partners, including Ben Raleigh (who, coincidentally, had been co-writer on Jeff's first big hit as a composer, "Tell Laura I Love Her," in 1960) and Mark Barkan. She was also an in-demand session singer, recording so many demos that she soon became known as New York's Demo Queen. Ellie's biggest hits during this period were penned with Tony Powers. The Greenwich-Powers team made the charts with tunes such as "He's Got The Power" (The Exciters), "(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" (Darlene Love), and "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others' Hearts?" (Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, with Love on lead vocal). These last two recordings were co-written and produced by Phil Spector, who'd been introduced to the songs, and Ellie, by publisher Aaron Schroeder. In October of 1962, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich married, and shortly afterwards they made the decision to write songs exclusively with each other - a decision that sorely disappointed Tony Powers as well as Jeff's main writing partner, Artie Resnick. Jeff was subsequently signed to Trio Music, and he and Ellie were given their own office with their names on the door. Before the end of 1963, the Barry-Greenwich team had scored major hits with songs such as "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You" (The Ronettes), "(And) Then He Kissed Me" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" (The Crystals), "Not Too Young To Get Married" (Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans), and "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love, all co-written and produced by Phil Spector. Ellie and Jeff also recorded singles and an album of their own under the name The Raindrops, with Ellie providing all the female vocals through overdubbing, and Jeff singing backgrounds in a bass voice. In addition to "What A Guy" (which was actually a demo record, with Ellie on piano and Jeff on drums, sold to Jubilee Records and released as the first Raindrops single) and the U.S. Top Twenty hit "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget," the couple wrote and recorded "Hanky Panky," which would later become a hit for Tommy James & the Shondells, and, the following year, "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy," taken to the #1 spot by Manfred Mann. Toward the end of 1963, the Raindrops recorded a song called "That Boy John," a remarkable, tuneful, and instantly catchy fusion of jazz and rhythm and blues, which succeeded in reaching only the middle of the charts-- President John Kennedy had just been assassinated and, according to Jeff and Ellie, radio stations were loathe to play the song. Jeff and Ellie also penned songs for Connie Francis and Lesley Gore. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. ... The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. ... Darlene Love (born Darlene Wright on July 26, 1938, in Los Angeles, California) is an American popular music singer. ... Harvey Phillip Spector (born December 26, 1939) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Be My Baby was a 1963 single written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, performed by The Ronettes and produced by Spector. ... Baby, I Love You was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector. ... Ronettess Album The Ronettes were an American girl group of the 1960s, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. ... The Crystals were one of the most successful girl groups of the 1960s. ... Les Paul, a pioneer of multi-track recording. ... It has been suggested that Tommy James be merged into this article or section. ... Cock-A-Hoop Manfred Mann was a British R&B and pop band of the 1960s, named after its keyboard player, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Manns Earth Band. ... Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop singer best known for international hit songs such as Whos Sorry Now?, Where The Boys Are, and Everybodys Somebodys Fool. ... Lesley Gore (born May 2, 1946 in New York City as Lesley Sue Goldstein) is an American singer and songwriter of the so-called girl group era. She is perhaps best-known for her 1963 Pop hit, Its My Party, which she recorded at the age of 16. ...

Red Bird Records was founded in 1964 by Leiber and Stoller, who brought Jeff and Ellie onboard as songwriters and producers. The label's first release was The Dixie Cups' "Chapel Of Love" (written with Phil Spector and originally recorded by The Ronettes), which sailed up the U.S. charts to #1. Jeff and Ellie wrote and/or produced many hits for Red Bird including several other releases by The Dixie Cups as well as The Ad-Libs ("He Ain't No Angel"), The Jelly Beans ("I Wanna Love Him So Bad"), and The Shangri-Las ("Leader of the Pack," written with George "Shadow" Morton). Also with Shadow Morton, Jeff and Ellie penned "You Don't Know," which Ellie recorded on Red Bird under her own name in 1965, at the same time Jeff recorded and released another Barry/Greenwich tune, "Our Love Can Still Be Saved." Sadly, the couple's marriage couldn't be saved; before the end of the year, Jeff and Ellie were divorced. The couple continued to work together for much of 1966, in no small part due to Ellie's discovery of a talented singer-songwriter named Neil Diamond. Jeff, Ellie and Neil joined forces to form Tallyrand Music, to publish Neil's songs. Neil was subsequently signed to Bert Berns's label, Bang Records, and went on to have hits such as "Cherry Cherry" and "Kentucky Woman," all produced by Jeff and Ellie who also sang backgrounds on many of the tracks. In addition, Jeff and Ellie teamed up with Phil Spector one last time to pen "I Can Hear Music," recorded by The Ronettes and by The Beach Boys, and "River Deep, Mountain High," which Phil produced for Ike and Tina Turner. A few years later, in 1971, The Supremes and The Four Tops had a hit with their revival of "River Deep." Red Bird Records was a record label started by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The Dixie Cups were an American pop music girl group of the 1960s. ... The Shangri-Las on the cover of a modern collection of their works. ... George Shadow Morton was an American record producer, based in New York City. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Essential Neil Diamond album cover. ... Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 - December 30, 1967) (a/k/a Bert Russell and Bert Berns) was one of the great American songwriters and record producers of the 1960s. ... Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegun, Neshui Ertegun and Jerry Wexler (Gerald). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... River Deep - Mountain High is a 1966 single by Ike & Tina Turner. ... Tina Turner on the cover of her 1991 album Simply the Best Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939) is an African American R&B, pop, rock and soul singer, Buddhist and occasional actress probably best known for her scorching performances with the Ike and Tina Turner... The Supremes were a Motown all-female singing group. ... The Four Tops are an American Motown musical quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, and showtunes. ...

Pineywood Productions with Mike Rashkow

During 1967, Ellie formed Pineywood Music with Mike Rashkow, and over the next few years the Greenwich-Rashkow team wrote and/or produced recordings for Ellie herself as well as for Dusty Springfield, The Definitive Rock Chorale, The Other Voices, The Fuzzy Bunnies, and The Hardy Boys. Also in 1967, Ellie recorded her first solo album, Ellie Greenwich Composes, Produces and Sings, released in 1968, which produced two chart hits, "Niki Hoeky" (#1 in Japan) and "I Want You To Be My Baby." In addition, Ellie continued to provide background vocals for a diversity of artists such as Dusty Springfield, Bobby Darin, Lou Christie and Frank Sinatra. She did studio work for her ex-husband as well, singing backgrounds for Andy Kim, who was recording for Jeff Barry's Steed Records, and The Archies. At one such recording session, Ellie met Steve Tudanger, with whom she and another Steve, Steve Feldman, would later form the company Jingle Habitat to write and produce jingles for radio and television. The Steves also co-produced Ellie's second LP, Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung, in 1973. Her song Sunshine After The Rain was an enormous hit in the UK for singer Elkie Brooks. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... L to R: Mike Rashkow, Ellie Greenwich, Johnny Cymbal - 1966 Michael Rashkow is an American songwriter and record producer. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Bobby Darin (May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) (born Walden Robert Cassotto) was one of the most popular American big band performers and rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s. ... Lou Christie (born Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco on February 19, 1943 in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter best known for a string of pop hits in the 1960s. ... Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was a jazz oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor. ... Andy Kim, born December 5, 1952 in Lala Land, Jupiter, is a pop singer/songwriter. ... Steed Records was a record label founded by songwriter-record producer Jeff Barry in the late 1960s, which continued until the mid-1970s. ... The Archies, ca. ... A jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly broadcast on radio and sometimes on television commercials. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder, 25 February 1945, in Salford) is a British singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. ...

After her partnership with Rashkow ended in 1971, Ellie went on to collaborate with other writers such as Ellen Foley and another Jeff, Jeff Kent; the Greenwich-Kent-Foley team penned "Keep It Confidential," a hit for Nona Hendryx on the R&B charts in 1983. That same year, "Right Track Wrong Train," which Ellie wrote with Jeff Kent and Cyndi Lauper, was the B-side of Cyndi's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" which hit #2 on the U.S. charts. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... Ellen Foley (born 1951, St. ... Nona Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is a vocalist known for her work as a solo artist as well as one-third of the trio LaBelle. ... Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences — first performed by African American artists. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Girls Just Wanna Have Fun was a top hit in 1984 and is perhaps the most popular song by 1980s icon and singer Cyndi Lauper. ...

Greenwich on Broadway

Ellie's affiliation with Ellen Foley and Nona Hendryx indirectly led to the production of a Broadway show that would resurrect the popularity of Ellie's 60's music. When Ellen and Nona performed at the now-defunct Bottom Line Cabaret in New York City, Ellie was there to see them. Bottom Line owner Allan Pepper twisted Ellie’s arm to take a meeting with him and discuss the possibility of putting together a revue showcasing her hits. In 1984, Leader of the Pack, a show based on the life and music of Ellie Greenwich, opened at The Bottom Line. Ellie appeared as herself in Act Two of the autobiographical musical, which focused on her early years in Long Island and her marriage and partnership with Jeff Barry. The show was so successful that it was revamped for Broadway and opened at the Ambassador Theater the following year. Cast members included Ellie, Darlene Love, Annie Golden, Dinah Manoff as young Ellie, and Patrick Cassidy as Jeff Barry. Leader of the Pack was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical and a Grammy Award for the cast album, and the play garnered The New York Music Award for Best Broadway Musical. During the 90's and into the new millennium, the musical has enjoyed several revivals and continues to be performed at schools and community theaters. Broadway theatre[1] is the most prestigious form of professional theatre in the U.S., as well as the most well known to the general public and most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Leader of the Pack is a musical with liner notes by Anne Beatts and additional material by Jack Heifner, music by Ellie Greenwich, and lyrics by Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector, George Shadow Morton, Jeff Kent, and Ellen Foley. ... Darlene Love (born Darlene Wright on July 26, 1938, in Los Angeles, California) is an American popular music singer. ... Annie Golden (born October 19, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York) is an actress and singer. ... Dinah Manoff (born January 25, 1958 in New York City, New York) is an American stage and film actress. ... Two notable people are named Patrick Cassidy: Patrick Cassidy (born 1956), Irish classical composer. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Hall of Fame

In 1991, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Leader Of The Pack is still being performed in cities all over the world, and Ellie travels around the globe helping to oversee the various productions. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. ...

External links

• Ellie Greenwich Official Website
• http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/elliegreenwich.txt