History
The Coasters were formed on October 12, 1955, when Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn left Los Angeles–based rhythm-and-blues group The Robinsand signed to Atlantic Records. [4] Dubbed The Coasters because they had moved from the West Coast to the East Coast, the original lineup comprised the vocal quartet of Gardner, Nunn, Billy Guy, and Leon Hughes (who was replaced by Young Jessie on a couple of their early Los Angeles recordings), plus guitarist Adolph Jacobs up until his departure in 1959. [4]
The songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller started Spark Records and in 1955 produced "Smokey Joe's Cafe" for the Robins [2] (their sixth single with Leiber and Stoller). The record was popular enough for Atlantic Records to offer Leiber and Stoller an independent production contract to produce the Robins for Atlantic. 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). [4] In late 1957, Carl Gardner and Billy Guy moved to New York with newcomers Cornell Gunter and Will "Dub" Jones to reform The Coasters. [4] 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. [4] 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. [2] According to Leiber and Stoller, getting the humor to come through on the records often required more recording "takes" than for a typical musical number. [2]
Their first single, "Down in Mexico", was an R&B hit in 1956. [4] The following year, the Coasters crossed over to the pop chart in a big way with the double-sided "Young Blood"/"Searchin'". [4] "Searchin'" was the group's first U.S. Top 10 hit, [4] and topped the R&B chart for 13 weeks, becoming the biggest R&B single of 1957 (all 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, and became the act's only national number one single, topping both the pop and R&B charts. [4] The next single, "Charlie Brown", reached number two on both charts. [4] It was followed by "Along Came Jones", "Poison Ivy" (number 1 for almost two months on the R&B chart), and "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)". [4]
Changing popular tastes and changes in the group's line-up contributed to a lack of hits in the 1960s. [4] During this time, Billy Guy was also working on solo projects; the New York singer Vernon Harrell was brought in to replace him 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 "Curley" Palmer. The Coasters signed with Columbia Records' Date label in 1966, reuniting with Leiber and Stoller (who had parted ways with Atlantic Records in 1963), but never regained their former fame. [4] In 1971, the Coasters had a minor chart entry with "Love Potion No. 9", a song that Leiber and Stoller had written for the Coasters, but instead gave to the Clovers in 1959. In Britain, a 1994 Volkswagen TV advertisement used the group's "Sorry But I'm Gonna Have to Pass", which led to a minor chart placement in that country.
In 1987, the Coasters became the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, crediting the members of the 1958 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 original member Carl Gardner held the legal rights to it. [4] Gardner continued to tour with the Coasters and made many attempts to stop bogus groups with no connection to the original group 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' line-up then consisted of Carl Gardner Jr., J. W. Lance, Primo Candelara, and Eddie Whitfield. Carl Jr. later left this group and has started his own group with Curley Palmer. Carl's widow Veta owns the rights to the Coasters name.
Leon Hughes, the last surviving member of the original Coasters, died of natural causes on March 1, 2023, at the age of 92. [5] Prior to his death, he performed with his own group.
Several former members of the band met untimely ends. Saxophonist King Curtis, known as the "Fifth Coaster," was fatally stabbed by two drug addicts outside his apartment building in 1971. [6] Cornelius Gunter was murdered in a Las Vegas parking garage in 1990. [7]
