Jerry Leiber

As half of the famous Leiber & Stoller songwriting and producing partnership, Jerry Leiber virtually defined the way popular music sounded in the early '60s. His songs, such as "Hound Dog," "Yakety Yak," and "Jailhouse Rock," are clever and humorous lyrical vignettes that have been played millions of times and virtually been absorbed into the cultural consciousness. Born in Baltimore, Leiber was five when his widowed mother opened a grocery store near a Black neighborhood. It was there that he became fascinated with Black culture, absorbing the neighborhood's music, dress, and...