Ellie Greenwich

Songwriter Ellie Greenwich helped to shape and popularize the girl group sound of the early '60s that included such acts as <a href="spotify:artist:7CyeXFnOrfC1N6z4naIpgo">the Ronettes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1WvziZcLLYLoMMdmQx7qcN">the Shangri-Las</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7rewR1TVjhisjI6gauUamf">the Crystals</a>, becoming, in the process, one of the most respected pop songwriters of the era. Like most of her generation, Greenwich was transfixed with the sounds of rock & roll and, between college classes, hung out at a local record shop in her home of Hicksville, New York. The owner of the shop introduced Greenwich to some label scouts and soon she found herself recording a single for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22MCA%22">MCA</a> under the name Ellie Gaye. The single flopped, however, but in a moment of fate she met aspiring songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:4h4nyO6EOTwCGe7LwwHR4I">Jeff Barry</a> in 1962 at a party and soon the two began writing songs together, eventually becoming husband and wife. After composing for a few short months, the duo made an appointment at the famed Brill Building where other songwriting teams such as <a href="spotify:artist:3oL5CpaC5cBSVmERMXuV7d">Leiber</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1wsgQOJMWtqd2GF0sGSRUm">Stoller</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1SsdsVIIKLUe54OsHzm5uQ">King</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:09KTuJGTA2nISzHxnmYzRv">Goffin</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3UpIbyXfGzmHG6TMH4dJEk">Mann</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6VP1g1myG9v98gK7vDdjAt">Weil</a> where beginning to find success. Greenwich and <a href="spotify:artist:4h4nyO6EOTwCGe7LwwHR4I">Barry</a> were taken into the fold by <a href="spotify:artist:3oL5CpaC5cBSVmERMXuV7d">Leiber</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1wsgQOJMWtqd2GF0sGSRUm">Stoller</a> and began writing and producing for <a href="spotify:artist:3jVMgT4X7YeuYE4aludcmE">Phil Spector</a>'s short-lived <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Philles%22">Philles</a> label. It was during this period that Greenwich co-wrote some of her most lasting songs, including "Da Do Ron Ron" and "Be My Baby." Greenwich and <a href="spotify:artist:4h4nyO6EOTwCGe7LwwHR4I">Barry</a> also recorded an album under the name <a href="spotify:artist:4WB49nYJpWU77yFiDLT6Jb">the Raindrops</a>, scoring with "The Kind of Boy You Won't Forget."

In 1964, Greenwich and her songwriting husband teamed up with <a href="spotify:artist:3oL5CpaC5cBSVmERMXuV7d">Leiber</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1wsgQOJMWtqd2GF0sGSRUm">Stoller</a> to write for their <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Red+Bird%22">Red Bird</a> imprint. It was with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Red+Bird%22">Red Bird</a> that the girl group sound was molded into perfection by Greenwich, <a href="spotify:artist:4h4nyO6EOTwCGe7LwwHR4I">Barry</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3oL5CpaC5cBSVmERMXuV7d">Leiber</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1wsgQOJMWtqd2GF0sGSRUm">Stoller</a>, and producer George "Shadow" Morton. Providing songs for <a href="spotify:artist:7ICvZfP4VHAPZ5Wdt03772">the Dixie Cups</a> ("Chapel of Love") and <a href="spotify:artist:1WvziZcLLYLoMMdmQx7qcN">the Shangri-Las</a> ("Leader of the Pack"), the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Red+Bird%22">Red Bird</a> staff produced records whose love-struck lyrical content belied the complication and sophistication of the music. Greenwich continued to write hit records with <a href="spotify:artist:4h4nyO6EOTwCGe7LwwHR4I">Jeff Barry</a>, including the seminal "River Deep, Mountain High" and <a href="spotify:artist:3oDbviiivRWhXwIE8hxkVV">the Beach Boys</a>' 1969 hit "I Can Hear Music," but, like the team of <a href="spotify:artist:6VP1g1myG9v98gK7vDdjAt">Cynthia Weil</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3OmuR7XFXBig8yLeMSm9mU">Barry Mann</a>, when their marriage soured so did their writing partnership. Greenwich continued on in the music industry, recording a singer/songwriter album for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Verve+Records%22">Verve Records</a> in 1973 and providing background vocals to many of rock's biggest stars. In 1984 she involved herself in a musical based on her life titled Leader of the Pack. Ellie Greenwich died of a heart attack in August 2009 after being hospitalized for pneumonia in New York City; she was 68 years old. ~ Steve Kurutz, Rovi