Down in Mexico

Last updated
"Down in Mexico"
Single by The Coasters
from the album The Coasters
B-side "Turtle Dovin'"
Released1956
Genre Doo-wop
Length3:15
Label Atco
Songwriter(s) Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
The Coasters singles chronology
"Down in Mexico"
(1956)
"One Kiss Led to Another"
(1956)

"Down in Mexico" is the debut single by the Coasters, released in 1956. The song was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and appears on the 1957 album, The Coasters. [1] It reached No. 8 on the R&B chart in 1956. [2]

Contents

This song is about a person, who goes down to Mexico, where he meets a boss, who wears a red bandanna, and plays the piana in a honky-tonk. Also, a dance erupts, where a Mexican girl dances wildly with the narrator of the song.

This song features castanets.

This song features a spoken recitation, in a Mexican accent, before the song's fade, by Carl Gardner.

The song appears in the film Death Proof , directed by Quentin Tarantino. The version used is a re-recording done in 1973. The song also appears in The Hangover Part III , directed by Todd Phillips.

Personnel

Cover versions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Coasters</span> American vocal group

The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and 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. In 1987, they were the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller</span> American songwriting and record producing duo

Leiber and Stoller were an American Grammy award-winning songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber and composer Michael Stoller They wrote numerous standards for Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hound Dog (song)</span> 1952 song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Recorded originally by Big Mama Thornton on August 13, 1952, in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records in late February 1953, "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, selling over 500,000 copies, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one. Thornton's recording of "Hound Dog" is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", ranked at 318 in the 2021 iteration of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in February 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deja Voodoo (Canadian band)</span> Canadian garage rock band

Deja Voodoo was a Canadian garage rock band, formed by Gerard van Herk and Tony Dewald (drums), who combined 1950s horror imagery with rockabilly and country musical influences. Van Herk's guitar only had the top four strings and he sang in a deep voice, whilst Dewald's drum kit had no cymbals, which resulted in a low-treble rock style they termed "sludgeabilly." The band toured in Canada, the United States, and even Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Og Music</span>

Og Music was a small but influential independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

<i>The Worst of Deja Voodoo</i> Studio album by Deja Voodoo

The Worst of Deja Voodoo is a collection of singles, outtakes and oddities by the Canadian garage rock band Deja Voodoo.

Gary Katz is an American record producer, best known for his work on albums by Steely Dan. Katz has also produced numerous other recording artists and assisted in the discovery and signing of a number of subsequently successful acts. He has four Grammy nominations.

"Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song tells of the happiness and excitement the narrator feels on her wedding day, for she and her love are going to the "chapel of love", and "we'll never be lonely anymore." Many other artists have recorded the song.

Lester Sill was an American record label executive, best remembered as Phil Spector's partner in Philles Records, and also as the head of both Colpix Records and the later Colgems Records. His three sons are music supervisors in the film and TV businesses: Joel Sill, Greg Sill and Lonnie Sill. His stepson Chuck Kaye is a longtime music publishing executive.

"Ruby Baby" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by the Drifters. Their version was released as a single by Atlantic Records in 1956. It peaked at No. 10 on the US Hot R&B chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakety Yak</span> 1958 song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. This song was one of a string of singles released by the Coasters between 1957 and 1959 that dominated the charts, making them one of the biggest performing acts of the rock and roll era.

"Along Came Jones" is a comedic song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by the Coasters, in 1959 peaking at number 9 in the Billboard Hot 100 but recorded by many other groups and individuals in the years that followed.

"Charlie Brown" is a popular Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song that was a top-ten hit for the Coasters in the spring of 1959. It went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, while "Venus" by Frankie Avalon was at No. 1. It was the first of three top-ten hits for the Coasters that year. It is best known for the phrase, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl's a Singer</span> 1977 Elkie Brooks song

"Pearl's a Singer" is a song made famous by the British singer Elkie Brooks, as taken from her 1977 album Two Days Away which was produced by the song's co-writers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The original version of "Pearl's a Singer" had been introduced by the duo Dino and Sembello – also the song's co-writers – on their 1974 self-titled album which Leiber and Stoller had produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poison Ivy (song)</span> 1959 single by the Coasters

"Poison Ivy" is a popular song by American songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by the Coasters in 1959. It went to No.1 on the R&B chart, No.7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No.15 in the UK. This was their third top-ten hit of that year following "Charlie Brown" and "Along Came Jones".

<i>Darkness Darkness</i> 1980 studio album by Eric Burdon

Darkness Darkness is an album by the former vocalist from The Animals, Eric Burdon. It was recorded in May 1978 at Roundwood House, County Laois in Ireland, using Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio. The album was released by Polydor in 1980. The line up for Darkness Darkness included Bobby Tench (Streetwalkers), Brian Robertson, Henry McCullough (Wings) and Mick Weaver (Traffic). The album was produced by Tony Meehan, who started his career as drummer with The Shadows.

"Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)" is a 1961 rock song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and was recorded by the Coasters for their 1962 album, Coast Along with the Coasters. The song reached #16 on the R&B chart and #23 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alvin Robinson (musician)</span> Musical artist

Alvin "Shine" Robinson, sometimes credited as Al Robinson, was an American rhythm and blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, based in New Orleans. His recording of "Something You Got" reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.

"Girls Girls Girls", or "Girls! Girls! Girls!", is a song written and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Christopher Lloyd Darrow was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, including Kaleidoscope and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

References

  1. Leiber & Stoller interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  2. The Coasters charting singles Retrieved February 22, 2012
  3. The Coasters: The Complete Singles As & Bs 1954-62, Acrobat Licensing LTD., ADDCCD3180, 2016, UK
  4. Bobby Short, Speaking of Love Retrieved February 22, 2012
  5. Ella Mae Morse, Sensational Retrieved February 22, 2012
  6. Deja Voodoo, Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die Retrieved February 22, 2012
  7. Kaleidoscope, Greetings from Kartoonistan...(We Ain't Dead Yet) Retrieved February 22, 2012
  8. Ronnie Dawson, Monkey Beat! Retrieved February 22, 2012