Jeff Barry

by Steve KurutzOriginally setting out to be a recording star, Jeff Barry became one of the most respected pop songwriters within the Brill Building complex of the 60s, not an easy accomplishment considering the fact that Barrys in-house competion included Neil Diamond, Carol King and Neil Sedaka. A struggling New Yorker, Barrys fortunes changed considerably when he met his future wife and songwriting partner, Ellie Greenwich, at a party in 1962. Within a short time of teaming up, the duo had an appointment at Don Kirshners songwriting factory, New York Citys famous Brill Building. Ushered into the business by Leiber and Stoller, Barry and his wife Greenwich began writing and arranging for the groups signed to Phil Spectors Philles label. The smash hits Da Do Ron Ron and Be my Baby resulted from the time spent with Spector and, by 1964, Barry and Greenwich were an integral part of the staff at Leiber and Stollers newly formed Red Bird Records. Largely regarded by pop afficianados as the mecca for the girl group sound, the staff at Red Bird, which also included producer George Shadow Morton, produced tightly crafted, musically sophisticated songs that were the pop equivalent of the kind of rock operas the Who would later write. The Barry/Greenwich penned Leader of the Pack, with its revving motorcycle engine and girlish screams of terror was a fine example of the songs that the label was crafting at the time. Barry and Greenwich continued to write hit records throughout the 60s such as the seminal River Deep, Mountain High and the Beach Boys 1969 hit I Can Hear Music, their songs changing with the times, but still retaining the essence of their earlier Brill Building days. After the marriage broke up, their creative partnership did as well and while Greenwich went on to become a session vocalist, Barry became a staff producer at A&M records. Throughout the 70s he worked with Neil Diamond, the Monkees and Van Morrison among others, but was unable to achieve the same level of success as a producer as he did as a songwriter.