Ellie Greenwich (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich (October 23, 1940 - August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby," "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Leader of the Pack," "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," and "River Deep, Mountain High," among many others. She discovered Neil Diamond and sang backing vocals on several of Diamond's hit songs. Greenwich (pronounced "GREN-itch") was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, who both were of Russian ancestry. At age ten, she moved with her parents and younger sister to Levittown, New York. In time she began taking lessons on the accordion. By her teens, she was composing songs; eventually she taught herself to compose on the piano rather than the accordion. In high school, Greenwich and two friends formed a singing group, The Jivettes, which took on more members and performed at local functions.