Doc Pomus - You Can’t Hip A Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos (Preorder 15/08/25)

Doc Pomus - You Can’t Hip A Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos (Preorder 15/08/25)

Label: Omnivore -  - 0810075114829
Format: 6 CD Boxset
Country: UK
Released: 15th Aug 2025
Genre: Blues
Style: Blues 

Description
 Over 160 tracks on 6 CDs (with over 120 previously unissued and others making their CD debut). Mastering and restoration by multiple Grammy winning engineer Michael Graves and Jordan McLeod. 48-page hardbound book featuring essays, detailed track notes, and ephemera from the Doc Pomus estate. Celebrating Doc’s 100th birthday.  

Doc Pomus was a songwriter’s songwriter, crafting lyrics that have stood the test of time. You Can’t Hip A Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos is a masterclass in songwriting through the lens of Doc Pomus’ career and via previously unheard demos largely sung by his writing partner, Mort Shuman. You Can’t Hip A Square traces Doc and his songwriting partners’ careers across the beloved rock, pop and R&B hits that became 20th century standards. Songs like, “A Teenager In Love,” “Viva Las Vegas,” “Lonely Avenue,” “Save The Last Dance For Me,” “This Magic Moment,” recorded by artists like Elvis Presley, Lou Reed, The Drifters, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beach Boys, Ray Charles, The Coasters, Dionne Warwick, Dion, The Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, and more! The lists of songs and artists who recorded them goes on and on. 

Now, for the first time, the demo acetates kept by Doc and cared for by his daughter Sharyn Felder, have been carefully transferred, restored, mastered, and assembled into a 6-CD boxed set that includes some of the biggest hits of Doc’s career in demo form as well as a treasure trove of previously unheard, unknown songs that were left behind and never cut by any artist. It’s a remarkable collection of ‘what ifs’ of late ’50s and ’60s popular music. Is it possible one of the songs left behind could have hit #1 had it been cut by a popular artist like Elvis?  Co-produced by Sharyn Felder, publisher Will Bratton, and Omnivore’s multiple Grammy Award-winning producer Cheryl Pawelski, the collection also features a main liner note essay by Geoffrey Himes with additional side notes by Sharyn Felder, Peter Guralnick, Eddie Gorodetsky, Will Bratton, and Cheryl Pawelski. Restoration and mastering were handled by multiple Grammy Award-winning engineer Michael Graves and Jordan McLeod at Osiris Studio. The packaging includes ephemera from the estate, photos from throughout Doc’s life and pictures of choice acetates and sheet music all in a 48-page hardbound book.  Don’t be a square, get hip to the songs and enduring legacy of Doc Pomus!

Tracklist
Disc 1
1. It’s Great To Be Young And In Love (Demo) / 2. A Teenager In Love (Recorded 1961 Doc Pomus’ house Lynbrook,
Long Island) / 3. Love Roller Coaster (Demo) / 4. See That Girl (Demo) / 5. I Ain't Sharin' Sharon (Demo) / 6. Kiss And
Make Up (Mort Shuman Demo) / 7. Kiss And Make Up (RnB Records Single) / 8. Hushabye (Recorded 1961 Doc Pomus’
house Lynbrook, Long Island) / 9. Foxy Little Mama (Demo) / 10. A Young Boy's Heart (Demo) / 11. Whatcha Really
Thinkin' (Demo) / 12. This Magic Moment (Recorded 1961 Doc Pomus’ house Lynbrook, Long Island) / 13. Lovers Gotta
Cry (Once In A While) (Demo) / 14. Miss In-Between (Demo) / 15. Forty-Seven Dollars (Demo) / 16. It Tears Me To
Pieces (Demo) / 17. Deep Inside (Demo) / 18. Could Somebody Take My Place Tonight (Demo) / 19. Troubled Mind
(Demo) / 20. Always Is A Long, Long Time (Demo) / 21. Suddenly We're Strangers (Demo) / 22. It's Been Nice
(Goodnight) (Demo) / 23. Be Everything To Anyone You Love (Demo) / 24. Lonely Winds (Demo) / 25. Enough Of This
Stuff (Demo) / 26. What Am I To Do? (Demo) / 27. (We Got Love) Money Can't Buy (Demo) / 28. Be A Man (Demo) / 29.
Dream Song (Demo)
Disc 2
1. Ginny In The Mirror (Demo) / 2. Shall I Tell Him You're Not Here (Demo) / 3. Showdown (Demo) / 4. Run Fool Run
(Demo) / 5. Give Her Lots Of Love (Demo) / 6. You Never Talked About Me (Demo) / 7. Save A Dream (Demo) / 8. Made
For Each Other (Demo) / 9. Fever And Headaches (Demo) / 10. Don't School A Fool (Demo) / 11. The Sweet Pain Of
Love (Demo) / 12. My Baby Wants To Be A Singer (Demo) / 13. Come Down To Earth (Demo) / 14. Hello World (Demo) /
15. The Ups And Downs Of Love (Demo) / 16. If Ellie Doesn't Change (Demo) / 17. Shack On The Beach (Demo) / 18.
Why Does The Dance Have To End? (Demo) / 19. He's Got Something (Demo) / 20. Who Stole My Dream (Demo) / 21.

2
That's Me (Demo) / 22. Book Of Time (Demo) / 23. How Can I Make Him Love Me? (Demo) / 24. It Only Takes A Minute
(Demo) / 25. Low Down Blues (Demo) / 26. Brother, You Deserve Each Other (Demo) / 27. Half A Love Is Better Than
None At All (Demo) / 28. Baby How Long Will It Be? (Demo) / 29. Shindig (Demo) / 30. Lucy (When Ya Comin' Home?)
aka Lucy! (You Sure Did It This Time) (Demo)
Disc 3
1. I'm Playing For Keeps (Demo) / 2. Have Yourself A Good Cry (Demo) / 3. Infatuation (Demo) / 4. It's A Man's World
(Demo) / 5. Silly Boy (Demo) / 6. I've Been There Before (Demo) / 7. Bad Luck Blues (Demo) / 8. The Other Kind (Demo) /
9. Don't You Pass Me By (Demo) / 10. King Lonely The Blue (Demo) / 11. Love Is The Answer (Demo) / 12. I'm Gonna
Cry Till My Tears Run Dry (Demo) / 13. Leave It To Me (Demo) / 14. I Lose Again (Demo) / 15. Petticoat White (Summer
Sky Blue) (Demo) / 16. (I've Been A) Bad Girl (Demo) / 17. The Many Faces Of Love (Demo) / 18. Out On Your Own
(Demo) / 19. You Own My Heart (Demo) / 20. I'm Not Good Enough For You (Demo) / 21. Monday Morning (Demo) / 22.
No Escape (Demo) / 23. Love At First Sight (Demo) / 24. Here Comes The Night (Demo) / 25. Icy Teardrops (Demo) / 26.
Diamonds And Gold (Demo) / 27. Jazz Joint (Demo)
Disc 4
1. Helplessly (Demo) / 2. I'm With You (Demo) / 3. Believe In Me (Demo) / 4. He's Got Everything (Demo) / 5. She's Got
Soul (Demo) / 6. Your Conception Of Love (Demo) / 7. I'm Gonna Make A Comeback (Demo) / 8. Night Life (Demo) / 9.
My Baby's Quit Me (Demo) / 10. The Green-Eyed Monster (Demo) / 11. I'm Teasin' A Broken Heart (Demo) / 12. If I Were
Only Free (Demo) / 13. The Grass Looked Greener Over There (Demo) / 14. Nothing Lasts Forever (Demo) / 15. Johnny
Midnight (Demo) / 16. One Little Teardrop (Can Lead To Two Broken Hearts) (Demo) / 17. Destination Heartbreak
(Demo) / 18. Our Love Will Overcome Everything (Demo) / 19. Give A Great Big Hand (To The Man Who Stole Her)
(Demo) / 20. If I Knew Then What I Know Now (Demo) / 21. About Me (Demo) / 22. It's A Nothing World (Demo) / 23. It's
Time To Make A Change (Demo) / 24. All For The Sake Of Love (Demo) / 25. It Ain't Gonna Happen To Me No More
(Demo)
Disc 5
1. Turn Me Loose (Demo) / 2. A Mess Of Blues (Demo) / 3. (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame (Demo) / 4. Kiss Me
Quick (Demo) / 5. She's Not You (Demo) / 6. Gonna Get Back Home Somehow (Demo) / 7. Suspicion (Demo) / 8. Pot
Luck (Demo – Pomus/Shuman Version) / 9. Viva Las Vegas (Demo) / 10. Lady Luck (Demo) / 11. (It's A) Long Lonely
Highway (Demo) / 12. Kissin' Cousins (Demo) / 13. I Need Somebody To Lean On (Demo) / 14. Girl Happy (Demo) / 15.
One Way Ticket To The Blues (Demo) / 16. Pot Luck (Demo – Pomus/Spector Version) / 17. Kissin' Fool (Demo) / 18. I
Walk The Muddy Road To Love (Demo) / 19. What Every Woman Lives For (Demo) / 20. I Wish I Were In His Shoes
(Demo) / 21. I'm A Man (Demo) / 22. Clambake (Demo – Version 1) / 23. Double Trouble (Demo – Version 1) / 24. Pot
Luck (Demo – Pomus/Jeffreys Version) / 25. Havin' A Ball (Demo) / 26. Double Trouble (Demo – Version 2) / 27.
Clambake (Demo – Version 2) / 28. Bring My Poor Heart Back To Me (Demo) / 29. Headin' For A Heartache (Demo) / 30.
Easy Come, Easy Go (Demo) / 31. “...Presley Liked Them”
Disc 6
1. Doc's Boogie / 2. My Good Pott / 3. My New Chick / 4. Fruity Woman Blues / 5. When I First Met Lucille (Demo) / 6.
Here Comes The Blues (The Musicale Club, Harlem, NY) / 7. Fool All The Time (Demo) / 8. Moving Day Blues (Demo) /
9. Big Joe's Blues (Demo) / 10. Still In Love (Demo) / 11. Lonely Avenue (Demo) / 12. Boogie Woogie Country Girl
(Demo) / 13. When Main Street Becomes Park Avenue (Demo) / 14. “…I Sing In My Sleep” / 15. (Wake Up) Miss Rip Van
Winkle (Demo) / 16. You Better Believe It (Demo) / 17. “…There’s Always Ideas Deep Inside” / 18. I'll Treat You Like A
Woman (Demo) / 19. If I Should Fail (Demo) / 20. Just Another Memory (Demo) / 21. No One (Demo) / 22. “…I’m Only
Doc Pomus When It’s A Hit” / 23. Bye Baby Bye (The Musicale Club, Harlem, NY)"