A.K.A. Doc Pomus with Q&A Presented By Rainy Day Records

Monday, November 11

4:00 pm

Rainy Day Records Presents

A.K.A. Doc Pomus

2013 / USA / Canada / 98 min / Digibeta Directors: William Hechter, Peter Miller Cast: Willi Burke, Marshall Chapman, Shawn Colvin

Print Source: Clear Lake Productions

Q & A via Skype

Doc Pomus “Doc who?” The name might not be familiar, but the music he wrote most certainly is. Ever heard “This Magic Moment”? “Save the Last Dance for Me”? “Viva Las Vegas”? Yep, Jerome Felder, a.k.a. Doc Pomus, wrote them all. Born in late 1920s Brooklyn, Felder was stricken by polio as a child and for the rest of his life was able to move only with the aid of braces, crutches, and, eventually, a wheelchair. But though his limbs may have failed him, his passion for music never did. Inspired by classic blues singers, this white Jewish kid on crutches sang the blues in ‘40s-era Greenwich Village clubs under the moniker Doc Pomus, eventually switching from singing to songwriting just in time for the ‘50s R&B explosion, becoming, along with his writing partner Mort Shuman, one of the mainstays of the famed Brill Building. Channeling his pain and the many frustrations of his life into

his writing, he never gave up, writing over 1000 songs and mentoring generations of up and coming musicians, including Lou Reed. A.K.A. Doc Pomus, a vivid, loving portrait of Felder packed with archival footage and tributes from those who have been touched by his work, pays fitting tribute to a man who strove to live his dreams despite the odds, and in the process left the world unforgettable music.