The Coasters

The Coasters
The classic Coasters lineup The classic Coasters lineup
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles CA, USA
Genre(s)	Rhythm and Blues rock and roll
Years active	1955 - 1972, and still touring
Label(s)	ATCO 1955-1966 Date, King 1966-1972
Associated acts	The Robins
Website	Official website
Members
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Coasters: Carl Gardner Billy Guy Will "Dub" Jones Cornelius Gunter

The Coasters are a Rhythm and Blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood," their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Although the Coasters originated outside of mainstream doo wop, their records were so frequently imitated that they became an important part of the doo-wop legacy through the 1960s.

The group began as the The Robins, a Los Angeles, California R&B group. In 1955, Leiber and Stoller produced "Smokey Joe's Cafe" for The Robins. It proved a hit, and Atlantic Records offered Leiber and Stoller a contract to produce The Robins, which racked up a string of humorous "storytelling" hits, including: "Yakety Yak," "Charlie Brown," "Along Came Jones," "Poison Ivy," and "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)." As their success faded, The Coasters had a minor hit "Love Potion No. 9" in 1971.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

History

The Coasters' forerunners were The Robins, a Los Angeles- based rhythm-and-blues group, which included Bobby Nunn and Carl Gardner in 1954 to 1955. The original Coasters' members, formed in October 1955, were Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Bobby Nunn, Leon Hughes (who was substituted for by Young Jessie on a couple of their early Los Angeles recordings), and guitarist Adolph Jacobs. Jacobs left the group in 1959.

The songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had started Spark Records, and in 1955 produced "Smokey Joe's Cafe" for The Robins. The record was popular enough that Atlantic Records offered Leiber and Stoller an independent production contract to produce The Robins for the Atlantic label. Only two of The Robins—Gardner and Nunn—were willing to make the move to Atlantic, recording their first songs in the same studio as The Robins had done (Master Recorders). In late 1957, the group moved to New York and replaced Nunn and Hughes with Cornelius Gunter and Will "Dub" Jones. The new quartet was from then on stationed in New York (although all had Los Angeles roots).

The Coasters' association with Leiber and Stoller was an immediate success. Together they created a string of good-humored "storytelling" hits that are some of the most entertaining from the original era of rock and roll. Their first single, "Down in Mexico," was an R&B hit in 1956 and appears (in a re-recording from the early 1970s—still with Gardner singing the lead) on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. The following year, The Coasters crossed over to the national charts in a big way with the double-sided "Young Blood"/"Searchin'." Searchin was the group's first U.S. Top 10 hit, and topped the R&B charts for 13 weeks, becoming the biggest R&B single of 1957 (all these were recorded in Los Angeles).

"Yakety Yak" (recorded in New York), featuring King Curtis on tenor saxophone, included the famous lineup of Gardner, Guy, Jones, and Gunter, became the act's only national number-one single, and also topped the R&B chart. The next single, "Charlie Brown," reached number two on both charts. This was followed by "Along Came Jones," "Poison Ivy" (number one for a month on the R&B chart), and "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)."

Changing popular tastes, and a couple of line-up changes, contributed to a lack of hits in the 1960s. During this time, Billy Guy was also working on solo projects, so New York singer Vernon Harrell was brought in to replace Guy for stage performances. Later members included Earl "Speedo" Carroll (lead of The Cadillacs), Ronnie Bright (the bass voice on Johnny Cymbal's "Mr. Bass Man"), Jimmy Norman, and guitarist Thomas "Curly" Palmer. The Coasters signed with Columbia Records in 1966, but were never able to regain their former fame. The Coasters had a minor chart entry with "Love Potion No. 9" in 1971. In Britain, a 1994 Volkswagen TV advertisement used the group's "Sorry But I'm Gonna Have To Pass" track, which led to a minor chart placement in that country.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, crediting the members of the 1958-era configuration. The Coasters also joined the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

Several groups used the name in the 1970s, touring throughout the country, though Carl Gardner, one of the original Coasters, held the legal rights to it. Gardner continued to tour with the Coasters and has made many attempts to stop bogus groups with no connection to the original group from using the name. In late 2005, Carl's son Carl Gardner, Jr. took over as lead with the group, when his father retired. The Coasters of 2008: Carl Gardner Jr, Ronnie Bright, Alvin Morse, J.W. Lance, and Thomas Palmer (gtr), with Gardner Sr as coach. [1]

As of 2007, all of the other original group members, except Leon Hughes, have either died or retired. Some of the former members suffered tragic ends. Saxophonist and "fifth Coaster" King Curtis was stabbed to death by two junkies outside his apartment building in 1971. Cornelius Gunter was shot to death while sitting in a Las Vegas parking garage in 1990. Nate Wilson, a member of one of Gunter's offshoot Coasters groups, was shot and his body dismembered in 1980.

Former manager Patrick Cavanaugh was convicted of the murder after Wilson threatened to notify authorities of Cavanaugh's intent to buy furniture with stolen checks. While Cavanaugh was convicted of the murder and given the death sentence in 1984, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He died in 2006, in Nevada's Ely State Prison. Cavanaugh was 60. [2]

The Coasters continue to appear regularly on "oldies" shows and PBS specials as old favorites and are available for bookings.

The Hits list below is from Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles and from the Pop positions published in Bill Millar's book "The Coasters" (1975).

In late June, 2007 Carl Gardner's autobiography "Carl Gardner: Yakety Yak I Fought Back - My Life with The Coasters" was published at AuthorHouse. On August 28, 2007 the Coasters' Leiber-Stoller produced recordings for Date/King 1966-1972 was released on a Varèse Vintage (Varèse Sarabande) CD, titled "Down Home" (302 066 844 2) - and on December 12, 2007 the complete Atco recordings 1954-1966 were released on a Rhino Handmade 4CD-set, titled "There's A Riot Goin' On: THE COASTERS ON ATCO" (Rhino RHM2 7740).

Legacy

The Coasters' repertoire had a significant impact on 1960s and 1970s rock artists. For example, Leon Russell performed "Young Blood" at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, imitating the group's arrangement of the song with four different solo voices; Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen recorded The Robins' "Riot in Cell Block No. 9," while The Beach Boys recorded a 1971 version with revised lyrics by that group's vocalist Mike Love, titled "Student Demonstration Time." The novelty singer Ray Stevens reached number 27 on the U.S. pop singles chart with a 1969 remake of "Along Came Jones." Elvis Presley included "Little Egypt" in the soundtrack for his 1964 film Roustabout. The Rolling Stones included "Down Home Girl" as an album track on their 1965 U.S. album Right Now. The Monkees reached number 10 on the Cashbox singles chart with a remake of "D.W. Washburn."

Several Coasters songs were part of The Beatles' repertoire before the British rock group began its recording career; George Harrison is among the singers on the Leon Russell live recording of "Young Blood." The Grateful Dead similarly performed several Coasters songs in its early days, although this was influenced by a weekend in 1965 in which it (while still called The Warlocks) served as pickup band for The Coasters at a lounge in Belmont, California. When The Beach Boys and Grateful Dead joined on stage to perform a brief set at New York City's Filmore East, they performed "Searchin'" and "Riot in Cell Block No. 9." Numerous groups have recorded "Poison Ivy."

The Coasters' hits also comprised a major portion of the song score for the 1994 musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe, a retrospective of Leiber & Stoller songs that received one Grammy Award and seven Tony Award nominations following its 1995 Broadway debut. Their song "Baby, That's Rock and Roll" has served as the main title for a biography/songbook of Leiber & Stoller songs and a Bravo television documentary on the songwriters.

In addition, Coasters songs and the Coasters themselves have been referred to by later popular musicians. Frank Zappa referenced the group in the lyrics of the song "Status Back Baby" on his second album, Absolutely Free. Sly Stone titled a number-one-hit 1971 album by his group Sly & the Family Stone after the tag line from "Riot in Cell Block No. 9": There's a Riot Goin' On. The folksinger David Bromberg quoted from "Little Egypt" in his 1972 song "Sharon."

Hit singles

Entry Date	Title	Peak chart positions
		US Pop Charts	UK Singles Chart	US R&B Charts
3/56	"Down In Mexico" b/w "Turtle Dovin'"	-	-	8
9/56	"One Kiss Led to Another"	73	-	11
5/57	"Young Blood" c/w	8		1
5/57	"Searchin'"	3	30	1
10/57	"Idol with the Golden Head"	64	-	-
5/58	"Yakety Yak"	1	12	1
2/59	"Charlie Brown"	2	6	2
5/59	"Along Came Jones"	9	-	14
8/59	"Poison Ivy" c/w	7	15	1
8/59	"I'm a Hog For You"	38	-	-
12/59	"Run Red Run"	36	-	29
12/59	"What About Us"	47	-	17
5/60	"Besame Mucho"	70	-	-
6/60	"Wake Me, Shake Me"	51	-	14
10/60	"Shoppin' for Clothes"	83	-	-
2/61	"Wait a Minute"	37	-	-
4/61	"Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)"	23	-	16
8/61	"Girls Girls Girls (Part II)"	96	-	-
3/64	"T'ain't Nothin' To Me"	64	-	20
12/71	"Love Potion Number Nine"	76	-	-
8/94	"Sorry But I'm Gonna Have To Pass"	-	41	-

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Gardner, Veta. Carl Gardner - Yakety Yak I Fought Back - My Life With The Coasters. Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse 2007. ISBN 9781415989811
• Gillett, Charlie. Atlantic Records and the Growth of a Multi-billion-dollar Industry.

New York: E.P. Dutton, 1974. ISBN 978-0876900611

• Millar, Bill. The Coasters, London: Star Books, 1974. ISBN 0352300205

External links

• The Coasters Web Site with the true story and complete discography, lineups and more
• A doc.file on all THE COASTERS' Atco-Date-King sessions and singles discography
• Those Hoodlum Friends - a 132-page pdf file on THE COASTERS
• The Coasters at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• The Coasters at Vocal Group Hall of Fame
• The Robins - story and full discography

Credits

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