Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter.

[6][7] He attended Bushwick High School and then Brooklyn College, where he studied music and learned to play piano and saxophone,[9] from 1943 to 1945.

[10] Pomus stated that more often than not, he was the only Caucasian in the clubs, but that as a Jew with polio, he felt a special underdog kinship with African Americans, while in turn the audiences respected his courage and were impressed by his talent.

Pomus performed as a singer for 10-12 years around metropolitan New York (1944-1954), heading a band that included Mickey Baker and King Curtis.

[3][10] Gigging at clubs in and around New York City, Pomus often performed with Milt Jackson, Horace Silver, Buddy Tate,[14] Baker, and Curtis.

Once the company with rights to the song learned about Pomus’ life and circumstances, they had no interest in promoting his singing career, and he realized he would need another way to make a living.

Charles’ 1956 recording of the R&B top ten song "Lonely Avenue" marked a national breakthrough for Pomus, though he made little money.

[10] Still, Pomus had co-credit as lyricist, and soon received a royalty check for $2,500[citation needed] (US$27,989 in 2024 dollars[18]) (reported elsewhere as $1,500[10]), an event that convinced him that songwriting was a career worth pursuing.

Together they wrote "A Teenager in Love", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Hushabye", "This Magic Moment", "Turn Me Loose", "Sweets For My Sweet" (a hit for The Drifters, and later The Searchers), "Go, Jimmy, Go", "Little Sister", "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Suspicion", "Surrender", and "(Marie's the Name of) His Latest Flame".

[12] During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Pomus wrote several songs with Spector ("Young Boy Blues", "Ecstasy", "First Taste of Love" and "What Am I To Do?

[10][12][16] In the 1970s and 1980s, in his eleventh-floor, two-room apartment at the Westover Hotel at 253 West 72nd Street, Pomus wrote songs with Dr. John, Ken Hirsch, and Willy DeVille for what he said were "... those people stumbling around in the night out there, uncertain or not always so certain of exactly where they fit in and where they were headed.

King, Irma Thomas, Marianne Faithfull, Charlie Rich, Ruth Brown, Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), James Booker, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Johnny Adams—are considered by some, including writer Peter Guralnick, musician and songwriter Dr. John, and producer Joel Dorn, to be signatures of Pomus's best craft.

Pomus also played an important role with John Belushi in creating the back-up band for the Blues Brothers in the 1970s, and was Bette Midler's musical advisor, bringing her to national attention.

[12] In July 1985, Ben E. King (the original singer of Save The Last Dance for Me), Dr. John, DeVille, and Marshall Crenshaw performed in a tribute program to Pomus in New York.