Over a career spanning five decades, Doc Pomus - born Jerome Solon Felder in 1925 - penned some of the most memorable songs of all time: "Viva Las Vegas." "Save the Last Dance for Me."  "Lonely Avenue."  "Can't Get Used to Losing You."  "Sweets for My Sweet."  "This Magic Moment."  "Hushabye."  With hits performed by the likes of Ray Charles, The Drifters, Andy Williams, Dolly Parton, Bobby Darin, and, of course, Elvis Presley, Pomus' songs transcended genre and era.  Bob Dylan dedicated his 2022 book The Philosophy of Modern Song to Pomus, while Lou Reed memorialized him on the 1992 album Magic and Loss.  Dr. John, Brian Wilson, Rosanne Cash, and Solomon Burke were among the artists who lined up to pay tribute on the 1995 collection Till the Night Is Gone.  Now, for Doc Pomus' 100th birthday, Omnivore Recordings is celebrating his extraordinary legacy with a new 6-CD box set which follows their Record Store Day release of Pomus' demos for The King.

You Can't Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos, due on August 15, collects more than 160 tracks from the late songwriter, who died in 1991 at the age of 65 and was subsequently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame. Over 120 of these demos are previously unreleased, while still others are making their CD and digital debuts.  Many of these songs are familiar, while others never received an official recording.  What they share in common is the impeccable songwriting of Doc Pomus, with songs ranging from the heartbreakingly tender to the authentically gritty.  The first four discs are a treasure chest of various demos, while the fifth disc, reprising the Record Store Day vinyl release, is dedicated to songs written for Elvis Presley.  The sixth disc boasts (almost) all Pomus vocals.

The lion's share of the demo vocals heard on You Can't Hip a Square are performed by Mort Shuman, Doc's most prolific collaborator during the Brill Building days.  The future Jacques Brel adapter can be heard on the demos of such favorites as "A Teenager in Love," "Viva Las Vegas," "I Ain't Sharin' Sharon," "The Many Faces of Love," "Here Comes the Night," and "Marie's the Name (His Latest Flame)" while Pomus himself is the featured vocalist on the sixth CD, which features such treasures as the original demo of his "Lonely Avenue," a 1956 hit (Pomus' first) for Ray Charles.

None other than Neil Sedaka is heard on the demo of "Hushabye," a top 20 hit in 1959 for The Mystics, while singer-songwriter and Pomus pal Kenny Rankin sings Pomus and Shuman's "Be Everything to Anyone You Love," recorded in 1962 by Donna Reed Show star Paul Petersen, and "Diamonds and Gold," a co-write with Helen Miller (of "It Hurts to Be in Love" fame).  Toni Wine, co-writer of "Groovy Kind of Love" and vocalist for The Archies, sings their "(I've Been A) Bad Girl" and "Your Conception of Love."  Ellie Greenwich, better known for her partnership with Jeff Barry, was another collaborator of Pomus' who can be heard here on demos of their "Be a Man," "The Sweet Pain of Love," "If Ellie Doesn't Change," and "Brother, You Deserve Each Other."  Titus Turner, Scott Fagan, and Peter Andreoli (a.k.a. Peter Anders of The Trade Winds and Anders & Poncia) are among the other vocalists here while other songwriting partners include Phil Spector, Jerry Ragovoy, Wes Farrell, George Fischoff, and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

This landmark collection originated with Pomus' daughter Sharyn Felder, who found a cache of demos in her late father's archives.  She reached out to Omnivore's Cheryl Pawelski, who has produced the box with Will Bratton and Sharyn.  The CD package contains a hardbound book that's loaded with liner notes: track-by-track annotations from Felder and Pawelski plus essays by Felder, Geoffrey Himes, and Pomus' close friend Peter Guralnick, and music historian/writer/producer Eddie Gorodetsky (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour).  Jordan McLeod and Michael Graves have beautifully restored the audio; Graves has mastered.

Cheryl Pawelski comments in the press release, "What's so impressive is the depth and breadth of Doc's catalog.  The demos he made with Mort were open to interpretation in any number of styles, which they had to be. The most fascinating, to me, are the ones that got left behind, the what-ifs, the songs that never saw the light of day...We want to bring those hidden gems to light."  Sharyn Felder notes, "Doc often claimed to have written more than 1,000 songs.  Now I think he might have been underestimating. In the past few years, I've discovered demos for hundreds of songs I never even knew existed. He was the consummate songwriter in that he could write for any occasion or artist."

A planned "sequel" to this collection will draw upon Pomus' less-heralded but no-less-remarkable later career which found him writing songs with Dr. John, Willy DeVille, Lou Reed, B.B. King, and others.  "The hope is my dad's songs will be rediscovered, that people will get turned on to some they never knew," Felder shares.

You Can't Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos promises to shine a light on one of the Brill Building's - and indeed, America's - most beloved and significant songwriters.  Look for it on August 15 from Omnivore.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

You Can't Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos (Omnivore, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Omnivore)

CD 1

1. It's Great To Be Young And In Love
2. A Teenager In Love (Recorded 1961 Doc Pomus' house Lynbrook, Long Island)
3. Love Roller Coaster
4. See That Girl
5. I Ain't Sharin' Sharon
6. Kiss And Make Up (Mort Shuman Demo)
7. Kiss And Make Up (R&B Records Single) - The Crowns
8. Hushabye (Recorded 1961 Doc Pomus' house Lynbrook, Long Island) - Vocalist Neil Sedaka
9. Foxy Little Mama
10. A Young Boy's Heart
11. Whatcha Really Thinkin'
12. This Magic Moment (Recorded 1961 Doc Pomus' house Lynbrook, Long Island)
13. Lovers Gotta Cry (Once In A While)
14. Miss In-Between - Demo vocalist unknown
15. Forty-Seven Dollars
16. It Tears Me To Pieces
17. Deep Inside - Demo vocalist unknown
18. Could Somebody Take My Place Tonight
19. Troubled Mind
20. Always Is a Long, Long Time
21. Suddenly We're Strangers
22. It's Been Nice (Goodnight)
23. Be Everything To Anyone You Love - Demo vocalist Kenny Rankin
24. Lonely Winds
25. Enough Of This Stuff
26. What Am I To Do? - Demo vocalist unknown
27. (We Got Love) Money Can't Buy
28. Be A Man - Demo vocalist Ellie Greenwich
29. Dream Song - Demo vocalist unknown

CD 2

1. Ginny In The Mirror
2. Shall I Tell Him You're Not Here
3. Showdown - Demo vocalist John McFarland
4. Run Fool Run
5. Give Her Lots Of Love
6. You Never Talked About Me
7. Save A Dream - Demo vocalist Peter Anders
8. Made For Each Other - Demo vocalist Unknown
9. Fever And Headaches
10. Don't School A Fool
11. The Sweet Pain Of Love - Demo vocalist Ellie Greenwich
12. My Baby Wants To Be A Singer - Demo vocalist unknown
13. Come Down To Earth
14. Hello World
15. The Ups And Downs Of Love
16. If Ellie Doesn't Change - Demo vocalist Ellie Greenwich
17. Shack On The Beach
18. Why Does The Dance Have To End? - Demo vocalist Peter Anders
19. He's Got Something - Demo vocalist unknown
20. Who Stole My Dream - Demo vocalist unknown
21. That's Me
22. Book Of Time - Demo vocalist unknown
23. How Can I Make Him Love Me? - Demo vocalist unknown
24. It Only Takes A Minute
25. Low Down Blues
26. Brother, You Deserve Each Other - Demo vocalist Ellie Greenwich
27. Half A Love Is Better Than None At All - Demo vocalist Bobby Andriani
28. Baby How Long Will It Be? - Demo vocalist Bobby Andriani
29. Shindig - Demo vocalist unknown
30. Lucy (When Ya Comin' Home?) aka Lucy! (You Sure Did It This Time)

CD 3

1. I'm Playing For Keeps
2. Have Yourself A Good Cry
3. Infatuation - Demo vocalist unknown
4. It's A Man's World - Demo vocalist unknown
5. Silly Boy
6. I've Been There Before
7. Bad Luck Blues
8. The Other Kind
9. Don't You Pass Me By
10. King Lonely The Blue - Demo vocalist Scott Fagan
11. Love Is The Answer
12. I'm Gonna Cry Till My Tears Run Dry
13. Leave It To Me
14. I Lose Again
15. Petticoat White (Summer Sky Blue)
16. (I've Been A) Bad Girl - Demo vocalist Toni Wine
17. The Many Faces Of Love
18. Out On Your Own - Demo vocalist Scott Fagan
19. You Own My Heart - Demo vocalist unknown
20. I'm Not Good Enough For You
21. Monday Morning - Demo vocalist unknown
22. No Escape
23. Love At First Sight - Demo vocalist unknown
24. Here Comes The Night
25. Icy Teardrops
26. Diamonds And Gold - Demo vocalist Kenny Rankin
27. Jazz Joint

CD 4

1. Helplessly
2. I'm With You - Demo vocalist Bobby Andriani
3. Believe In Me - Demo vocalist unknown
4. He's Got Everything
5. She's Got Soul - Demo vocalist unknown
6. Your Conception Of Love - Demo vocalist Toni Wine
7. I'm Gonna Make A Comeback
8. Night Life - Demo vocalist unknown
9. My Baby's Quit Me - Demo vocalist Titus Turner
10. The Green-Eyed Monster - Demo vocalist unknown
11. I'm Teasin' A Broken Heart
12. If I Were Only Free
13. The Grass Looked Greener Over There - Demo vocalist unknown
14. Nothing Lasts Forever - Demo vocalist Joe Levine
15. Johnny Midnight - Demo vocalist unknown
16. One Little Teardrop (Can Lead To Two Broken Hearts) - Demo vocalist Joe Levine
17. Destination Heartbreak - Demo vocalist unknown
18. Our Love Will Overcome Everything - Demo vocalist Joe Levine
19. Give A Great Big Hand (To The Man Who Stole Her) - Demo vocalist Peter Anders
20. If I Knew Then What I Know Now
21. About Me - Demo vocalist Scott Fagan
22. It's A Nothing World - Demo vocalist unknown
23. It's Time To Make A Change
24. All For The Sake Of Love - Demo vocalist Scott Fagan
25. It Ain't Gonna Happen To Me No More - Demo vocalist Bobby Andriani

CD 5: Viva Doc Pomus - Songs for Elvis (The Demos)

1. Turn Me Loose
2. A Mess Of Blues
3. (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
4. Kiss Me Quick
5. She's Not You - Demo vocalist unknown
6. Gonna Get Back Home Somehow
7. Suspicion
8. Pot Luck (Pomus/Shuman Version)
9. Viva Las Vegas
10. Lady Luck
11. (It's A) Long Lonely Highway
12. Kissin' Cousins
13. I Need Somebody To Lean On
14. Girl Happy
15. One Way Ticket To The Blues
16. Pot Luck (Pomus/Spector Version) - Demo vocalist unknown
17. Kissin' Fool
18. I Walk The Muddy Road To Love - Demo vocalist Peter Anders
19. What Every Woman Lives For
20. I Wish I Were In His Shoes
21. I'm A Man
22. Clambake (Version 1)
23. Double Trouble (Version 1)
24. Pot Luck (Pomus/Jeffreys Version) - Demo vocalist unknown
25. Havin' A Ball
26. Double Trouble (Version 2)
27. Clambake (Version 2)
28. Bring My Poor Heart Back To Me - Demo vocalist unknown
29. Headin' For A Heartache
30. Easy Come, Easy Go
31. "...Presley Liked Them"

CD 6: You Better Believe It! (Vocals by Doc Pomus

1. Doc's Boogie*
2. My Good Pott*
3. My New Chick*
4. Fruity Woman Blues*
5. When I First Met Lucille
6. Here Comes The Blues (The Musicale Club, Harlem, NY)*
7. Fool All The Time*
8. Moving Day Blues
9. Big Joe's Blues
10. Still In Love
11. Lonely Avenue
12. Boogie Woogie Country Girl
13. When Main Street Becomes Park Avenue
14. "...I Sing In My Sleep"
15. (Wake Up) Miss Rip Van Winkle
16. You Better Believe It
17. "...There's Always Ideas Deep Inside"
18. I'll Treat You Like A Woman*
19. If I Should Fail
20. Just Another Memory
21. No One
22. "...I'm Only Doc Pomus When It's A Hit"
23. Bye Baby Bye (The Musicale Club, Harlem, NY)*

CDs 1-5: Vocals by Mort Shuman on all tracks except where noted. Disc 6: Vocalist Doc Pomus on all tracks except Track 16 vocalists Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. All tracks previously unissued except (*) and all of CD 5

CD 1, Track 1 & CD 6, Tracks 6-7, 16, 18, 21 & 23 from It's Great to Be Young and In Love, Whiskey, Women, And LP KM-713, 1990
CD 1, Track 7 from RnB single 6901, 1958
CD 5, all tracks first released on Viva Doc Pomus: Songs for Elvis (The Demos), Omnivore OVLP-580, 2025
CD 6, Tracks 1-2 from Savoy single 5545, 1947
CD 6, Tracks 3-4 from Savoy single 5546, 1947

All other tracks previously unreleased.​