ORiGiN Music Publishing adds songwriting legend Doc Pomus’ catalogue to its roster

Sydney based independent ORiGiN Music Publishing has pulled off one of its most lucrative deals.

It now represents Pomus Songs the catalogue of Doc Pomus, one of the most inspired and legendary songwriters to emerge from the US in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

His hits included The Drifters’ ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’, Elvis Presley’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and ‘His Latest Flame’ and Ray Charles’ ‘Lonely Avenue’.

Paralysed with polio as a child, Brooklyn born Jerome Felder reinvented himself fas a blues singer, calling himself Doc Pomus.

Starting out as a performer, the story goes that he got a writers’ credit on Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s ‘Youngblood’, a hit for The Coasters.

After he got a royalty cheque for $2,500 (US$22,302 in 2018 conversion) he gave up performing to focus on writing.

His songs included perennials as ‘Little Sister’, ‘Can’t Get Used To Losing You’, ‘Hushabye’, ‘Little Sister’ ‘Sweets For My Sweet’, ‘Lonely Avenue;, ‘This Magic Moment’ and ‘A Teenager In Love’.

Others who recorded his songs were BB King, Robert Plant, The Beach Boys, Marianne Faithful, Ruth Brown, Irma Thomas and Chris Isaak.

ORiGiN creative director Philip Mortlock tells TMN, “I remember seeing Lou Reed talking, on the Elvis Costello music show Spectacle, about his friend Doc Pomus.

“He described how (the wheelchair bound) Doc watched his friends take turns to dance with his bride at their wedding celebration which in turn inspired him to write the lyrics to ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’.

“It brought a whole new meaning to the classic song and an even greater appreciation of the lyric in a song.”

Pomus died in 1991 from lung cancer and was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.