12/11/2024
FLASHBACK RADIO with CHUCK REYNOLDS - SOUTHPOINT SUN - DEC 11, 2024 EDITION
Growing up in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s was a wonderful time as there were so many new and exciting acts on the radio compared to the 1940’s and the early to mid 1950’s.
Along with these new and wonderful acts, there were many incredibly talented songwriters coming out with an array of songs fitting all kinds of genre. Whether it be country, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz or even big band music, there was something for everyone. And one particular songwriter who was considered one of the best early rock ‘n’ roll writers was Doc Pomus or the “Doc” as he was called by many musicians.
Born on June 27, 1925, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, his birth name was Jerome Solon Felder. Having contracted polio as a youngster, he was in an iron lung for a year and walked with the aid of crutches. That’s when the nick name “Doc Pomus” has stuck with him ever since.
Later, due to post-polio syndrome, worsened by an accident, Felder relied on a wheelchair. Pomus was also home schooled during most of his elementary and junior high school days,
He became a fan of the blues after hearing a Big Joe Turner record, “Piney Brown Blues” which he claims changed the direction of his life. He attended Bushwick High School and then Brooklyn College where he studied music. From 1943 to 1945 Pomus learned to play piano and saxophone.
Once he was finished with school, using the stage name of Doc Pomus, Felder began performing as a blues singer. He started going to Jazz clubs. It was doing his own version of popular blues songs that were received very favourably by club patrons.
In 1947, Pomus became one of Atlantic Records original songwriters. By the early 1950’s, Pomus began writing magazine articles and songs for Ruth Brown, Lavern Baker, Ray Charles and Big Joe Turner. With Charles’ R&B top ten recording in 1956 of Pomus’s song “Lonely Avenue”, the Doc has his first national breakthrough.
However, his first rock and roll break came when the Coasters recorded his song “Young Blood”. But, by the time that songwriters, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller got through rewriting and changing it so much, it hardly seemed to be the same song. Pomus didn’t hear about it until he heard it on a jukebox. But, as he was given co-credit as a lyricist, he did receive a royalty check for $2,500. In today’s funds that would be over $27,000.
Thus, not long after receiving it, Pomus wisely gave up performing in 1957 and decided to be a songwriter instead where he could make a lot more money. The first thing he did was become a collaborator with pianist Mort Shuman. He picked Shuman because he knew very little about contemporary music and Mort did.
So, for the most part, Shuman wrote the music and Pomus wrote the lyrics. They worked together then at the famous ‘Brill Building” on 1619 Broadway, in New York. And what a team they made. With hits like “Teenager in Love”, “Save the Last Dance for Me’, “This Magic Moment”, “Little Sister”, “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”, “(Marie’s the Name of) His Latest Flame”, Suspicion” and “Surrender”, written for stars like the Drifters, Andy Williams, Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Dion and the Belmonts and many more.
Mind you, with the Beatles arrival in 1964, followed by the British Invasion, the famous Brill Building soon lost many of its clients as many new groups and artists coming out started writing their own songs and lyrics.
Doc Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a none-performer who continued to write songs. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a non-performer. He died on March 14, 1991, at the age of 65.
