finetune artist: The Coasters

The illustrious career of the Coasters, the pre-eminent vocal group of the early rock 'n' roll era, was built on a remarkable body of cleverly comic R&B songs for Atco Records fashioned by their producers, Leiber And Stoller. Under their direction, the Coasters exchanged the crooning of ballads favoured by most groups of the era for robust and full-throated R&B shouting. The group came together in Los Angeles, California, USA in October 1955 from remnants of the Robins, who had a dispute with their producers/songwriters, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The original Coasters comprised two ex-Robins, Carl Gardner (b. Carl Edward Gardner, 29 April 1928, Tyler, Texas, USA; lead) and Bobby Nunn (b. Ulysses B. Nunn, 20 September 1925, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, d. 5 November 1986, Los Angeles, California, USA; bass), plus Leon Hughes (b. Thomas Leon Hughes, 26 August 1932, Los Angeles County, California, USA; tenor), and Billy Guy (b. Frank Phillips Jnr., 20 June 1936, Itasca, Texas, USA, d. 12 November 2002, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; lead and baritone). Hughes was replaced briefly in 1957 by Young Jessie (b. Obie Donmell Jessie, 28 December 1936, Dallas, Texas, USA), who in turn was replaced by ex-Flairs Cornell Gunter (b. 14 November 1938, Los Angeles, California, USA, d. 26 February 1990, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA). In January 1958, Nunn was replaced by ex-Cadets Will "Dub" Jones (b. Will J. Jones, 14 May 1928, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, d. 16 January 2000, Long Beach, California, USA). At the start of the following year original guitar player Adolph Jacobs (b. Herman Adolph Jacobsen, 27 April 1931, Oakland, California, USA) was replaced by Albert "Sonny" Forriest (b. Elbert McKinley Forriest, 21 May 1934, Pendleton, North Carolina, USA, d. 10 January 1999, Capital Heights, Maryland, USA), who became a contracted member of the line-up. Ex-Cadillacs Earl "Speedo" Carroll (b. Gregory Carroll, 2 November 1937, New York City, New York, USA) replaced Gunter in mid-1961.

Listen to The Coasters at Finetune.

(2006) Rhino Hi-Five: The Coasters [Vol. 2]
(2005) The Coasters
(2005) One By One
(2005) Coast Along With The Coasters
(2005) Rhino Hi-Five: The Coasters
(1994) The Very Best of The Coasters
(1987) 20 Greatest Hits

Yakety Yak
Charlie Brown
Poison Ivy
Searchin'
Along Came Jones