Jerome "Jerry" Leiber

 Lyricist Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)

Along with his songwriting and recording partner, Mike Stoller, he found initial successes as the writers of such crossover hit songs as "Hound Dog" (1952) and "Kansas City" (1952). Later in the 1950s, particularly through their work with The Coasters, they created a string of ground-breaking hits—including "Young Blood" (1957), "Searchin'" (1957), and "Yakety Yak" (1958)—that used the humorous vernacular of teenagers sung in a style that was openly theatrical rather than personal. They were the first to surround black music with elaborate production values, enhancing its emotional power with the Drifters in "There Goes My Baby" (1958), which influenced Phil Spector, who studied their productions while playing guitar on their sessions. Leiber and Stoller wrote hits for Elvis Presley including "Love Me" (1956), "Jailhouse Rock" (1957), "Loving You", "Don't", and "King Creole". They also collaborated with other writers on such songs as "On Broadway", written with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil; "Stand By Me", written with Ben E. King; "Young Blood", written with Doc Pomus; and "Spanish Harlem", co-written by Leiber and Phil Spector. Their last major hit production was "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel, taken from the band's 1972 eponymous debut album, which the duo produced. On August 22, 2011, Leiber died in Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, aged 78, from cardio-pulmonary failure. He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, CA.