The Coasters

Originally formed as a spin-off the the R&B group the Robins by songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the Coasters comprised of Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Bobby Nunn, and Leon Hughes. Hughes was soon replaced by Adolphe Jacobs who recorded on the band’s debut single “Down in Mexico” which became an R&B hit in 1956. The double sided single “Young Blood/Searchin’” was subsequently released, the latter single of which became the Coasters’ first Top 10 Hit, and the biggest R&B single of 1957. Recorded in New York with the assistance of tenor saxophonist King Curtis, the single “Yakety Yak”, showcased the group’s comedic prowess as well as vocal talents. The single would prove to the Coasters’ only U.S. No. 1 Single, however paved the way for the No. 2 single “Charlie Brown”, and hits “Along Came Jones, “Poison Ivy”, and “Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)”.

In 1959 Adolphe Jacobs left the group, as did Gunter, who was replaced by Earl “Speedo” Carroll. The early ‘60s was marked by more personnel changes in which time the Coasters failed to achieve much chart success. To make matters worse the band’s songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller departed Atlantic Records in 1963, to which the Coasters were signed, and moved to Columbia. The singes “Girls Girls Girls (Part II) and “T’ain’t Nothin’ To Me” subsequently arrived, the latter of which reaching No. 20 on the U.S. R&B Chart. Despite the Coasters’ reunion with Leiber and Stoller in 1966, the group could do little to change the tide, and with dwindling sales their 1971 cover “Love Potion No. 9” became their last charting singles. The Coasters continued to tour however with members Gunter, Guy, Jones, Nunn, and Hughes all leading varying lineups of the band on the oldies circuit.