Doc Pomus - You Can't Hip A Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos - 6 CD Box Set

2025  Six CDs containing 160 tracks with over 120 previously unissued and others making their CD debut celebrating Doc's 100th birthday.

Doc Pomus was a songwriter's songwriter, crafting lyrics that have stood the test of time. You Can't Hip A Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos is a masterclass in songwriting through the lens of Doc Pomus' career and via previously unheard demos largely sung by his writing partner, Mort Shuman. You Can't Hip A Square traces Doc and his songwriting partners' careers across the beloved rock, pop and R&B hits that became 20th century standards Co-produced by Sharyn Felder, publisher Will Bratton, and Omnivore's multiple Grammy Award-winning producer Cheryl Pawelski, the collection also features a main liner note essay by Geoffrey Himes with additional side notes by Sharyn Felder, Peter Guralnick, Eddie Gorodetsky, Will Bratton, and Cheryl Pawelski. Restoration and mastering were handled by multiple Grammy Award-winning engineer Michael Graves and Jordan McLeod at Osiris Studio. The packaging includes ephemera from the estate, photos from throughout Doc's life and pictures of choice acetates and sheet music all in a 48-page hardbound book. Don't be a square, get hip to the songs and enduring legacy of Doc Pomus!

Thom Jurek AMG Review

In honor of his 100th birthday, Cheryl Pawelski's Omnivore Recordings presents You Can't Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos, a loving and exhaustive tribute to one of the Brill Building era's greatest lyricists/songwriters with musical partner Mort Shuman. (For those needing a point of reference, his songs include Ray Charles' "Lonely Avenue," the Drifters' "This Magic Moment" and "Save the Last Dance for Me," Elvis Presley's "Viva La Vegas" and "Little Sister," and Dion's "Teenager in Love.") Pomus & Shuman's tunes were covered by many artists because the music they wrote, though based in R&B, rock, and doo wop, was stylistically flexible enough to work for pop singers, bands, and others to interpret, hence the hundreds of recordings of the material. Pomus, born Jerome Solon Felder, taped demos of his songs as they were being written and immediately afterward. Those tapes (totaling 165 rare and unreleased demos) were archived by Pomus' daughter, Sharyn Felder. She took the project to Pawelski, who had them painstakingly restored and coordinated with Felder to shape this six-disc collection. The vast majority of these cuts are sung by Shuman in the studio, but there are uncredited singers as well including Neil Sedaka, Ellie Greenwich, the Crowns, Kenny Rankin, and others. In addition to the music there is a 148-page booklet containing track-by-track annotations by Felder and Pawelski, and a host of essays by Felder, Peter Guralnick, Geoffrey Himes, and TV writer/producer Eddie Gorodetsky. There are dozens of rare photos and other ephemera.

Two of the set's greatest surprises occur on disc one: "This Magic Moment" and "A Teenager in Love" were both demo'ed at Pomus' house on Long Island in 1961. Greenwich handles vocals on three tracks from Disc Two including "The Sweet Pain of Love," "If Ellie Doesn't Change," and "Brother, You Deserve Each Other." Other vocalists on the set include Bobby Andriani, Peter Anders, John McFarland, and a host of unknowns. Disc Three's demo of "It's a Man's World," I'm Gonna Cry 'til My Tears Run Dry," and "Diamonds and Gold" are beautifully sung by Rankin. Disc Four contains nothing but treasures including "Helplessly," "Night Life," "Johnny Midnight," and the glorious, anthemic, "All for the Sake of Love."

Disc Five contains 31 demos written for Elvis Presley. Among them "Turn Me Loose," "Viva Las Vegas," "I'm a Man," "Kissin' Cousins," two versions each of "Clambake" and "Pot Luck," and many more. The producers may have left the best for last. Disc Six offers 23 (22 unreleased) demos sung by Pomus, some featuring full bands. Two selections, "Here Come the Blues," and "Bye Baby Bye," were cut live at the Musicale Club in Harlem. There's the original demo of "Lonely Avenue" followed by "Boogie Woogie Country Girl." "You Better Believe It" is delivered in a duet by Pomus and Shuman. For any fan of Pomus, the Brill Building, and early rock and pop, You Can't Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos is a holy grail.