"Songwriter's Hall Of Fame" Induction. May, 1991 NYC

I cannot thank Cyndi Lauper enough for taking my songs and singing them like no one else ever has. She is amazing. Cyndi is one of the greatest ever. I am honored that she spent her own time rehearsing, etc., to give me and the audience a performance we will never forget. I love you Cyndi. Thanks!!! 

And to a dear friend, Paul Shaffer, who like like Cyndi, took his own time to work with his Letterman band and to make this induction evening spectacular. Watching Paul on the keyboards is an amazing thing to see. I have been in the business for a long time, and rest assured, Paul is one of the best musicians of all time. Thanks Paul...Love you!!

And of course my thanks to two of the most incredible singers out there, Ula Hedwig (formerly of The Harlettes), and Chrissy Faith...both of whom had key roles in the original "Leader Of The Pack", at the 'Bottom Line' in New York City. Ula did a fabulous job playing "young Ellie."

Lucy Arnez made a very pretty emcee for the evening and did a very capable job. What follows is the actual transcript of Ellie & Jeff's segment:

LUCY    "Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry wrote songs that spoke to that first generation of  World War II baby boomers...to honor Ellie and Jeff, a singer that can be expected to do the unexpected, accompanied by the leader of the World's Most Dangerous Band, please welcome Cyndi Lauper and Paul Shaffer."

(Chrissy and Ula appear on stage in 60's outfits and Paul is working with the band. Cyndi bounds on stage wearing a gold mini, minidress, padded chest, and a wild 60's hair-do. She adjusts her chest padding (the audience is well aware that something special is taking place), pauses)

CYNDI    "Good evening"

As the sound level rises, Cyndi performs a medley of the following songs:

Da Doo Ron Ron                                                                                                                                    Baby I Love You                                                                                                                                    Then He Kissed Me                                                                                                                                 Hanky Panky                                                                                                                                          Leader Of The Pack                                                                                                                                  Be My Baby                                                                                                                                             Chapel Of Love                                                                                                                                      River Deep, Mountain High

The audience is absolutely blown away. They are on their feet and won't stop their adulation of Cyndi's performance.

CYNDI    "Ellie we love you!!!" (Almost unheard due to the applause of the audience, Ellie responds: "I love you too.")

Paul Shaffer takes the podium

PAUL  "Well she can sing, right? I'm Paul Shaffer. It's a particularly great honor for me to be here tonight for the induction of Jeff and Ellie, because their songs, the ones you just heard and a bunch of the other ones they wrote, they are the actual songs that reached out to me as a kid in Canada, and said "Paul come here to the states, come down and make music like this, you can do it, maybe you'll meet one of the Ronettes, you never know."

And so I did. I came down here, trying to get into the music business based on the feeling I got from those songs. I'm telling you, when I saw the Ronettes do Be My Baby on Dick Clark's American Bandstand on Saturday afternoon, I started thinking about girls after that. Important song for me. And I came to America searching this stuff out.

As fate would have it I was drawn to these two people, and the first one I met was Jeff Barry. Back in about '74 I did a very short-lived television series called Year at the top, in which I had sold my soul to the devil in return for rock stardom. Jeff produced the first song we sang on that show, and forced me to do my very first string arrangement. He said "I want to hear what you write." I had never written for strings before, he had some great L.A. session musicians, and I was really on the spot. I had to come through for the great Jeff Barry.

Since then Ron Dante heard the chart that I wrote, he said "I'm gonna use that kid" and he got me started in the studio business as a sideman. I ended up working for Barry Manilow and stuff...so Jeff was very important to my career.

Later on I met Ellie back in New York, and I had the thrill of participating in the show that was a tribute to her life and her and Jeff's music, called Leader Of The Pack, I got to play a certain legendary record producer who was a part of their lives. I played the character and it was, I think, the greatest performing experience I've ever had in my life, doing Leader Of The Pack every night. The producer I played was the great Phil Spector, who was Jeff and Ellie's collaborator on some of those songs he produced. In talking with Phil Spector, you know everybody says "You made so many of the greatest Rock 'N Roll of all time, how do you do it, how do you get the Wall of Sound, how do you do the thing with the echo, how do you make the drums so big?" And he looked at me and said, "The key is incredible material." And these are the people who provided that material. Let's get them up on stage now. Ladies and Gentlemen, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry..."

(After holding each other's hands offstage, Ellie and Jeff are escorted up to the podium to raucous applause. Jeff, wearing a tuxedo, wire rimmed glasses and his hair long still carries his 6' 4" frame very well. Ellie looked great in a purple suit and her trademark blonde hair and sunglasses (worn in her hair).

ELLIE    "Jeff, since you put your name on the records first, may I speak first? I know it's a long night and everybody's been speaking quite a bit, but I have some people that I do have to acknowledge, so just bear with me. OK?"

First of all, Sammy Cahn and the members of the National Academy of Popular Music, The Songwriters Hall of Fame, for making this possible. I thank you with my heart and soul. This is the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me.

There are a bunch of others I'd like to thank. My parents, who are up there resting on Cloud Nine looking down, for all their encouragement and support, let me say: Mom and Dad, this one is for you, for all the years that you had to tell the friends of the family "Well she's a songwriter. I don't know what that means, this is her career, her profession, but what is she going to do AFTER that?" (Laughter)

To my sister Laura, my best friend, who graciously took a back seat to me all of our lives, and let me play the accordion, sing and dance, and write the songs: Laura, you're my best friend, there are things we've shared that nobody else can understand, I love you with all my heart and soul.

And to my brother-in-law Bob who has been my advisor for the past seven years, for all his advice and for literally scooping me up off the ground when I had a real bad time, many many years ago, to give me the strength to stand not only on the Broadway stage but here tonight, I thank you and love you with all my heart and soul.

They say in a lifetime if you can name on one hand your good friends, you're very lucky. Well, I have many, many good friends from way back when, who have been there, and I must acknowledge Teddy, and Nancy, and Mickey, and Edy, and Cherie, and Vicki, and Nona, and Dallas, who is here tonight in spirit, and for a very dear friend and colleague, the wonderfully talented Bob Crewe. And to someone we lost this year that will live in my heart and soul as in your too forever, Doc Pomus.

And to Joe Somsky and the Gang for all your support and wonderful, wonderful surprises.

I must go back. In the sixties there was a sense of family, that we were given by many of the people that we worked with and worked for. So even in spite of some differences that are going on today, to Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, and (why are you laughing?) and to Irwin Shuster, and to Ed Burton, and to Bert Burns.

To the record companies and producers and the artists that brought these songs alive too: Lesley Gore, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector...again, many thanks to you...to Cyndi Lauper for making this stage come alive. (Applause). And to new found friend Paul Shaffer: Paul, eat something!

Thank you for sharing the best years of my life, I thank you very much, and I know I'm leaving something out...and for this guy, Jeff, last but not least, who did make writing a lot of fun, and easy, and exciting, and it was magic in our working together, and I'm very happy to accept this honor with you, Jeff. (Applause).

JEFF    Well, I want to thank Ellie for my speech! (Laughter). I want to thank the academy...it means a lot. (Motions to Ellie) We've been through it: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly! (Ellie interjects: "And he's still tall!") I of course, want to thank the Academy of Recording for this evening...my family and friends, for letting me be me through all the years, without squawking too much.

I suppose a song is not home until it is sung. So most of all I want to thank all the voices who have breathed life into our songs over the years. When people come to me and say "I want you to read my song", it's just not home yet, it's really true. So to all the voices and to tonight's voice, Cyndi, thank you so much, I really enjoyed that like a fan. I think I heard some of the songs for the first time tonight.

Another thing that strikes me about the Hall Of Fame (It's been a long haul") (Laughter), that was the speech I wrote in the elevator. Ellie, has of course, mentioned all the people who have been involved in our lives and careers, and I can only reiterate but I won't! (Laughter). There are a couple of names that are particular to me though. Arnold Shaw, who was the first person who said to me "Do you want to write songs?" It never occurred to me in 1959 and I had my first hit in 1960. Until now, today, thirty-one years later, I'm up to three chords.

But thanks to people like Ellie Greenwich, I don't have to know all the chords. they were the yin to my yang. It has been a wonderful life, a privileged life, to be able to create entertainment for people and be so rewarded in so many ways. Tonight is just one of them.

It also occurs to me that when we were writing we were, in particular, trying to entertain young people, and we never thought that they would grow up and know the words to the songs! It really never did occur to us. To me it's a particular thrill to know that what we created, and had such a wonderful time creating, it turned out to mean so much to so many people. I thank everyone, all my co-writers...thank you so much." (Applause)

As he exits. Ellie returns to the microphone.

ELLIE    "Just a minute...I want to thank Leo, and to Jimmy (Vivino) my godson, and this goes to Melanie, and to Ula...(Laughter)...thank you very much, thank you!"