The Coasters

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The Coasters are an American doo wop and early rock and roll group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s, beginning with "Searchin'" and "Youngblood" 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 to the 1960s.<ref name="roll">Anthony DeCurtis, & James Henke (eds) (1980). The RollingStone: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music, (3rd Ed.), New York, N.Y.: Random House, Inc., p. 98. ISBN 0-679-73728-6.</ref> The Coaster were the first group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<ref>The Coasters Web Site. Gun & Claus Röhnisch. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.</ref>

1 History
2 Singles
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] History

The Coasters began as The Robins, a Los Angeles based doo wop group. Leiber and Stoller had started Spark Records and in 1955 produced "Smokey Joe's Cafe" for The Robins and released it to such acclaim that Atlantic Records offered Leiber and Stoller an independent production contract to produce The Robins on the Atlantic label. Since Atlantic Records was based in New York City, only two of The Robins were willing to make the move.<ref name="social">Friedlander, Paul (1996). Rock and Roll: A social history. Boulder, CO: Westview Press (Harper Collins), p. 66. ISBN 0-8133-2725-3. </ref>

The Coasters continued their association with the Robins' legendary songwriters, Leiber & Stoller. Together they created a string of hits that are some of the most entertaining in rock and roll.<ref name="gillett">Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, (2nd Ed.), New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press, p. 72-75. ISBN 0-306-80683-5.</ref> Their first single, "Down in Mexico", was an R&B hit in 1956. In 1957, The Coasters crossed over with the double-sided hit "Young Blood"/"Searchin'". They released "Yakety Yak", which included King Curtis on tenor saxophone. The song was a huge mainstream hit, as was the follow-up "Charlie Brown". This was followed by "Along Came Jones", "Poison Ivy", "Shoppin' for Clothes" and "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)".

A series of line-up changes contributed to a lack of hits in the 1960s. The Coasters signed with Columbia Records, but were never able to regain their former fame. The Coasters' last hit was "Love Potion No. 9" in 1971.

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. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. All of the original group members have either died, retired, or moved on. 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.<ref>The Coasters Web Site. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.</ref>

[edit] Singles

Month	Year	Title	US Chart Position	UK Chart Position
March	1957	"Searchin'"	–	#30
April	1958	"Yakety Yak"	–	#12
January	1959	"Charlie Brown"	–	#6
August	1959	"Poison Ivy"	–	#15
August	1994	"Sorry But I'm Gonna Have To Pass"	–	#41