Jeff Barry
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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 A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...
" (all written with his then-wife Ellie Greenwich and
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
); " 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 Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
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. After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School, Barry served in the
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, then returned to New York where he attended City College. Although he leaned toward a degree in engineering, his main aspiration was to become a singer. He left college in the late '50s to sign with
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...
, courtesy of music publisher Arnold Shaw. Around this time, he adopted a new name more in tune with show business, borrowing "Jeff" from actor Jeff Chandler and "Barry" from family friends. Barry recorded several
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
for RCA label, including the self-penned "It's Called Rock and Roll", backed with "Hip Couple", released in 1959. The following year, Barry garnered his first significant success as a songwriter with two songs targeting the burgeoning teen market. First,
Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...
took Barry's "Teenage Sonata" to No. 22 on the Billboard R&B charts. Later that year, the teen-tragedy ballad " Tell Laura I Love Her", written with lyricist Ben Raleigh, went to No. 7 on the U.S. pop charts for Ray Peterson and to No. 1 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
for British singer
Ricky Valance David Spencer (10 April 193612 June 2020), known professionally as Ricky Valance, was a Welsh pop singer. He was best known for the UK number one single " Tell Laura I Love Her", which sold over a million copies in 1960. He was the first male We ...
. In the 1960s, Barry had partnered, both professionally and personally, with Ellie Greenwich. The two met in late 1959, although it might not have been for the first time – her maternal uncle was married to his cousin, so they may actually have known each other since childhood. However, their first formal meeting as adults was at a Thanksgiving dinner at the home of mutual relatives. (A few sources erroneously cite the year as 1960.) Fueled by a shared interest in music, a friendship developed that led to romantic involvement some months later, after Barry's first marriage was annulled. In the summer of 1960, Barry and Greenwich recorded Barry's "Red Corvette", which was released as a single under the name Ellie Gee and The Jets. Greenwich stayed in college at Hofstra (she would graduate in 1962) and commuted to the Brill Building whenever time permitted. Songwriter-producers
Jerry Leiber Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such Crossover music, crossover hit songs ...
and
Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...
had offered her a job as a staff writer for Trio Music, their publishing company, after Leiber overheard her singing in an office at the Brill Building. Barry was subsequently signed to Trio as well. At first, Barry and Greenwich continued to write songs with other partners. In addition, both became in-demand demo singers. Some of Barry's demos ended up in the hands of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
and other major artists of the day.


Chart success

Barry and Greenwich married in October 1962 and shortly afterward decided to write songs exclusively with each other. Greenwich introduced Barry to her latest partner, songwriter-producer
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
, and the threesome went on to help define the "Girl Group" sound of the early 1960s. The Barry–Greenwich–Spector team composed several of Spector's biggest hits, including The Crystals' " Da Doo Ron Ron" and " Then He Kissed Me", and
The Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...
' " Be My Baby" and " Baby, I Love You", as well as the holiday perennial " Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love. In early 1963, Barry and Greenwich had chart success with "What A Guy" and "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget", recorded by the couple under the name
The Raindrops The Raindrops were an American pop group from New York, United States, associated with the Brill Building style of 1960s pop. The group existed from 1963 to 1965 and consisted of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, both of whom worked as writer/pr ...
for Jubilee Records, with Greenwich providing all the female vocals through the process of
overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
, while Barry sang backgrounds in a bass voice. (Greenwich's sister, Laura, was drafted for live performances by The Raindrops, though she was little more than a prop, singing into a dead microphone.) The Raindrops also recorded a Jubilee single in late 1963 called "That Boy John" a catchy fusion of jazz and rhythm and blues that reached the middle of the charts; President John F. Kennedy had just been assassinated and, according to Barry and Greenwich, radio stations were loath to play the song. However, in a twist of fate, the B side written by Barry and Greenwich was " Hanky Panky", which would resurface in 1966 as a No. 1 cover version for
Tommy James & The Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Cl ...
, giving that group its first hit. 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 Arthur Marcus "Artie" Ripp (born 1940) is an American music industry executive and record producer. Career Early career Ripp began his career as a singer, initially informally harmonizing rock and roll songs with friends from high school. In ...
) and " Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las. In 1964 alone, the duo were responsible for writing 17 singles that reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. One of these was " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", originally recorded by the girl group The Exciters, but reworked for a No. 1 pop hit by the British Invasion group
Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two diffe ...
. In 1964, Barry and Greenwich also penned songs for
Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
and charted with two
Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop hit " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She ...
hits, "
Maybe I Know "Maybe I Know" is an early 1960s in music, 1960s pop song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and performed by Lesley Gore. The song was one in a long line of successful "Brill Building Sound" hits created by composers and arrangers working ...
" and " Look of Love". Barry and Greenwich released solo singles under their own names for Red Bird in 1965, Greenwich the haunting "You Don't Know" and Barry the uptempo "I'll Still Love You". However, 1965 was difficult for the pair, since unbeknownst to many, Barry and Greenwich's marriage had begun to unravel. The couple divorced in late 1965 but would continue to work together for much of the following year, and sporadically after that until the late 1960s. Their professional and personal partnerships were the subject of the 1985 Broadway jukebox musical '' Leader of the Pack''. In early 1966 Barry and Greenwich discovered a talented young singer-songwriter named
Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
and brought him to the attention of
Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", " Piec ...
, one of the principals of Bang Records. Diamond was signed to the label, and Barry and Greenwich produced Neil's first hits, including " Solitary Man"; "
Cherry, Cherry "Cherry, Cherry" is a 1966 song written, composed, and recorded by American musician Neil Diamond. Background The song was recorded in February - March 1966, and was originally intended as a demo, arranged by Artie Butler and produced by Jeff Bar ...
"; " Kentucky Woman"; and " Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon". Barry and Greenwich can be heard singing backgrounds on many of Diamond's Bang recordings. During the same period, the pair teamed with Phil Spector to write the classics "
River Deep, Mountain High A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
", by Ike and
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
and " I Can Hear Music" by The Ronettes and
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
. Penning songs (especially love songs) together was awkward at best given the circumstances, and Barry and Greenwich's writing partnership soon came to its end. Among Barry's new collaborators were Marty Sanders, a member of the pop group Jay and the Americans, and Bang label CEO Bert Berns, with whom he wrote "Am I Groovin' You?", a top
R & B Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
single for Freddie Scott in 1967. Also in 1967, Reparata and the Delrons had a minor hit with Barry's "I'm Nobody's Baby Now". 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 Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'' magazine, he was best known ...
, 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, which he also co-wrote. 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 Steed Records was a record label founded by songwriter-record producer Jeff Barry in 1967 in New York City. The label was active until 1971. It was first distributed by Dot Records, then by Gulf+Western's Famous Music Group after it absorbed Dot ...
, and one of his most successful recording artists was
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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 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
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 Robert Bloom (January 15, 1946 – February 28, 1974) was an American singer-songwriter. He is known best for being a one-hit wonder with the 1970 song, "Montego Bay", which was co-written with and produced by Jeff Barry. Biography Bloom was b ...
("
Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, h ...
"), and Robin McNamara (" Lay a Little Lovin' on Me"), among others. In addition, Barry penned his first music for motion pictures (''
Hello Down There ''Hello Down There'' (rereleased in 1974 as ''Sub-A-Dub-Dub'') is a 1969 American comedy-adventure film starring Tony Randall and Janet Leigh that was released by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by George Sherman and Ivan Tors and directed ...
'' (1969) and '' Where It's At'') and wrote the music for and produced Tom Eyen's hit
off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
revue ''
The Dirtiest Show in Town ''The Dirtiest Show in Town'' is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Jeff Barry. Overview An attack on air pollution, the Vietnam War, urban blight and computerized conformity, the show is filled with sex, nudity, an ...
''. In 1975 he produced "Ooh, I'm Satisfied" for the briefly successful mid-'70s pop singer and later session vocalist, Polly Cutter.


Production and film work

In 1971 Barry moved from New York to California, where he had a production and administration deal with
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
for several years. Between 1972 and 1975, he produced hit singles for Nino Tempo and April Stevens (together and separately) and the ''a cappella'' vocal group
the Persuasions The Persuasions are an American a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s. The Persuasions were formed in Brooklyn in 1962, singing a cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their ...
. In subsequent years he shifted his focus to television (writing the theme songs for '' One Day at a Time'', ''
The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...
'', and ''
Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...
'') and movies (the score for 1980's ''
The Idolmaker ''The Idolmaker'' is a 1980 American musical drama starring Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Tovah Feldshuh and Joe Pantoliano. The film is loosely based on the life of rock promoter/producer Bob Marcucci who discovered, among others, ...
''), although he continued his work in the pop music field. " I Honestly Love You", written by Barry with Peter Allen, became a 1974 No. 1 for
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...
; and, in 1984, Jeffrey Osborne and Joyce Kennedy hit the Top 40 with another Barry composition, "The Last Time I Made Love", written with
Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...
and
Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Weil ...
. During the 1970s and 1980s Barry also scored numerous hit songs on the
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...
charts, among them "Out of Hand" by Gary Stewart, "Sayin' Hello, Sayin' I Love You, Sayin' Goodbye" by Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius, "Lie to You for Your Love" by
The Bellamy Brothers The Bellamy Brothers are an American pop and country music duo consisting of brothers David Milton Bellamy (born September 16, 1950) and Homer Howard Bellamy (born February 2, 1946), from Dade City, Florida. The duo had considerable musical suc ...
, a remake of " Chip Chip" (originally a 1962 Gene McDaniels pop smash) by Patsy Sledd, and "Walkin' in the Sun" by Glen Campbell. In 1990, Barry co-produced the theme song for the
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
based on ''
Where's Waldo? ''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicti ...
'' In May 1991, Barry and Greenwich were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004,
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
's list of the 500 greatest rock songs included six Greenwich-Barry compositions, more than by any other non-performing songwriting team. During the mid-1990s, Barry served as president of the National Academy of Songwriters, and in December 1998 he was a recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award. In March 2000, Barry filmed a music special for the PBS television network, ''Chapel of Love: Jeff Barry and Friends''. The show featured performances of Barry tunes by several of the artists who made them famous, including the Dixie Cups, the Crystals, Ronnie Spector, Andy Kim, Ray Peterson, and Ron Dante of the Archies. In recent years, Barry has been involved in several projects, among them the stage musical "The Girl Who Would Be King", written by the husband-and-wife team of Prudence Fraser and Robert Sternin, best known for their writing and production work on the CBS series '' The Nanny''. The musical had its official world premiere in Vero Beach, Florida. In 2016, Barry composed songs for the musical theater show "Jambalaya the Musical" along with his production partner, Clarence Jey, a US Billboard and viral record producer. Jeff Barry was involved in part of the music in the Hallmark Channel movie titled "My Christmas Love". In 2019, Barry and his writing partner Clarence Jey composed and wrote songs for ''
Lego City Adventures ''Lego City Adventures'' is a computer-animated television series that premiered on Nickelodeon in the United States on June 22, 2019, loosely based on the long-running Lego City toyline theme. The third season of the series was released on Netf ...
'', a computer-animated television series, produced by
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, for
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television.


Awards and honors

Barry and Greenwich were among the 2010 recipients of the Ahmet Ertegün Award from the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
. Unable to attend the ceremony, Steven Van Zandt accepted the award on Barry's behalf.


References


External links

*
Official fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Jeff 1938 births Living people Jewish American songwriters American male singer-songwriters Record producers from New York (state) Erasmus Hall High School alumni City College of New York alumni Musicians from Brooklyn Musicians from Plainfield, New Jersey The Monkees RCA Victor artists Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from New Jersey