Ellie Greenwich: Leader of the Pack

You may not know Ellie Greenwich by name, but you probably know some of the songs she wrote. Or you should. During their early-'60s tenure at the Brill Building, in conjunction with producer Phil Spector, Greenwich and her then-husband Jeff Barry wrote several songs that defined the girl-group sound. The most famous are Be My Baby and Baby I Love You, recorded by the Ronettes, and Da Doo Ron Ron and And Then He Kissed Me, recorded by the Crystals. They wrote Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), titanically performed by Darlene Love. They also wrote or co-wrote the following:

• Hanky Panky (recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells, but recorded first by Greenwich and Barry under the name of the Raindrops)
• Do Wah Diddy Diddy, recorded by Manfred Mann
• Chapel of Love, recorded by the Dixie Cups
• River Deep Mountain High, recorded by Ike and Tina Turner

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In addition to recording as the Raindrops, Greenwich and Barry produced recordings of several of the songs they wrote, and also sang backup on dozens of sessions. (Greenwich had broken into the record biz as a backup singer.) They continued to work together even after divorcing in 1965. She's credited with discovering Neil Diamond; she and Barry produced and sang on Diamond's early singles. Greenwich made a solo album in 1968 and another in 1973; the latter contained her own versions of several of her most famous songs. The songs returned to public notice in 1984 with the Broadway musical Leader of the Pack, based on Greenwich's life. (Greenwich and Barry had produced the Shangri Las' famous recording of Leader of the Pack in 1964.) In 1991, she and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. They also belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Ellie Greenwich checked into a New York hospital with pneumonia a few days ago. On Wednesday, while still in the hospital, she died of a heart attack at age 68. Her songs live on, however, and for that, we're grateful.