Larry Stock (born Lazarus Goldberger; December 4, 1896 – May 4, 1984) was an American songwriter. He is most known for being a songwriter and composer for many songs including " Blueberry Hill" which was later recorded by

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

Early life

He was born 'Lazarus Goldberger' on December 4, 1896, in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, the son of Adolf Goldberger and Ella Ehrlich. His father was an Austrian immigrant who was a cellist for the New York Symphony Orchestra. His mother's family had emigrated from Hungary to New York in 1888. At a year old, his father Adolf died in 1898. In 1901, his mother Ella Goldberger married Abram Rosenstock. His name was then changed to Lawrence Rosenstock which later became shortened to Larry Stock. At a young age, he often practiced and played piano.

Career

At twelve, he was accepted by the Institute of Musical Art in New York which later became the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. After graduating at sixteen he continued his studies at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. He studied piano with a prominent teacher and pianist named Clarence Adler. He briefly served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, but continued his study of music. He went on to perform at various nightclubs as it was difficult to find any jobs as a concert artist during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. He would use his leftover time for songwriting which would go unrecognized until 1938 when enjoyed his first major success for " The Umbrella Man". He would go on to compose and write other songs. He co-wrote the

hit with Al Lewis " Blueberry Hill", the

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

hit " You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", " Morning Side of the Mountain" (recorded by Tommy Edwards and The Osmonds), and " You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)", a hit by

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

featuring Les Brown and his orchestra. In 1960, he composed the

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Christmas song "A Christmas in Bethlehem". Among the many singers who recorded his music were

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, Dean Martin,

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

, Ella Fitzgerald, Marie Osmond, Nat King Cole,

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racing, hydroplane racer whose unique "sweet jazz" style remained popular with audiences for nearly five decade ...

. A second cousin named Jerry Wexler became well known in a different music field, coining the phrase "

Rhythm and Blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

", and being one of the founders of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

Death and legacy

He died May 4, 1984, in Lakehurst, New Jersey, at the age of 87. In 1987, he was posthumously awarded an ASCAP award for "Blueberry Hill" along with Al Lewis and Vincent Rose. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stock, Larry 1896 births 1984 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) Musicians from New York City American people of Hungarian descent 20th-century American composers 20th-century American songwriters