The Coasters
New York: The Coasters, gold record for "Yakety Yak", with manager Lester Sill - 1958
In 1950, Lester Sill met Jerry Leiber, a seventeen year old aspiring lyricist, working as a retail clerk at Norty’s Music Center in Los Angeles. Mike Stoller, who could read and write music, became the musical complement of the songwriting team Leiber and Stoller. Sill produced the first recorded Leiber and Stoller collaboration, "Real Ugly Woman" (1951), which was released by Jimmy Witherspoon. In 1953, Sill and the twenty year old writing duo formed Spark Records and Quintet Music, Inc. (publishing company). The Robins would hit success with R&B smash "Riot in Cell Block #9" and the group's follow-up, "Smokey Joe's Café. Under Sill's management, The Robins became The Coasters in the mid 1950s, and emerged as one of the most popular R&B groups of the late 1950s and 1960s. The Coasters posted a string of top ten hits with Leiber and Stoller penned works including, "Searchin'" and "Youngblood" in 1957, "Yakety Yak" in 1958, and "Charlie Brown", "Along Came Jones" and "Poison Ivy" in 1959. The Coasters charted again with Leiber and Stoller's "Love Potion No. 9" in 1971.
While attending the Music Operators of America ("MOA") convention in Chicago, Sill recalls, "Riot In Cell Block #9" was probably playing when Ahmet Ertegun passed his hotel room and said, “I want to have the record. Let’s work a deal out, we’ll see what we can do.” Sill replied, “Well, I've got two partners, the guys who actually wrote this record and produced it.” Artegun continued, “Well look, why don’t you come into New York with the fellas and we'll sit down and see what we can do." Sill brought Leiber and Stoller to New York to meet Ahmet, and Ahmet signed The Coasters to his newly formed ATCO Records under Atlantic. The group's follow-up, "Smokey Joe's Café," proved an even bigger hit, and in 1955 (ATCO/Atlantic) Sill was tapped as its national sales manager.
L-R: Lester Sill, Jerry Wexler, The Coasters, Ahmet Ertegun -w- Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller at piano
“The Coasters’ first recording in New York was 1958’s “Yakety Yak,” which featured King Curtis on tenor sax. Its witty, slice-of-life lyrics about a teenager being hassled by his parents struck a resounding chord, and “Yakety Yak” became the Coasters’ first number-one pop hit that summer, topping the R&B charts as well. “Charlie Brown,” which cast Jones in the title role of class clown (and immortalized him with the catch-phrase, “why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?”), hit number two on both the pop and R&B charts in 1959, firmly establishing the Coasters’ widespread crossover appeal. More hits followed: the Western-themed “Along Came Jones,” “Poison Ivy,” “Shoppin’ for Clothes,” and the group’s final Top 30 hit, 1961’s burlesque-dancer tribute “Little Egypt.””
The Coasters became the first vocal group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
Today, Leiber and Stoller are more widely recognized for their songs that were recorded by Elvis Presley, most notably,"Hound Dog" and "JailHouse Rock"
Leiber (1933-2011) and Stoller (1933) remained very close friends with Lester Sill (1918-1994) throughout their lives
Coasters: L-R-Cornell Gunter, Billy Guy, Lester Sill, Dub Jones, Carl Gardner-R&R Hall of Fame Awards-1987