The song was written by the prolific songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.  “Is That All There Is?” has little in common with their better known songs like “Jailhouse Rock”, “Hound Dog”, “Kansas City”, or the numerous hits by the Coasters; although songs that the two co-wrote with others, such as “Stand by Me” and “On Broadway” have some of the flavor of this song.   

(January 2014)

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Anyway, it is hard for me to complain about what the Crawdaddys have included on Here ’Tis:  The CD starts off with a blistering rendition of a rockin’ Chuck Berry song, “Thirty Days”, followed by an Allen Toussaint song called “Why Wait Until Tomorrow” that had been recorded by Lee Dorsey – best known for two charming hits, “Ya Ya” and “Working in the Coalmine”.  Also on hand is a criminally obscure Leiber/Stoller song called “That Is Rock and Roll”, the flip side of the Coasters’ hit “Along Came Jones”.  The Coasters, one of my favorite American R&B bands, had emerged in the 1960’s essentially as a showcase band for the best songs by this dynamite songwriting duo. 

(January 2015/2)

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Also, most of the songs by one of my favorite 1960’s groups the Coasters were also by Leiber/Stoller.  I remember seeing TV interviews by R&B singers of that period who could not believe that two Jewish boys could so perfectly capture their lives. 

(April 2015/1)