Why Jeff Barry Should Be Inducted Into the Rock and Roll Hal

Honored members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,

Considering all of his major accomplishments in the field of pop music in general, and rock and roll music in particular, it's somewhat surprising that legendary Brill Building songwriter-producer JEFF BARRY has not yet earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While it's true that there are only a relative handful of inductees every year out of a large field of contenders, Jeff's career spans (at this writing) nearly forty-eight years, far longer than many folks who are already in the Hall. What truly counts, however, is not quantity but quality, and Jeff Barry has certainly more than risen to this particular standard. Two singles Jeff produced (and, in one case, wrote) received Record of the Year honors from the Recording Industry Association of America - this alone is impressive enough without also bearing in mind that Jeff's songs have not been absent from the airwaves since his career began.

Since 1960, Jeff Barry's name has been as synonymous with rock and roll as that of Alan Freed. Jeff's songwriting career, which had begun only a year earlier, was launched into the stratosphere when Ray Peterson recorded "Tell Laura I Love Her," ultimately hitting the U.S. Top Ten. The tune was covered by British singer Ricky Valance that same year and went all the way to the #1 spot in the U.K. "Tell Laura" is not only a very recognizable song but to this day is singled out by many writers and musicologists as one of the ultimate teen-tragedy songs of all time, as is another Jeff Barry composition: A few years after "Tell Laura" became a hit, Jeff penned "Leader of the Pack" for The Shangri-Las, who took it to #1 in the U.S. in 1964. Prior to this, Jeff helped to define the Girl Group sound with the many tracks he co-wrote with songwriter/producer Phil Spector, who is already in the Rock Hall. The year 1963 was arguably the most successful one of Mr. Spector's career, and Jeff Barry contributed largely to that success; many of the hit songs Spector produced in 1963 were co-written by Jeff, including "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You" by Hall of Fame inductees The Ronettes. In addition, the delightful holiday classic "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home," one of the tracks on Spector's Christmas album, is to this day performed every year by Darlene Love on the David Letterman Show.

In 1964, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, also Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, founded Red Bird Records, of which Jeff was also part owner. By most accounts, fifteen of the label's first twenty releases charted, and all of those recordings were written and/or produced by Jeff Barry. The first single, "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups, reached #1 and knocked The Beatles out of the top spot, reclaiming the U.S. charts in the midst of the British Invasion. In late 1966, The Monkees' "I'm a Believer," produced by Jeff, shot to #1 in the U.S. and was the biggest-selling record for that year. In 1968, Jeff began writing and producing for the animated musical group The Archies. "Sugar, Sugar," which was released in the summer of 1969, also hit #1, earning a gold record, and it too became RIAA Record of the Year. In between, Jeff founded his own label, Steed Records, writing and producing for hitmakers such as Robin McNamara and Andy Kim. Jeff continued his work in the pop field even as he relocated from New York to Los Angeles in 1971 and began composing music for television and movies. "I Honestly Love You," by Olivia Newton-John, became a #1 hit for the singer in 1974. In 1991, Jeff was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; in addition, he has received two Lifetime Achievement Awards, one in 1998 from the National Academy of Songwriters, and, more recently, from the LA Weekly Music Awards in 2005. (A comprehensive look at Jeff's career can be found on this website as well as in my Spectropop essay, Mr. Music Man: A Glimpse Into the Life and Career of Jeff Barry.)

Jeff's songs are timeless. His tunes have endured and become classics; they are as familiar to second and third generations in the present day as they were to the people who enjoyed Jeff's music when it was new. His records have sold in the millions, and they continue to sell today on CD and other digital formats; in short, consumers have never stopped buying Jeff's music. A number of tunes written and/or produced by Jeff Barry have shown up in Broadway shows, on television, and in movies. Just a handful of examples - the musicals Leader of the Pack and The Boy From Oz featured Jeff's songs, as did films such as Dirty Dancing and Now and Then. Most recently, "Sugar Sugar" is featured in the new Jerry Seinfeld flick, The Bee Movie. It's important to stress the enduring nature of Jeff's work, and how much different the world would be had Jeff Barry not been around to share his particular brand of magic with us all.

Rather than my continuing to ramble on and on about the myriad reasons that Jeff Barry should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, please allow me to offer fifty reasons, listed below. Please keep in mind that this list includes only those records which reached the U.S. Top Forty*; it leaves out many others that charted in lower positions, those that were regional hits, and those that were hits in countries other than the United States. Songs in bold type reached #1 on the U.S.; many others earned gold records for the artists who recorded them. Jeff Barry is a true legend of rock and roll. Please induct him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and give him the recognition he has so truly earned.

Most sincerely,

Laura Pinto

YEAR	TITLE	ARTIST	JEFF'S ROLE
1960 1961	Tell Laura I Love Her Chip Chip	Ray Peterson Gene McDaniels	Songwriter Songwriter
1963 1963	Da Doo Ron Ron Then He Kissed Me	The Crystals The Crystals	Songwriter Songwriter
1963 1963	The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget Wait 'Til My Bobby Gets Home	The Raindrops Darlene Love	Songwriter/Producer Songwriter
1963 1963	Be My Baby Baby, I Love You	The Ronettes The Ronettes	Songwriter Songwriter
1964 1964 1964	Chapel of Love People Say You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked At Me	The Dixie Cups The Dixie Cups The Dixie Cups	Songwriter Songwriter Songwriter
1964 1964 1964	Doo Wah Diddy Diddy I Wanna Love Him So Bad Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)	Manfred Mann The Jelly Beans The Shangri-Las	Songwriter Songwriter Producer
1964 1964 1964	Leader of the Pack I Have a Boyfriend Maybe I Know	The Shangri-Las The Chiffons Lesley Gore	Songwriter/Producer Songwriter Songwriter
1965 1965 1966	Look of Love Give Us Your Blessings Hanky Panky	Lesley Gore The Shangri-Las Tommy James & The Shondells	Songwriter Songwriter/Producer Songwriter
1966 1966	Cherry Cherry I Got The Feelin' (Oh No No)	Neil Diamond Neil Diamond	Producer Producer
1966 1967	I'm a Believer A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You	The Monkees The Monkees	Producer Producer
1967 1967	You Got To Me Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon	Neil Diamond Neil Diamond	Producer Producer
1967 1967	I Thank The Lord For the Night Time Kentucky Woman	Neil Diamond Neil Diamond	Producer Producer
1968 1968 1968	How'd We Ever Get This Way Shoot 'Em Up, Baby Bang Shang a-Lang	Andy Kim Andy Kim The Archies	Songwriter/Producer Songwriter/Producer Songwriter/Producer
1969 1969	Sugar, Sugar Jingle Jangle	The Archies The Archies	Songwriter/Producer Songwriter/Producer
1969 1969 1969	I Can Hear Music Did You See Her Eyes Baby, I Love You	The Beach Boys The Illusion Andy Kim	Songwriter Songwriter/Producer Songwriter/Producer
1969 1970 1970	So Good Together Be My Baby Who's Your Baby	Andy Kim Andy Kim The Archies	Songwriter/Producer Songwriter/Producer Songwriter/Producer
1970 1970 1970	Shilo Solitary Man Do It	Neil Diamond Neil Diamond Neil Diamond	Producer Producer Producer
1970 1970 1970	Sugar, Sugar River Deep - Mountain High Lay a Little Lovin' On Me	Wilson Pickett Supremes/Four Tops Robin McNamara	Songwriter Songwriter Songwriter/Producer
1970 1971	Montego Bay Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom)	Bobby Bloom The Staple Singers	Songwriter/Producer Songwriter
1974 1977 1984	I Honestly Love You Da Doo Ron Ron Last Time I Made Love	Olivia Newton-John Shaun Cassidy Joyce Kennedy & Jeffrey Osborne	Songwriter Songwriter Songwriter