'Hound Dog' songwriter Jerry Leiber dies, aged 78

Songwriter Jerry Leiber has died at the age of 78.

The celebrated co-writer of hits such as 'Hound Dog', 'Jailhouse Rock' and 'Stand By Me' passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles from cardio-pulmonary failure following a lengthy illness.

Leiber was best known for his work with long-term music partner Mike Stoller. The pair penned hit singles for artists including Elvis Presley, The Drifters, Peggy Lee and The Coasters.

Leiber and Stoller were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Terry Stewart, president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, said: "The music world lost today one of its greatest poet laureates.

"Jerry not only wrote the words that everyone was singing, he led the way in how we verbalised our feelings about the societal changes we were living with in post-World War II life.

"Appropriately, his vehicles of choice were the emerging populist musical genres of rhythm and blues and then rock and roll."

Smokey Joe's Cafe - a musical based on the duo's songs - opened on Broadway in 1995 and ran for more than 2,000 performances.

American Idol paid tribute to Leiber and Stoller last season by dedicating a week to the duo's hits.

Listen to The Drifters perform Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's 'Stand By Me' below: