Today on part one the Rarified Heir Podcast, we speak to Sharyn Felder, daughter of one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, Doc Pomus. While you may not know the name Doc Pomus, you absolutely know his songs. Everyone from Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen, Dr. John, B.B. King have all recorded Doc Pomus songs…the list goes on and on. And we’ll get to those songs he wrote shortly.

On the day we spoke to Sharyn, it was release day of a new box set of her father’s music, You Can’t Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos on Omnivore Recordings, a six-CD set of lost, archival tracks that are a fascinating look into Doc’s music and his voice. We also get to hear the back story of how the music survived, the family archive as well as some famous people who also sang on the demos as well as the famous names whose sides didn’t survive.

Along the way we discuss more famous and infamous characters who were part of Doc’s inner circle and those who sought out his help when the ships were down. And let us tell you, it’s one hell of a list. Like who? Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm when they were in Ronnie Hawkins band, Bob Dylan at a creative low point , Dr. John when he was struggling to quit heroin, Phil Spector, Bobby Darin, Otis Blackwell and many more. Somehow we concluded part one with a tale about the Runyon-esque existence her father lived to the fullest and the literal death of a clown. It’s funny/not funny. Take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast.