Death and coincidences often go hand in hand in a strange, darkly ironic way, and that’s certainly true of August 22, 2011, when the world lost two prolific songwriters behind some of the all-time greatest hits of the 20th century on the same day on opposite ends of the country. In a matter of 24 hours, two men responsible for songs that defined entire decades and genres were gone.
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The two songwriters worked in different musical styles and creative circles. But their influence on the music industry as a whole is undeniable. To have two artists of such intense magnitude die on the same day sent shockwaves throughout the songwriting community.
Both Songwriters Produced Timeless Hits
The elder of the two songwriters who died on Monday, August 22, 2011, after providing the world with some of the greatest hits of the 20th century was Jerry Leiber, one-half of the iconic writing duo, Leiber and [Mike] Stoller. Leiber was 78 when he died of cardio-pulmonary failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He died a long-time member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his extensive work for midcentury rock ‘n’ roll.
Perhaps most notably, Leiber and his songwriting partner, Stoller, wrote hits made famous by Elvis Presley, like “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”. The songwriter also created countless hits for more vocal-forward groups, á la The Clovers, The Drifters, and The Coasters. Some of those songs included “Love Potion No. 9”, “Yakety Yak”, “Poison Ivy”, “Down in Mexico”, and “Ruby Baby”.
To put it plainly, Leiber was synonymous with some of the most popular music in the 1950s and 60s. Countless artists, from The Beatles to Barbra Streisand to Aretha Franklin to Buddy Holly, covered his hit songs. In terms of cultural significance and charting hits, Leiber was one of the greatest songwriters of all time. During his 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with partner Stoller, the hall said, “Leiber and Stoller advanced rock ‘n’ roll to new heights of wit and musical sophistication.”
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, We Lost a Motown Legend
Losing Jerry Leiber would have been enough of a shock to the songwriting community on its own. But sadly, that wasn’t the only death the musical world had to grieve on August 22, 2011. Just under 3,000 miles from the Los Angeles hospital where Jerry Leiber left this mortal coil, Motown legend Nick Ashford was embarking on that same journey at a Manhattan hospital, where he was receiving treatment for throat cancer. Ashford was 70 years old when he died.
If Leiber was a defining voice of rock ‘n’ roll, Ashford was the same for Motown. He and his writing partner, Valerie Simpson, penned some of the most iconic hits to come out of the late 1960s soul and R&B scene, including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Your Precious Love”, and “You’re All I Need to Get By”. The songwriting duo worked closely with acts like Gladys Knight & the Pips, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, and Chaka Khan, among many, many others.
Ashford and Simpson didn’t just create hits as songwriters. They elevated the careers of the artists who covered their material. “His music is unmatched,” Earth, Wind, and Fire’s Verdine White said after the news of his death broke. “They had magic, and that’s what creates those wonderful hits, that magic. Without those songs, those artists wouldn’t have been able to go to the next level.”
Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
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