Tuesday, 6/24/97 Still smokin’ THEATER: After more than 40 years
of songwriting, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller continue to capture
audiences – this time with "Smokey Joe’s Cafe," a theatrical
compilation of their ’50s and ’60s hits
By Cheryl Klein Daily Bruin Senior Staff In a way, it’s ironic
that there is almost no spoken dialogue in "Smokey Joe’s Cafe – The
Songs of Leiber and Stoller," the musical returning to Los Angeles
Tuesday at the Wilshire Theatre. Because after more than four
decades in the music business, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller have
stories to tell. There was their chance meeting, for example. The
year was 1950 and Leiber was a Fairfax High School student fed up
with a non-dedicated drummer. When Leiber kept pestering his
musical buddy for more commitment, the drummer gave him the phone
number of a piano player he knew. "I called up Mike and said, ‘Are
you Mike Stoller?’ He said, ‘Yep,’" Leiber recalls. "I said, ‘Can
you read music?’ He said, ‘Yep’ … ‘Is it true that you might be
interested in writing songs?’ He said, ‘Nope.’ So I spent the next
45 minutes on the telephone convincing him to see me." It worked.
The two men are in their 60s now, still finishing each other’s
sentences and bantering casually about their shared past. Though
Leiber and Stoller may not be household names to a younger
generation, a list of their songs reads like a history of rock ‘n’
roll. "Poison Ivy," "Spanish Harlem," "Yakety Yak," "Love Potion
#9," "Hound Dog" and "On Broadway" are just a few of the chart
toppers to appear in the musical, sung by a cast that lends a
Broadway flavor and intricate choreography to the numbers while
maintaining the original sound. While their style is too varied to
truly pinpoint, there is a rich and distinct thread of something –
part rhythm and blues, part jazz, with a little pop and cabaret
thrown in – that runs throughout. There is a southern aura about
their music, in the slow lines saturated with emotion. The regional
tone is a tribute to Leiber and Stoller’s imagination, however, as
Stoller laughs in his New York accent, "I’m from the southern part
of Queens." Yet, place has always been important to both
songwriters, as they scouted the country for locations that begged
to be immortalized in song. Sometimes it was as far away as Mexico.
Other times, it was in their own backyard. "I was walking down La
Cienega," Leiber remembers. "La Cienega and Beverly," Stoller
interjects. "There was a little joint called – literally – Smokey
Joe’s," Leiber says. "Not ‘cafe,’ just Smokey Joe’s," Stoller
clarifies. Leiber continues, "It was a small building and had about
six stools at the counter and I looked at it one day and it kind of
got to me. The guy behind the counter serving up burgers – it
seemed like a cute location." So a song was born, and, eventually,
a musical. Now Leiber and Stoller are seated in the Beverly Hills
Cafe on La Cienega Boulevard, enjoying an early lunch. The cafe has
embraced ’50s nostalgia fully, celebrating its own 40 year history
in Los Angeles and proclaiming itself the official Smokey Joe’s
Cafe for the show’s duration. Leiber and Stoller’s involvement with
the production sparks yet another tale from the master
storytellers. "About a year or two before, a small regional theater
in Seattle had requested us to send them our songs so they could
put them in a show," Leiber explains. "And the director said that
he’d always wanted to do a musical of our songs. ‘The only thing I
can’t do,’ he said, ‘is pay you.’ I said, ‘Take the songs, put on a
great show, and invite us.’" Six months later, the director phoned
him, announcing the show’s opening. Leiber was housebound due to a
winter flu, but Stoller went and called Leiber with a disappointing
review. Once again, Leiber quotes his friend and colleague
liberally. "He said, ‘You really didn’t miss anything. They can’t
really sing very well. And they can’t dance. The band is mediocre.’
But he said, ‘I gotta tell you something. Something very strange is
going on with the show.’ I expected him to say bats flying around,"
Leiber laughs. Stoller picks up. "There was something wild in the
audience response to our songs. I called Tom and Jack Viertel (who
would later produce "Smokey Joe") and they said, ‘There could be a
show with your songs. The audience seems to be ready for it.’" They
eliminated the book from the musical and brought in award-winning
director Jerry Zaks, who cooperated with musical stager Joey
McKneely to re-create the smokey sensuality and carefree attitude
that first made rock ‘n’ roll famous. The result won them seven
1995 Tony nominations and a Grammy Award for best musical. This is
not Leiber and Stoller’s first experience with musicals though. In
1957, Elvis Presley’s music publisher invited the young duo to New
York to write songs for the movie "Jailhouse Rock." At first, the
two were more interested in sight-seeing than songwriting. "We were
having a great time running around seeing all the music … all the
jazz clubs and so on, and the theater," Stoller says. Back in their
hotel suite, however, reality confronted them. "The music publisher
said, ‘Boys, where are the songs for the film?’ We said, ‘We’re
gonna do it.’ He said, ‘You’re absolutely right.’ He pulled a big
sofa against the door and said, ‘I’m not leaving without the
songs.’" In one afternoon, Leiber and Stoller wrote four songs,
including, Stoller says, "one that was more or less inspired by our
situation called, ‘I Want to be Free.’ And we got out." The two
have written songs for close to 100 of the most notable artists of
the ’50s and ’60s. And they have almost as many stories. They will
tell you how Marlene Dietrich turned down "Is That All There Is?",
a song which Peggy Lee later put on the charts for 10 weeks in a
row. They will tell you about Elvis Presley’s strict by-the-book
recording style. ("He’d even sing it in the wrong key if the demo
was in the wrong key," Leiber says.) They will tell you about
discovering Linda Hopkins in a tiny San Francisco "set-up joint"
where patrons brought their own drinks and payed 50 cents to hear
her sing. Leiber and Stoller’s stories could easily fill up an
evening. But sometimes, the songs just speak for themselves.
THEATER: "Smokey Joe’s Cafe – The Music of Leiber and Stoller" runs
June 24 to July 13 at the Wilshire Theatre. Tickets range from $30
to $55. For more information, call (213) 365-3500. Wilshire Theatre
(above) Mary Ann Hermansen and Jerry Tellier perform "Teach Me How
to Shimmy." (right) Members of "Smokey Joe’s Cafe – The Songs of
Lieber and Stoller" will perform at the Wilshire Theatre through
July 13. Wilshire Theatre Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Related
Link Rock and Roll Hall of Fame site for Mike Stoller and Jerry
Leiber