The Coasters
The Coasters are an American
doo wop and early
rock and roll group, evolving from
The Robins, a
Los Angeles based doo wop group. After The Robins signed with
Atlantic Records (
1955, after the chart success of "Smokey Joe's Cafe"), the group split up.
Carl Gardner (
tenor) and
Bobby Nunn (
bass) formed The Coasters.
The Coasters continued their association with the Robins' legendary songwriters,
Leiber &
Stoller. They soon added
Billy Guy (
baritone),
Leon Hughes (
tenor) and
Adolph Jacobs (
guitar), releasing their first single "Down in Mexico", an
R&B hit in
1956. In
1957, The Coasters crossed over with "
Young Blood"/"Searchin'". This was followed by a dry period, and the group relocated to
New York City. Nunn and Hughes left, replaced by
Will Dub Jones (
bass, of
The Cadets) and
Obie Jessie. Jessie was soon replaced by
Cornell Gunter (
The Flairs). This new line-up 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".
A series of line-up changes contributed to a lack of hits in the
1960s.
Earl Speedo Carroll (formerly and nowadays with
The Cadillacs) and
Ronnie Bright (from
The Valentines became new tenor and bass singers and 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. In
1973 Jimmy Norman replaced Billy Guy. Several groups used the name in the
1970s, touring throughout the country, though Gardner held the legal rights to it. Nunn died in
1986, the group was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one year later. Gunter was murdered in
Las Vegas in
1990. The group was inducted into the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame in
1999. Jones died in
2000 and Guy in
2002. Gardner continued to tour as 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 Sr semi-retired.
*
Vocal Group Hall of Fame page on The Coasters*
Biography of the Robins*
The Coasters Web Site with the true story and complete discography*
Coasters essay by Robert Christgau 
