The Counts

The Counts is a R&B doo-wop band that started in 1953 and is still performing today. Band members include lead singer Chester Brown, James Lee, Robert Penick, Robert Wesley, and Robert Young. The Counts are also known as The Original Counts for the fact they have not replaced any members in their history. Originally a group of five, The Counts still performed as a group of four after the death of Robert Young in 2001.

Robert Young wrote most of The Counts songs, such as "Hot Tamale" and "Darling Dear". Their smash hit "Darling Dear" moved into the top ten R&B charts in 1954. The hit song made it to #6 in the nation. The Counts signed with Dot Records in 1954 while still teenagers. All members attended Crispus Attucks High School, Indianapolis, Indiana, while the band formed.

The Contours

The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records. The group is best known for its singular Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a song that peaked twice in the Top 20.

History establishment and "do you love me"

Joe Billingslea, Billy Gordon, Billy Hoggs, and Billy Rollins founded a singing group called The Blenders in their native Detroit, Michigan in 1959. The group soon added Leroy Fair (in place of Billy Rollins) and bass singer Hubert Johnson and changed the name to The Contours. In the fall of 1960, the group auditioned for Berry Gordy's Motown Records. Gordy turned the act down, prompting the group to pay a visit to the home of Johnson's cousin, R&B star and Gordy associate Jackie Wilson. Wilson in turn got The Contours a second audition with Gordy, at which they sang the same songs they had at the first audition, the same way, and were signed to a seven-year contract.

The group's first single, "Whole Lotta' Woman," was released in January 1961 and failed to chart. Within months of its release, Leroy Fair was replaced by Benny Reeves, brother of Martha Reeves. Shortly thereafter, Benny Reeves left to serve in the United States Navy and he was replaced by Sylvester Potts. In 1961 the group's second single, "The Stretch", was released and it also failed to chart. In early 1962, Gordy had The Contours record "Do You Love Me," a composition originally meant for The Temptations. The resulting record, with its shouted lead vocals from Billy Gordon, became a number-two hit in 1962.

Mid-1960s career

Although The Contours never quite repeated the extraordinary success of "Do You Love Me," they returned to the charts three times during 1963 and 1964 with "Shake Sherry," "Can You Do It" and "Can You Jerk Like Me." In 1964, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, and Sylvester Potts all left Motown. Berry Gordy hired Council Gay, Jerry Green and Alvin English to back Billy Gordon, making the Contours a quartet. Within a year, Sylvester Potts returned to the group (replacing Alvin English), and Billy Gordon departed shortly thereafter. Gordon was replaced by Joe Stubbs, brother of Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs. Stubbs soon quit the act and was replaced by Dennis Edwards.

During the mid 1960s The Contours recorded several records which received R&B radio play (notably "First I Look at the Purse" and "Just a Little Misunderstanding"), but were considered secondary to Motown's major male vocal groups: The Temptations, the Four Tops, and The Miracles. The group's seven-year contract with Motown expired in 1967 and when lead singer Dennis Edwards was recruited to replace the departed David Ruffin as lead singer of The Temptations in early 1968, The Contours disbanded. Edwards later became a solo hits maker as well.

Although they charted up a hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1970 with a re-release of "Just A Little Misunderstanding," The Contours' real claim to fame lies with "Do You Love Me." Both these tracks and others Contours work can be found on various Motown compilation albums.

After Motown

In the early 1970s, Joe Billingslea resurrected the group with himself, Council Gay, Arthur Hinson, Martin Upshire and C. Autry Hatcher as its members, and began performing at local clubs around Detroit. During the seventies and early eighties, the group's popularity increased and they began playing dates throughout the US and even some international dates. In 1984, Charles Davis replaced Hinson and a week later Potts rejoined the group replacing Gay. In 1987, Hatcher left the group and Arthur Hinson returned. In 1988, Darell Nunlee was added when Martin Upshire left. The same year, "Do You Love Me" was prominently featured in the film Dirty Dancing. In 1988, a reissue of "Do You Love Me" sent the song back to the Billboard pop charts for eight weeks, peaking at number eleven. The movie and the record spawned a 1988 "Dirty Dancing Concert Tour" followed by a new recording contract for Ian Levine's Motorcity RecordsFlashback and Revenge although the latter was not released although the songs came out on a later compilation. where the group recorded two albums

In 1992, Hinson left the group, and it continued as a quartet until 1993 when Nunlee left. Al Chisholm (formerly with The Falcons) and Gary Grier were recruited in 1993. This configuration - Joe Billingslea, Chisholm, Davis, Grier and Potts - continued from 1993 until 2004.

In 2004, Sylvester Potts left to form his own group with the four members (Leroy Seabrooks, Kim Green, Tony Womack and Darell Nunlee) of a local Detroit group named Upscale, which immediately began performing as 'The Contours'. Billingslea sued and Potts countersued, each claiming the rights to the name. These suits were resolved in an out-of-court settlement which provided for the existence of both groups to be identified as "Joe Billingslea and The Contours" and "The Contours featuring Sylvester Potts," respectively. Seabrooks has since left the Potts group making it a quartet. In 2006, Joe Billingslea and The Contours filled the vacant bass singing spot created by Potts' departure with Odell Jones. Both groups are currently performing. Joe Billingslea and The Contours are among the acts featured in a DVD released by Motown in January 2007 called "Motown: The Early Years," featuring their appearances on the Public Broadcasting System specials.

Present times

Billingslea continues to perform with "Joe Billingslea and The Contours." Original member Hoggs left The Contours in 1964 to become a minister. Today he is retired and lives in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. In 2005, Hoggs made his first and only appearance since 1964, singing with Billingslea and The Contours for the taping of "Motown: The Early Years." Johnson committed suicide in Detroit on July 11, 1981. Gordon died in 1999 and Fair died in December 2004. Mid-1960s member Joe Stubbs - brother of Levi Stubbs - died February 5, 1998. Huey Davis (pictured on the Do You Love Me album cover, but never officially a member of The Contours) died February 23, 2000 at his home in Detroit. Potts continues to perform with his version of the Contours to this day. They can be seen headlining the 'Ultimate Doo Wop' series of concerts that travel around the United States each year.

Discography singles

All singles were issued on Gordy Records unless otherwise noted

• 1961: "Whole Lotta' Woman" (issued on Motown)
• 1961: "The Stretch" (issued on Motown)
• 1962: "Do You Love Me" (#3 US, #1 R&B)
• 1963: "Shake Sherry" (#43 US, #21 R&B)
• 1964: "Can You Do It" (#41 US, #16 R&B)
• 1964: "Can You Jerk Like Me" (#47 US, #15 R&B)
• 1965: "The Day When She Needed Me" (b-side of "Can You Jerk Like Me," #37 R&B)
• 1965: "First I Look at the Purse" (#57 US, #12 R&B)
• 1966: "Just a Little Misunderstanding" (#85 US, #18 R&B)
• 1967: "It's So Hard Being a Loser" (#79 US, #35 R&B)
• 1988: "Do You Love Me" (#11 US, issued on Motown, re-released after the success of the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing)
• 1989: "Face Up to the Fact" (issued on Motorcity Records)
• 1992: "Running in Circles" (issued on Motorcity Records)

Discography albums

• Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance) (Gordy, 1962)
• Flashback (Motorcity Records, 1990)
• The Very Best (Hot Productions, 1995)
• The Very Best of the Contours [Original Recording Remastered] (Motown, 1999)
• Essential Collection (Spectrum, 2000)
• A New Direction (Orchard, 2000)
• 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection (Universal, 2003)
• Live II (Middle Earth, 2003)

The Collegians

The Collegians were a 1950s doo wop group who recorded for Harlem record producer Paul Winley. They released "Zoom Zoom Zoom" in 1958 They also recorded another favorite, "Let's Go For a Ride." They were from New York City.

The Coasters

The Coasters are an American Rhythm and Blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood," their most memorable songs were 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 through the 1960s.

History

The Coasters' forerunners were The Robins, a Los Angeles based rhythm and blues group, which included Bobby Nunn and Carl Gardner in 1954-1955. The original Coasters' members, formed in October 1955, were African-Americans Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Bobby Nunn, Leon Hughes (who was substituted for by Young Jessie on a couple of their early Los Angeles recordings), and guitarist Adolph Jacobs. Jacobs left the group in 1959.

The songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had started Spark Records, and in 1955 produced "Smokey Joe's Cafe" for The Robins (their 5th single with Leiber-Stoller). The record was popular enough that Atlantic Records offered Leiber and Stoller an independent production contract to produce The Robins for the Atlantic label. Only two of The Robins -- Gardner and Nunn -- were willing to make the move to Atlantic, recording their first songs in the same studio as The Robins had done (Master Recorders). In late 1957 the group moved to New York and replaced Nunn and Hughes with Cornelius Gunter and Will "Dub" Jones. The new quartet was from then on stationed in New York (although all had Los Angeles roots).

The Coasters' association with Leiber and Stoller was an immediate success. Together they created a string of good-humored "storytelling" hits that are some of the most entertaining from the original era of rock and roll. Their first single, "Down in Mexico", was an R&B hit in 1956 and appears (in a re-recording from the early 1970s - still with Gardner singing the lead) on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. The following year, The Coasters crossed over to the national charts in a big way with the double-sided "Young Blood"/"Searchin'". Searchin was the group's first U.S. Top 10 hit, and topped the R&B charts for 13 weeks, becoming the biggest R&B single of 1957 (all these were recorded in Los Angeles).

"Yakety Yak" (recorded in New York), featuring King Curtis on tenor saxophone, included the famous lineup of Gardner, Guy, Jones and Gunter, became the act's only national #1 single, and also topped the R&B chart. The next single, "Charlie Brown", reached #2 on both charts. This was followed by "Along Came Jones", "Poison Ivy" (#1 for a month on the R&B chart), and "Little Egypt (Ying-Yang)".

Changing popular tastes, and a couple of line-up changes, contributed to a lack of hits in the 1960s. During this time, Billy Guy was also working on solo projects, so New York singer Vernon Harrell was brought in to replace Guy for stage performances. Later members included Earl "Speedo" Carroll (lead of The Cadillacs), Ronnie Bright (the bass voice on Johnny Cymbal's "Mr. Bass Man"), Jimmy Norman, and guitarist Thomas "Curly" Palmer. The Coasters signed with Columbia Records's Date label in 1966, but were never able to regain their former fame. The Coasters had a minor chart entry with "Love Potion No. 9" in 1971. In Britain, a 1994 Volkswagen TV advertisement used the group's "Sorry But I'm Gonna Have To Pass" track, which led to a minor chart placement in that country.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, crediting the members of the 1958-era configuration. The Coasters also joined the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.

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. 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. The Coasters of 2008: Carl Gardner Jr, Ronnie Bright, Alvin Morse, J.W. Lance, and Thomas Palmer (gtr), with Gardner Sr as coach.

As of 2009, all of the other original group members, except Leon Hughes and Carl Gardner, have died. Some of the former members suffered tragic ends. Saxophonist and "fifth Coaster" King Curtis was stabbed to death by two junkies outside his apartment building in 1971. Cornelius Gunter was shot to death while sitting in a Las Vegas parking garage in 1990. Nate Wilson, a member of one of Gunter's offshoot Coasters groups, was shot and his body dismembered in 1980.

Former manager Patrick Cavanaugh was convicted of the murder after Wilson threatened to notify authorities of Cavanaugh's intent to buy furniture with stolen checks. While Cavanaugh was convicted of the murder and given the death sentence in 1984, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He died in 2006, in Nevada's Ely State Prison. Cavanaugh was 60.

The Coasters continue to appear regularly on "oldies" shows and PBS specials as old favorites and are available for bookings.

The Hits list below is from Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles and from the Pop positions published in Bill Millar's book "The Coasters" (1975).

In late June, 2007 Carl Gardner's autobiography "Carl Gardner: Yakety Yak I Fought Back - My Life with The Coasters" was published at AuthorHouse. On August 28, 2007 the Coasters' Leiber-Stoller produced recordings for Date/King 1966-1972 was released on a Varèse Vintage (Varèse Sarabande) CD, titled "Down Home" (302 066 844 2) - and on December 12, 2007 the complete Atco recordings 1954-1966 were released on a Rhino Handmade 4CD-set, titled "There's A Riot Goin' On: THE COASTERS ON ATCO" (Rhino RHM2 7740).

Legacy

The Coasters' repertoire had a significant impact on '60s and '70s rock artists. For example, Leon Russell performed "Young Blood" at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, imitating the group's arrangement of the song with four different solo voices; Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen recorded The Robins' "Riot in Cell Block No. 9," while The Beach Boys recorded a 1971 version with revised lyrics by that group's vocalist Mike Love, titled "Student Demonstration Time." The novelty singer Ray Stevens reached No. 27 on the U.S. pop singles chart with a 1969 remake of "Along Came Jones." Elvis Presley included "Little Egypt" in the soundtrack for his 1964 film Roustabout. The Rolling Stones included "Down Home Girl" as an album track on their 1965 U.S. album Right Now. The Monkees reached No. 10 on the Cashbox singles chart with a remake of "D.W. Washburn." Several Coasters songs were part of The Beatles' repertoire before the British rock group began its recording career; George Harrison is among the singers on the above-mentioned Leon Russell live recording. The Grateful Dead similarly performed several Coasters songs in its early days, although this was influenced by a weekend in 1965 in which it (while still called The Warlocks) served as pickup band for The Coasters at a lounge in Belmont, CA. When The Beach Boys and Grateful Dead joined on stage to perform a brief set at New York City's Filmore East, they performed "Searchin'" and "Riot in Cell Block No. 9." Numerous groups have recorded "Poison Ivy."

The Coasters' hits also comprised a major portion of the song score for the 1994 musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe, a retrospective of Leiber & Stoller songs that received one Grammy Award and seven Tony Award nominations following its 1995 Broadway debut. Their song "Baby, That's Rock and Roll" has served as the main title for a biography/songbook of Leiber & Stoller songs and a Bravo television documentary on the songwriters.

In addition, Coasters songs and the Coasters themselves have been referred to by later popular musicians. Frank Zappa referenced the group in the lyrics of the song "Status Back Baby" on his second album, Absolutely Free. Sly Stone titled a No. 1 hit 1971 album by his group Sly & the Family Stone after the tag line from "Riot in Cell Block No. 9": There's a Riot Goin' On. The folksinger David Bromberg quoted from "Little Egypt" in his 1972 song "Sharon."

Recording lineups

The original lineup (October 1955 - 1957):

• Carl Gardner, lead
• Bobby Nunn, bass
• Billy Guy, baritone
• Leon Hughes, tenor
• Adolph Jacobs, guitar (from 1956)
• Young Jessie (subst. for Hughes on one session 1957)

The classic lineup (1958 - mid 1961):

• Carl Gardner, lead
• Billy Guy, baritone
• Cornell Gunter, tenor
• Will "Dub" Jones, bass
• Albert "Sonny" Forriest, guitar (replacing Adolph Jacobs from early 1959)

The qualitative lineup (mid 1961 - 1967):

• Carl Gardner, lead
• Billy Guy, baritone
• Will "Dub" Jones, bass
• Earl "Speedo" Carroll, tenor
• Thomas "Curley" Palmer, guitar (from 1962)
• Vernon Harrell (subst. for Billy Guy on stage during mid-late '60s)

The revival lineup (1968 - 1979):

• Carl Gardner, lead
• Earl "Speedo" Carroll, tenor
• Billy Guy, baritone (up to 1973)
• Jimmy Norman, baritone (from 1973, absent 1979)
• Ronnie Bright, bass
• Thomas "Curley" Palmer, guitar

The resurrection lineup (1980 - 1997):

• Carl Gardner, lead
• Jimmy Norman, baritone
• Ronnie Bright, bass
• Thomas "Curley" Palmer, guitar

The current lineup (1998 - present):

• Carl Gardner, lead (coach from 2006)
• Alvin Morse, baritone (November, 1997 - September, 2008)
• Primotivo Candelara, baritone (from October, 2008)
• Carl Gardner Jr., tenor (absent July 2001-November 2004; lead from 2006)
• J. W. Lance, tenor (from July, 2001)
• Ronnie Bright, bass
• Thomas "Curley" Palmer, guitar

Discography US singles

The line-ups are presented for general overview and do not always fit with issue dates.

Label and catalogue number followed by month/year of issue, and by track titles (with lead and recording dates).

The Robins (only singles featuring Carl Gardner are listed)

(Carl Gardner, Bobby Nunn, "Ty" Terrell Leonard, Billy Richard, Roy Richard, Grady Chapman)

leads: CG-Gardner; BN-Nunn; GC-Chapman; RB-Richard Berry (guest lead) (Los Angeles)

• Spark 103 6/54 - Riot In Cell Block # 9 (RB ca 3/54) / Wrap It Up (BN,CG ca 3/54)

• Spark 107 10/54 - Loop De Loop Mambo (CG 8/54) / Framed (BN 8/54)

• Spark 110 2/55 - If Teardrops Were Kisses (CG, 2/54) / Whadaya Want? (GC 2/54)

• Spark 113 4/55 - One Kiss (CG 8/54) / I Love Paris (GC 2/54)

• Spark 116 6/55 - I Must Be Dreamin (CG 8/54) / The Hatchet Man (BN 2/54)

• Spark 122 9/55 - Smokey Joe´s Cafe (CG ca 8/55) / Just Like A Fool (CG ca 8/55)

• Atco 6059 10/55 - Smokey Joe´s Cafe (CG) / Just Like A Fool (CG) - reissue

(all of the above later issued on EP, LP and CD compilations as The Coasters).

The Coasters (all "true"/legal Coasters singles are listed)

(Carl Gardner, Bobby Nunn, Billy Guy, Leon Hughes)

leads: CG-Gardner; BN-Nunn; BG-Guy (Los Angeles, Chicago*, New York**)

• Atco 6064 2/56 - Down In Mexico (CG 1/11/56) / Turtle Dovin´ (CG 1/11/56)

• Atco 6073 7/56 - One Kiss Led To Another (CG 1/11/56) / Brazil (CG,BN,BG 1/11/56)

• Atco 6087 3/57 - Young Blood (CG 2/15/57) / Searchin´ (BG 2/15/57)

• Atco 6098 8/57 - Idol With The Golden Head (CG 7/24/57*) / (When She Wants Good Lovin´) My Baby Comes To Me (BG 7/24/57*)

• Atco 6104 11/57 - Sweet Georgia Brown (CG,BG,BN 2/12/57) / What Is The Secret Of Your Success? (BG 7/24/57*)

• Atco 6111 1/58 - Gee, Golly (BG 12/4/57**) / Dance! (CG 12/4/57**)

(Gardner, Guy, Will Jones, Cornell Gunter)

leads: CG-Gardner; BG-Guy; WJ-Jones, CoG-Gunter (New York)

• Atco 6116 4/58 - Yakety Yak (CG,BG 3/17/58) / Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart (WJ,CoG 3/17/58)

• Atco 6126 8/58 - The Shadow Knows (BG 8/8/58) / Sorry But I´m Gonna Have To Pass (WJ 8/8/58)

• Atco 6132 1/59 - Charlie Brown (CG,BG 12/11/58) / Three Cool Cats (CG 3/17/58)

CD version of Charlie Brown has CG, CoG as lead

• Atco 6141 5/59 - Along Came Jones (joint leads 3/26/59) / That Is Rock & Roll (CG 3/26/59)

• Atco 6146 8/59 - Poison Ivy (CG,BG 7/16/59) / I´m A Hog For You (unison 8/8/58, edited 7/17/59)

• Atco 6153 11/59 - What About Us (unison 7/16/59) / Run Red Run (BG 7/23/59)

• Atco 6163 3/60 - Besame Mucho (Part I) (WJ 2/26/60) / Besame Mucho (Part II) (unison backing vcls 2/26/60)

• Atco 6168 6/60 - Wake Me, Shake Me (BG 2/26/60) / Stewball (BG 3/17/58)

• Atco 6178 9/60 - Shoppin´ For Clothes (BG,WJ 7/29/60) / The Snake And The Book Worm (CG,CoG 2/26/60)

A-side also issued as Clothes Line (Wrap It Up)

• Atco 6186 1/61 - Wait A Minute (BG 12/4/57) / Thumbin´ A Ride (CG 7/29/60)

• Atco 6192 4/61 - Little Egypt (Ying-Yang) (BG 2/9/61) / Keep On Rolling (CG,CoG 2/26/60)

• Atco 6204 8/61 - Girls Girls Girls (Part I) (BG 2/9/61) / Girls Girls Girls (Part II) (BG 2/9/61)

(Gardner, Guy, Jones, Earl Carroll)

leads: CG-Gardner; BG-Guy; WJ-Jones; EC-Carroll (New York, Los Angeles*)

• Atco 6210 11/61 - (Ain´t That) Just Like Me (BG 9/25/61) / Bad Blood CG (9/25/61)

• Atco 6219 2/62 - Ridin´ Hood (unison 12/7/60*) / Teach Me How To Shimmy (BG 4/10/61*)

• Atco 6234 9/62 - The Climb (vocal) (WJ 7/31/62) / The Climb (instrumental) (7/31/62)

• Atco 6251 1/63 - The P.T.A. (BG 1/11/63) / Bull Tick Waltz (BG 7/31/62)

• Atco 6287 2/64 - T´Ain´t Nothin´ To Me (BG,WJ 11/16/63) / Speedo´s Back In Town (EC 11/16/63)

• Atco 6300 5/64 - Bad Detective (BG 12/17/63) / Lovey Dovey (CG 12/17/63)

• Atco 6321 10/64 - Wild One (BG 8/28/64) / I Must Be Dreaming (BG,CG 8/28/64)

• Atco 6341 2/65 - Lady Like (unison 2/26/60) / Hongry (BG 4/10/61*)

• Atco 6356 5/65 - Let´s Go Get Stoned (BG 4/21/65) / Money Honey (unison 4/21/65)

• Atco 6379 9/65 - Crazy Baby (BG 4/21/65, edited 9/8/65) / Bell Bottom Slacks And A Chinese Kimono (She´s My Little Spodee-O) (CG 4/21/65, edited 9/8/65)

• Atco 6407 3/66 - She´s A Yum Yum (unison 1/26/66) / Saturday Night Fish Fry (BG 1/26/66)

• Date 1552 3/67 - Soul Pad (BG,EC 11/18/66) / Down Home Girl (BG 11/18/66)

• Date 1607 5/68 - She Can (BG,CG,EC 10/30/67) / Everybody´s Woman (EC 10/30/67)

• Date 1617 7/68 - D.W. Washburn (BG,CG 10/31/67 / Everybody´s Woman (EC 10/30/67)

(Gardner, Guy, Carroll, Ronnie Bright)

• Turntable 504 1969 - Act Right (BG 69) / The World Is Changing (EC 69)

• King 6385 11/71 - Love Potion Number Nine (CG 2/13/68, ed. late 71) / D.W. Washburn (BG,CG 10/31/67)

• King 6389 4/72 - Cool Jerk (CG late 71) / Talkin´ ´Bout A Woman (BG,CG,EC; act. She Can 10/30/67)

• King 6404 1973 - Soul Pad (BG,EC 11/18/66) / D.W. Washburn (BG,CG 10/31/67)

Carl Gardner & The Coasters

(Gardner, Carroll, Bright, Jimmy Norman)

• Wicked 8103 1976 - Hush Don´t Talk About It (CG ca 76) / The World Keeps On Turning (EC ca 76)

Note: There are several "Coasters"-singles and -LPs/CDs featuring former members (which are not the true Coasters).

Discography the original US vinyl albums

• 1957 - The Coasters - Atco LP 33-101
• 1959 - The Coasters' Greatest Hits - Atco LP 33-111 (SD33-111 rechanneled stereo 1960)
• 1960 - The Coasters One By One - Atco LP 33-123 (SD33-123 stereo)
• 1962 - Coast Along with The Coasters - Atco LP 33-135 (SD33-135 alternate stereo edition)
• 1965 - That Is Rock & Roll - Clarion LP 605 (SD-605 stereo)
• 1971 - Their Greatest Recordings: The Early Years - Atco LP SD33-371 (stereo compilation with alternates)
• 1972 - The Coasters On Broadway - King LP KS1146 (stereo)
• 1975 - 16 Greatest Hits - Trip TOP LP 16-7 (revival re-recordings)
• 1982 - Young Blood (2-set) - Atlantic DeLuxe LP AD 2-4003 (mono)

Discography representative US CD compilations

• 1986 - The Ultimate Coasters - Warner Special Products 27604 (stereo)
• 1987 - The Coasters - 20 Greatest Hits - Highland Music DCD-7786 (rerecorded in stereo)
• 1989 - The Coasters' Greatest Hits - Atco 33111-2 (reissue of LP, with a couple of tracks in stereo)
• 1992 - 50 Coastin' Classics (2CD-set) - Rhino R2 71090 (mono)
• 1994 - The Very Best of The Coasters - Rhino R2 71597 (mono) - reissued 2008 as "Greatest Hits"
• 1996 - Golden Hits - Masters 1127 (the Trip revivals, stereo)
• 2004 - The Coasters / One By One - Collectables COL-CD-7656 (2LPs on 1CD - "One By One" in stereo)
• 2005 - Coast Along with The Coasters - Collectables COL-CD-6523 (reissue of stereo LP)
• 2005 - 16 Greatest Hits - Audio Passport CD-1018 (reissue of Trip LP)
• 2007 - Down Home - Varèse Sarabande/Vintage CD 302066844-2 (the "On Broadway"-tracks, stereo)
• 2007 - There's A Riot Goin' On: The Coasters On Atco (4CD-set) - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7740 (the complete Atco recordings, 113 tracks; several stereo masters)
• 2008 - The Definitive Soul Collection (2CD-set) - Rhino 132092 (planned for issue in 2008; 30 mono pop hits)

Discography true Coasters recordings not on any single

No live recordings included (Note: there also are several alternates and edited masters of the singles, not listed below).

Recorded in New York unless otherwise indicated.
Lead singers: Carl Gardner (CG), Billy Guy (BG), Will "Dub" Jones (WJ), Ronnie Bright (RB), Jimmy Norman (JN).

• 1957 Lola (CG 2/12/57 L.A.) - Atco LP 33-101 The Coasters

• 1958 Three Cool Cats (alternate arrangement CG 3/17/58) - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7740 The Coasters On Atco

• 1958 Crocodile (unison 8/8/58) - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7740

• 1958 I´m A Hog For You (several different versions-unison 8/8/58) - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7740

• 1958 Hey Sexy (unison 12/11/58) - Rhino CD R2 71090 50 Coastin´ Classics

• 1958 Sexy (Hey Sexy) (CG 12/11/58) - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7740

• 1959 That Is Rock & Roll (edited version, WJ 3/26/59) - Atco LP SD 33-371 Their Greatest Recordings - The Early Years

• 1960 The Snake And The Bookworm (unison version 2/26/60) - Atco LP SD 33-135 Coast Along With The Coasters (only the stereo album)

• 1960 The Coasters One By One - Atco LP 33-123 (stereo SD33-123) (6/13&15/60)

• 1961 My Babe (BG 9/25/61) - Atco LP SD 33-135

• 1962 The Slime (WJ 7/31/62) - Clarion LP SD-605 That Is Rock & Roll (alternate of The Climb, act. titled so on the album)

• 1967 Mohair Sam (unison 10/30/67) - King LP 1146 The Coasters On Broadway

• 1968 Down At Papa Joe's (unison 2/12/68) King LP 1146

• 1968 Shake ´Em Up And Let ´Em Roll (lead: Jerry Leiber 2/13/68) - Rhino CD R2 71090

• 1971 Mustang Sally (BG late 71) - King LP 1146

• 1971 On Broadway (CG late 71) - King LP 1146

• 1971 The In Crowd (CG late 71) - King LP 1146

• 1973 The Coasters - 16 Greatest Hits (featuring 10 re-recordings with CG and JN, leads ca 73) - Trip LP TOP 16-7

• 1977 Check Mr. Popeye (RB 77) - Epic LP PE-34668 (various artists with Southside Johnny)

The Clovers

The Clovers are an American rhythm & blues group.

The group formed in 1946 at Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C., with members Harold Lucas, Billy Shelton, and Thomas Woods. John "Buddy" Bailey was added soon after, and they began calling themselves the "Four Clovers", with Bailey on lead. In perfecting their sound, the group pushed Shelton and Woods out in 1948, and brought in Matthew McQuarter and Harold Winley.

Their break came in 1950, when they were introduced to Lou Krefetz, who became their manager. They signed to New York's Rainbow Records and released one single, "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" backed with "When You Come Back To Me". Soon after, Krefetz brought them to Atlantic Records' Ahmet Ertegün, and they were signed to Atlantic in 1951. At this point, Bill Harris was added as their guitarist. Their first appearance came in February of that year at the Apollo Theater.

Their very first Atlantic session produced their first big hit, "Don't You Know I Love You", which hit #1 on the national charts in June of 1951. "One Mint Julep" (written by Rudy Toombs) and "Fool, Fool, Fool" also went #1 in September. Bailey was drafted in 1952, and John Phillip was brought in to replace him. He stayed for just a few months, before leaving and being replaced by Charlie White, who had been in the Dominoes and the Checkers.

With personal problems, White was fired near the end of 1953. His replacement was Billy Mitchell. The group continued recording with Atlantic, without as much success as they'd previously seen. Buddy Bailey was discharged from the Army in May 1954, and rejoined the group, making them a quintet. They continued in recording, and in 1955, found moderate success with "Devil or Angel".

Mitchell left in 1957 to do solo work, but rejoined shortly thereafter, opting to do both solo work and work with the Clovers. Their Atlantic contract expired, and Krefetz moved them to his own label, Poplar Records. Poplar was purchased by United Artists Records shortly thereafter. The group's work with United Artists put them in contact with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. After a few recordings there, they had their biggest hit, "Love Potion #9", which came in July of 1959, and featured Mitchell on lead.
They recorded two versions of Love Potion #9 on UA. For the album of that name a new final verse was created referring to "love potion #10". In fact this version became played more often on radio than the single at the time.

After love potion #9

Their UA contract expired in 1961, and they moved to Winley Records. With little success there, the group split. Lucas and Mitchell brought in new members James "Toy" Walton and Robert Russell, and recorded shortly for Atlantic. John Bailey recorded with his own Clovers group in 1962 for Winley (owned by Harold's brother Paul).

Mitchell left in 1962, and was replaced by Roosevelt "Tippie" Hubbard. They recorded as "Tippie and the Clovermen" and "Tippie and the Clovers" for Tiger Records, a subsidiary of Rust Records. John Bailey's group, by this time consisting of Nathaniel Bouknight, Peggy Winley Mills (sister of Paul and Harold), and Ann Winley, Paul's wife, recorded for another Paul Winley label, Porwin records. Near the end of 1963, the two groups came back together, into a Clovers trio featuring Harold Lucas, John Bailey, and the returning Harold Winley.

Following The Searchers' remake of "Love Potion #9" in 1965, some of the old Winley and Porwin tracks were leased to Pickwick International Records, who released them as the album The Original Love Potion #9 By The Clovers. This version of the song was not the same as the UA. Winley left for the second time in 1965. Bailey and Lucas recorded briefly for Atlantic with the returning Robert Russell and Jimmy Taylor. The sides were sold to Port Records and released with little success. Lucas and Bailey split that year.

Lucas and Russell brought back Tippie Hubbard and Toy Walton and, with fifth member Al Fox, recorded as "Tippie and the Wisemen" for Washington D.C.'s Shrine Records. With Fox out, they changed back to The Clovers. John Bailey also formed a Clovers group, who re-recorded "Devil or Angel" and "Love Potion #9" for Lana Records in 1965. To add to this confusion, Harold Winley started a third Clovers group in 1968, with members Bobby Adams, Johnny Taylor, and Ray Loper, and recorded for Josie Records.

Robert Russell died in 1969 and Lucas replaced him with John Bowie. They released a disco tune, "Bump Jive!", on D.C. based Alladin Records in 1975. Shortly after the recording, Toy Walton died, and was replaced by Johnnie Mason. Tippie Hubbard died in 1980 and was replaced by Steve Charles.

A reunion was planned in 1988 in Austin, Texas. Lucas brought his Clovers, as well as reuniting with John Bailey, Matthew McQuarter, and Harold Winley. Lucas' group also performed at a benefit concert later that year for Bill Harris, the groups long-time guitarist. Also in 1988, Lucas' group recorded for Ripete Records, in Elliott, South Carolina.

Chuck Battle replaced Charles around 1990. Harold Lucas became ill and stopped touring around 1993. His place was taken by Richard Merritt. Battle left in 1992 and was replaced by Preston Monroe, who was later replaced by David Warren. King Raymond Green was added to the group from The Flamingos in 1998 to join Johnnie Mason, David Warren, and Richard Merritt. The group performed on the PBS special, Doo Wop 51 in 2000. John Bowie died in 2002, but the group continued to work under the leadership of Johnnie Mason. The Clovers Were inducted to the Doo Wopp Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.

Richard Merritt left the group in 2002; his last performance was the VGHOF induction ceremony. David Warren departed soon after. Mason currently leads a new group featuring former Flamingo Ron Reace, William Rawlings, and Antwan Drayton.

In 2006, King Raymond Green left Johnnie Mason's group to form a new group of Clovers (sanctioned by Steve Charles who co-owns The Clovers Trademark along with Johnnie Mason). The new group formed by King Raymond Green recruited Harold Winley (now the only surviving founding member) and new members Franklen Poole, Tyrone Burwell, Juan Hawkins, and guitarist Tye Lovell. This group is managed by Powerhouse Productions, and still tours the U.S and Europe. Following the 1988 reunion, Winley and Buddy Bailey had joined Jimmy Nabbie's Ink Spots; Winley still performs in that group from time to time. Prior to his death, Bailey also performed solo, sometimes backed up by The Calvanes, who feature former Bailey-Clovers member Bobby Adams. No remnants of the former Bailey groups exist.

Awards & Recognition

Rhythm and Blues Foundation, Pioneer Award, 1988; inducted into The Doo Wop Hall of Fame in 2001, inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002, inducted in the United in Group Harmony (UGHA) Hall of Fame, 2002.

The Cleftones

The Cleftones were a doo-wop group from Queens, New York. They were formed in 1955 at Jamaica High School. The group consisted of Herbie Cox (lead), Charlie (McGhee) James (first tenor), Berman Patterson, (second tenor), William McClane (baritone), and Warren Corbin (bass). They were originally called The Silvertones. Initial charted hits by the group started in 1955, "You Baby You", "Little Girl of Mine", and "Can't We Be Sweethearts". In 1961 the 2nd generation of The Cleftones produced hits consisting of members Herb Cox, Charlie James, Warren Corbin, Gene Pearson, and Pat Spann. Pat was the first and only female to sing with the group. They reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with Heart and Soul, followed by "For Sentimental Reasons". The recordings were released on the Gee & Roulette Record labels.

Songs featured in selected films:

• "Little Girl of Mine" appeared in the film A Bronx Tale.

• "Lover Boy" appeared in the film Drive.

• "Heart and Soul" appeared in the film American Graffiti.

• "Cant We Be Sweethearts" appeared in the film Goodfellas.

• "Heart & Soul" appeared in the film Mischief.

The Chords

The Chords were a 1950s American doo wop group, whose lone hit was "Sh-Boom". They are sometimes mistakenly cited as the first R&B group of the 1950s to reach the pop charts. Although both versions of the song Sh-Boom (by The Chords and by The Crew-Cuts) were huge hits, it is the song Gee, released by The Crows in June 1953, that is properly credited with the honor of being the first Rock n’ Roll hit by a rock and roll group.

The Chords - Carl (lead) and Claude Feaster (baritone), Jimmy Keyes (first tenor), Floyd "Buddy" McRae (second tenor) and Ricky Edwards (bass) - formed in 1951 in the Bronx, New York, but were not discovered until three years later, when they were spotted singing in a subway station, a performance that ultimately landed them a recording contract with Atlantic Records' Cat Records label.

Jerry Wexler, Atlantic's A&R man, had the Chords cover a Patti Page hit, "Cross Over the Bridge" (it was also covered by The Flamingos for the Chance Records label), but it was the B-side, "Sh-Boom," a vocal tune with an a cappella catchy introduction that caught the imagination. A cover version later done by a white group called The Crew-Cuts, attempted to add their own spin on the song by seemingly adding nonsensical syllables ("shh-boom, shh-boom, yadda da da yadda da da da da da") that caused considerably more commotion. However the words ("Yadda da da yadda da da da da da") were never sung in the original version by the Chords.

By the end of June 1954, "Sh-Boom" had climbed up the charts nationwide, charting on both the R&B (number three) and pop (number nine) lists, a nearly unprecedented feat for its time. For all practical purposes - along with The Crows' 1954 hit "Gee" (another upbeat B-side hit that DJs flipped over) - "Sh-Boom" introduced the white audience to black R&B music for the first time. [NOTE: The Crows "Gee" first appeared on the Billboard charts in March, 1954. While both versions of "Sh-Boom" were influential, better candidates for the first, or most influential song, by a black act to cross-over from the R&B charts to the pop charts, are The Dominoes' "Sixty Minute Man" which made it to #17 of the pop charts in 1951, and The Orioles' "Crying in the Chapel", #11 in 1953].

Not everyone thought the song was a precursor of good things to come. Peter Potter, host of TV's popular "Juke Box Jury", was seemingly aghast at the state of this then-new trend in pop music and attacked "Sh-Boom" asking if anyone would remember the admittedly demented ditty in five, let alone 20 years time and whether any record label would even think to re-release it in the future.

The songwriters were deluged by music publishing companies wanting to buy the rights to "Sh-Boom" in order to reap huge potential earnings (the group quickly came to an agreement with Hill & Range). Soon there were cover versions hitting radio stations across the country simultaneously with the Chords' original single. Some were memorable and some otherwise, including a countrified take by the Billy Williams Quartet for Coral, and more notably the Crew-Cuts' version for Mercury.

The Chords soon appeared on TV shows. (Televisions were still uncommon in U.S. homes.) The band was knocked when it learned there was a more-obscure group already using the name The Chords. They were forced to change their name to the Chordcats. Subsequent Atlantic Record advertisements noted that their group was the creators and originators of "Sh-Boom," even though the Canadian Crew-Cuts' paler pop version by then had knocked the Chords' R&B-styled version off the charts.

Atlantic released numerous additional singles which mostly failed to chart. A last gasp attempt to resurrect the act came in mid 1955 when the group renamed themselves the Sh-Booms after their one big hit. The Chords/Chordcats/Sh-Booms went through several personnel changes during the late 1950s, recording a handful of forgettable records for Vik Records in 1957, and eventually returned to Atlantic in 1960 for one last recording before slipping away into the ether of time.

In 2005 in the video game Destroy All Humans! a remix version of the song was used in the outro credits of the game, and in a special feature gallery titled Pathetic Humans!.

In 2006 in the Disney/Pixar film, Cars, "Sh-Boom" is included on the film as neon lights return to an old Route 66 town that has been neglected over the years. The song is included on the movie's soundtrack compact disc.

In 1989 the Crew Cuts version of Sh-Boom is used in the movie Road House, when Ben Gazzara almost runs Dalton (Patrick Swayze) off the road. - The Internet Movie Database.

Despite all their collective efforts, The Chords remain archetypal one-hit wonders.