You might not have ever heard of Ellie Greenwich, but you've no doubt heard her songs. There's "Be My Baby" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" recorded by the Ronnettes and "Leader of the Pack" recorded by the Shangri-La's.

There's also "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" originally by Darlene Love and later remade by U2. And "Chapel of Love," cut by the Dixie Cups and remade by many (including Jonathan Richman!). Oh, and don't forget "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," done first by Manfred Mann, but sung a lot on various episodes of "Full House."

Greenwich died Aug. 26 at age 68 in her home state of New York. The apparent cause of death was a heart attack, which came on shortly after she was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Back in the early days of rock'n'roll Greenwich and husband Jeff Barry were songwriters based out of NYC's legendary "Brill Building" and co-wrote some of the defining hits of the genre. She also discovered Neil Diamond back when he was an unknown in the New York music scene. Also penned by Greenwich were scores of medium-charting hits by artists like Lesley Gore, the Jelly Beans and Dusty Springfield.

She also did backing vocals for quite a few artists, with one of her standout performances being on the Electric Light Orchestra's "Livin' Thing" (i.e. the part that goes: "Higher and higher! Baby!").

Greenwich was named to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also considered one of rock's pioneering female songwriters, paving the way for musicians like Janis Ian, Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell, who appeared in the late 1960s.

Anyone interested in her life's work, should look for a production of "Leader of the Pack," a musical that's often done in smaller theaters. It tells her story while featuring lots of her hits. R.I.P., Ellie.

[Pitchfork]