Synopsis

Join Michael Ball for a new six-part series in which he takes an in-depth look at the songwriting partnerships of Lieber and Stoller, Goffin and King, Cook and Greenaway, Gamble and Huff, Mason and Reid, and Jagger and Richards.

Michael explores the songs they wrote, the artists they wrote for, and the skill required to write a popular song that stands the test of time.

In the first episode, he looks at Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The pair wrote a twelve-bar blues called Hound Dog, which was originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton in 1952, before Elvis Presley made it his own in 1956. The rest, as they say, is history.

The song has featured in hit movies such as American Graffiti, Grease, Forrest Gump, Lilo & Stitch, A Few Good Men and, most recently, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Lieber and Stoller went on to write more hits for Elvis as well as the likes of Peggy Lee, The Coasters and Ben E. King. And their songs have also been recorded by Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, John Lennon and Lady Gaga, proving that a good song can stand tall in any era.