Biography
Ellie Greenwich, a gifted songwriter, played a pivotal role in crafting and promoting the girl group sound that defined the early 1960s through acts including the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las, and the Crystals, earning recognition as one of the period’s foremost pop songwriters. Captivated by rock & roll like many contemporaries, she frequented a neighborhood record store in her hometown of Hicksville, New York, while attending college classes. The proprietor there linked her to label talent scouts, resulting in a single released by MCA under the name Ellie Gaye that failed to resonate. In 1962, chance brought her together with aspiring songwriter Jeff Barry at a gathering; the pair soon began co-writing material and eventually married. Following several months of composition, they arranged a meeting at the storied Brill Building, where teams such as Leiber and Stoller, King and Goffin, and Mann and Weil were already achieving breakthroughs. Leiber and Stoller integrated Greenwich and Barry into their circle, tasking them with songs and productions for Phil Spector’s short-lived Philles label. This phase yielded some of her most enduring compositions, among them “Da Do Ron Ron” and “Be My Baby.” Recording separately as the Raindrops, Greenwich and Barry also notched success with “The Kind of Boy You Won’t Forget.”
In 1964 the married songwriters partnered again with Leiber and Stoller to supply material for the Red Bird label. There, alongside producer George “Shadow” Morton, the team refined the girl group aesthetic to its highest level. They furnished tracks for the Dixie Cups (“Chapel of Love”) and the Shangri-Las (“Leader of the Pack”), creating discs whose romantic lyrics contrasted with the music’s layered sophistication. Greenwich kept delivering hits with Jeff Barry, including the landmark “River Deep, Mountain High” and the Beach Boys’ 1969 single “I Can Hear Music,” yet their partnership dissolved along with the marriage, much like the team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. She remained active in the industry, issuing a singer/songwriter album on Verve Records in 1973 and contributing background vocals for many leading rock figures. In 1984 she participated in the autobiographical musical Leader of the Pack. After hospitalization in New York City for pneumonia, Ellie Greenwich succumbed to a heart attack in August 2009 at age 68.
In 1964 the married songwriters partnered again with Leiber and Stoller to supply material for the Red Bird label. There, alongside producer George “Shadow” Morton, the team refined the girl group aesthetic to its highest level. They furnished tracks for the Dixie Cups (“Chapel of Love”) and the Shangri-Las (“Leader of the Pack”), creating discs whose romantic lyrics contrasted with the music’s layered sophistication. Greenwich kept delivering hits with Jeff Barry, including the landmark “River Deep, Mountain High” and the Beach Boys’ 1969 single “I Can Hear Music,” yet their partnership dissolved along with the marriage, much like the team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. She remained active in the industry, issuing a singer/songwriter album on Verve Records in 1973 and contributing background vocals for many leading rock figures. In 1984 she participated in the autobiographical musical Leader of the Pack. After hospitalization in New York City for pneumonia, Ellie Greenwich succumbed to a heart attack in August 2009 at age 68.
Albums