Doc Pomus

Doc Pomus
Pomus in 1947
Background information
Birth name	Jerome Solon Felder
Born	(1925-06-27)June 27, 1925 Brooklyn,New York City,United States
Died	March 14, 1991(1991-03-14)(aged 65) Manhattan,New York City, United States
Genres	Blues,rock and roll
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter & producer

Jerome Solon Felder(June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally asDoc Pomus,was an Americanbluessinger and songwriter.He is best known as theco-writerof manyrock and rollhits.Pomus was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fameas a non-performer in 1992,theSongwriters Hall of Fame(1992),and theBlues Hall of Fame(2012).

Early life

Born Jerome Solon Felder in 1925 inWilliamsburg,Brooklyn,New York,he was the son ofJewishimmigrants.He attendedBrooklyn Collegefrom 1943 to 1945. Felder became a fan of the blues after hearing aBig Joe Turnerrecord, "Piney Brown Blues". Having contractedpolioas a boy, he walked with the aid of crutches. Later, due topost-polio syndromeexacerbated by an accident, Felder relied on a wheelchair.

His brother is New York attorneyRaoul Felder.

Career

Using thestage nameDoc Pomus, teenager Felder began performing as a blues singer. His stage name was not inspired by anyone in particular; he just thought it sounded better for a blues singer than Jerry Felder. Pomus stated that more often than not, he was the only Caucasian in the clubs, but that as a Jew with polio, he felt a special underdog kinship with African Americans, while in turn the audiences respected his courage and were impressed by his talent. Gigging at clubs in and around New York City, Pomus often performed withMilt Jackson,Mickey Baker,andKing Curtis.Pomus recorded about forty sides as a singer in the 1940s and 1950s for Chess, Apollo, Dawn, Gotham, and other recording companies.

In the early 1950s, Pomus began writing magazine articles, as well as songwriting for Lavern Baker, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, and Big Joe Turner. In 1957 he married an aspiring Broadway actress from Westville, Illinois, named Willi Burke. They were divorced in 1966. His first songwriting break came when theCoastersrecorded a hit with the song "Young Blood",although the melody had been radically changed byJerry LeiberandMike Stoller.Still, Pomus had co-credit as lyricist, and soon received a royalty check for $2,500 (US$27,121 in 2023 dollars), an event that convinced him that songwriting was a career worth pursuing. By 1957, Pomus had given up performing in favor of songwriting.

Pomus collaborated with pianistMort Shuman,whom he met when Shuman was dating Pomus's younger cousin. Songwriter Otis Blackwell introduced the duo toHill & RangeMusic Co./Rumbalero Music at its offices in New York City'sBrill Building.Pomus asked Shuman to write with him because Pomus did not know much about contemporary rock and roll, whereas Shuman was acquainted with popular artists of the day. For the most part, Pomus wrote the lyrics while Shuman composed themelodies,but they often collaborated on both aspects of their songs. Together they wrote "A Teenager in Love","Save The Last Dance For Me","Hushabye","This Magic Moment","Turn Me Loose","Sweets For My Sweet"(a hit forThe Drifters,and laterThe Searchers), "Go, Jimmy, Go","Little Sister","Can't Get Used to Losing You","Suspicion","Surrender",and"(Marie's the Name of) His Latest Flame".

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Pomus wrote several songs withPhil Spector( "Young Boy Blues", "Ecstasy", "First Taste of Love" and "What Am I To Do?" ), Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber ( "Young Blood" and "She's Not You"), and other Brill Building-era writers. Pomus also wrote"Lonely Avenue",a 1956 hit forRay Charles.

In the 1970s and 1980s, in his eleventh-floor, two-room apartment at the Westover Hotel at 253 West 72nd Street, Pomus wrote songs withDr. John,Ken Hirsch,andWilly DeVillefor what he said were "... those people stumbling around in the night out there, uncertain or not always so certain of exactly where they fit in and where they were headed." These later songs ( "There Must Be A Better World", "There Is Always One More Time", "That World Outside", "You Just Keep Holding On", and "Something Beautiful Dying" )—recorded byWilly DeVille,B.B. King,Irma Thomas,Marianne Faithfull,Charlie Rich,Ruth Brown,Dr. John,James Booker,andJohnny Adams—are considered by some, including writerPeter Guralnick,musician and songwriter Dr. John, and producerJoel Dorn,to be signatures of Pomus's best craft.

The documentary filmA.K.A. Doc Pomus(2012), conceived by Pomus's daughter Sharyn Felder, directed by filmmakerPeter Miller,edited by Amy Linton, and produced by Felder, Hechter, and Miller, presents Pomus's biography.

Pomus died on March 14, 1991, oflung cancerat the age of 65 at NYU Medical Center in Manhattan.

Legacy and influence

Further information:List of songs written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman

Together with Shuman, and individually, Pomus was a key figure in the development ofpopular music.The duo co-wrote such hits as "A Teenager in Love","Save the Last Dance for Me","This Magic Moment","Sweets for My Sweet","Viva Las Vegas","Little Sister","Surrender","Can't Get Used to Losing You","Suspicion","Turn Me Loose"and"A Mess of Blues".

• Pomus was elected to theSongwriters Hall of Fameand theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• In 1991, he was the first non-African American recipient of theRhythm and Blues FoundationPioneer Award.Ray Charles presented the award via a pre-recorded message.
• The funk bandCameowas heavily influenced by Pomus's song-writing style and frequently acknowledges his impact before performing their hit song "Word Up."
• Longtime friend, jazz singerJimmy Scott,performed at Pomus's funeral, a performance that resurrected his career. Other attendees includedSeymour Stein,who subsequently signed Scott toSire Records,andLou Reed,who thereafter would regularly work with Scott until his death. Pomus had been imploring his friends to hear Scott sing for many years.
• The song "Doc's Blues"was written as a tribute to Pomus by his close friend,Andrew Vachss.The lyrics originally appeared in Vachss's 1990 novelBlossom."Doc's Blues" was recorded by bluesmanSon Sealson Seals's last album,Lettin' Go.
• Responsible forLou Reed's introduction to the music industry in the early 1960s, Pomus was one of two friends Reed memorialized on his 1992 albumMagic and Loss.
• In 1995,Rhino Recordsreleased atribute albumto Pomus titledTill The Night Is Gone.Pomus's songs are performed byBob Dylan,Brian Wilson,Dion,Dr. John,Irma Thomas,Solomon Burke,John Hiatt,Shawn Colvin,Aaron Neville,Lou Reed,The Band,B.B. King,Los Lobos,andRosanne Cash.
• In 2010,Ben FoldsandNick Hornbynamed their collaborative album on which the song "Doc Pomus" appearedLonely Avenue.The lyrics referenced an excerpt from Pomus's unfinished memoir, February 21, 1984: "I was never one of those happy cripples who stumbled around smiling and shiny-eyed, trying to get the world to cluck its tongue and shake its head sadly in my direction. They'd never look at me and say, 'What a wonderful, courageous fellow.'"The album featured lyrics by British author Hornby, set to music by American performer Folds. It was released on September 28, 2010.
• John Goodman's character in theCoen brothers' 2013 dramedyInside Llewyn Daviswas loosely inspired by Pomus.
• Songs written or co-written by Doc Pomus have been recorded by Joe Cocker, ZZ Top, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, The Beatles, Bad Company, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Buble, Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Harry Nilsson, John Hiatt, The Beach Boys, B.B. King, The New York Dolls, Shawn Colvin, Los Lobos, Dion, and hundreds of others.
• Bob Dylan's 2022 book,The Philosophy of Modern Song,is dedicated to Doc Pomus.

Further reading

• Halberstadt, Alex (2007).Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life And Times Of Doc Pomus.New York:Da Capo Press.ISBN978-0306813009.

External links

• The Official Home Page of Pomus Songs, Inc.
• Doc PomusatAllMusic
• Doc Pomusdiscography atDiscogs
• Doc PomusatIMDb
• Doc Pomus Biography
• Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman
• Entries at repertoire.bmi.com