One usually buys a box set to hear familiar songs. Doc Pomus’s You Can’t Hip a Square is the rare box you buy for songs you have never heard before. Why would someone do that? Because, for those who know, Doc Pomus’ reputation as a songwriter is such that there is no question of high quality.
The recognizable material is here, to be sure: “This Magic Moment,” “Lonely Avenue” and “A Teenager in Love,” to name three. But the real payoff is the parade of songs that could have been hits in their day and still resonate. These are songs of deep emotion. Even their titles can bring heartache, as with “Suddenly We’re Strangers.”
Doc Pomus’ past is unable to hide from the music fanatics at Omnivore Recordings. The demo recordings of Stax Records tried, little known Buck Owens gigs have tried, even the music of Mr. Rogers tried. But once producer Cheryl Pawelski focuses her attention on a project, all will be unearthed and made clear. Pawelski has earned Grammy Awards for her box sets of Wilco (Yankee Foxtrot Hotel), Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos, and for unearthing long lost radio recordings of Hank Williams.
Now Doc Pomus benefits from Pawelski’s efforts. Pomus has always been forced to take a seat behind other important songwriters. His name is rarely mentioned alongside fellow greats like Boudleux and Felice Bryant, Holland-Dozier-Holland or, the most obvious comparison, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. This new set provides six discs of evidence that Doc Pomus’ work is of the highest order. And consistently so!
Like the 2023 box of Stax Songwriter Demos, we are fortunate these recordings survived. In this case, it’s due to Doc Pomus’ daughter Sharyn Felder, who was actively involved with the set’s creation. She held onto her father’s bulky acetate recordings for the decades since their creation.
Some of these demos sound radio-ready while others are stripped-down arrangements, with Pomus’ longtime collaborator Mort Shuman on piano and vocals. There are even a few songs recorded at a party, where Pomus’ friend Neil Sedaka sings “Hushabye.” No matter the setting – party, bar, or recording studio – the sound on this box is superb thanks to Grammy winning engineer Michael Graves and Jordan McLeod of Osiris Studio.
Disk Five is turned over to “Songs for Elvis,” demos for Pomus’ songs that Presley would make his own. Things like “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame,” “Suspicion,” and “Viva Las Vegas.” It’s interesting to hear pianist and frequent co-writer Shuman sometimes do an Elvis impersonation with the purpose of giving Presley an idea of how he and Pomus envision the King’s performance.
On Disk Six, Doc Pomus himself sings. Among these tracks are the most produced of the demos and arguably have the most soulful delivery. Interesting that Ray Charles would ask that Doc himself sing any demo sent his way.
Geoffrey Himes writes an informative overview of Pomus’ importance and gives a playlist of his most overlooked songs, ripe for reconsideration. Pomus’ daughter Felder and producer Pawelski provide track-by-track commentary, offering interesting anecdotes and citing which performers have recorded any given song, even listing the record label that each artist recorded for. My kind of box set!
Doc Pomus wrote the quintessential Las Vegas song but never visited the city. He wrote hits for Elvis Presley but never met the man. Pomus’ songs have sold millions of records for a wide variety of musicians, but his own name is often missing from lists of great songwriters. With the release of You Can’t Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos, that changes.
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