November 16: The Mad Professor of Rock and Roll

Ben Weisman, who wrote fifty-seven songs for Elvis Presley, was born in Providence, Rhode Island on this date in 1921. Weisman’s songs produced sixty gold records, record sales of over 75 million, and thirty movie scores, including for Jailhouse Rock. Other recording artists who made hits of his songs are Barbra Streisand, Nat King Cole, Conway Twitty, Patti Page, Dusty Springfield, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Mathis, Dionne Warwick, the Carpenters, and even the Beatles (“Lend Me Your Comb,” with Pete Best in 1962). Weisman came from a family with deep musical roots, and at age five sang at a Brooklyn synagogue during the High Holy Holidays. He was a student at the Juilliard School of Music and then served in the military as Special Services Music Director for the U.S. Army Air Force. Elvis nicknamed him “the Mad Professor.” “After completing each song” for Elvis, Weisman reported, “I would make a demonstration record, using a singer that could copy Elvis’ sound. I used the same type of rhythm section that he used, with the same type of vocal backgrounds. The end result was a tailor-made production, just for him. One of the first demo singers I hired was Otis Blackwell, who wrote such great Elvis songs as ‘Don’t Be Cruel,’ ‘All Shook Up,’ and many more. Some of the other talented singers I found were Glen Campbell, Delaney Bramlett, P.J.Proby, Ray Peterson, and Dorsey Burnette. Among the musicians who played on my demos were Phil Spector, Hal Blaine, Leon Russell, Larry Knechell, plus Ronnie Tutt, Glen D. Hardin, and James Burton, who ended up in Elvis’ band.” “Elvis was a transformer, a rebel, like a meteorite, someone who only comes along once every few hundred years. He had that level of magnetism. Astonishing to be a part of it!” —Ben Weisman