Remembering Ellie Greenwich
Ellie Greenwich, songwriter par excellence, died yesterday in a New York City hospital of a heart attack, having been admitted for pneumonia.
She’ll be best remembered for having written, or co-written, numerous classic songs, often with her first husband Jeff Barry or bonkers 60s producer Phil Spector.
To say she was one of the great songwriters of the 20th century is something of an understatement. Here are just a few of the works she had a hand in writing, in no particular order:
Baby I Love You, Then He Kissed Me, Da Doo Ron Ron, Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Leader Of The Pack, I Can Hear Music, Sunshine After The Rain, River Deep Mountain High.
She also co-wrote Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), the best song on Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You, and – for my money – the greatest ever Christmas song.
And then there’s Be My Baby, possibly Phil Spector’s finest moment; certainly The Ronettes’, and arguably Ellie’s too. My wife (coincidentally also called Ellie) and I chose Be My Baby for the first dance at our wedding in 2006.
I confess it was me who pushed for it – I’ve always thought it one of the most perfect pop songs ever recorded, and with lyrics that said everything I needed that day. I always meant to write to Ellie Greenwich to thank her for helping soundtrack a happy day, but never got around to it.
Ellie Greenwich was also a singer – she did backups for Dusty Springfield, Frank Sinatra and others.
She appeared on Blondie’s first album, which owed much to her style of 1960s pocket teenage symphonies. Blondie actually recorded Out In The Streets with Greenwich for the album, but it didn’t make the cut (later CD reissues have it); their version is pretty much on a par with the Shangri-Las’ original, and far better than Blondie’s No Exit attempt.
In 1991 Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She may be gone but her music will always remain alive.