I was out strolling during lunch in New York City about 10 years ago when I saw Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in the courtyard of a building on Park Avenue ("Inseparable," by Zev Chafets, March 19). Being very familiar with their catalog of early rock 'n' roll songs and a great admirer, I was too intimidated to say hello, thank you and ask for an autograph. I still kick myself for being so shy.
Shelby Asch
Vista
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Leiber and Stoller are to R&B what D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille were to the Golden Age of Hollywood: the architectural visionaries of a vastly popular entertainment. Where would Kid Rock be without "Yakety Yak," Snoop Dogg without "Hound Dog" or Eminem without "Searchin'"? Nowhere, my brothers and sisters! If Leiber and Stoller's talents turned topsy-turvy in 1975 with "Mirrors," then they more than earned the privilege.
Brad S. Barnes
Santa Ana
