The first group ever to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Coasters evolved out of The Robins, a late 40s, L.A.-based vocal outfit that in 1953 signed to Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller's Spark Records; breakout success
came with Riot In Cell Block #9 and Smokey Joe's Café, both included here. They signed to Atlantic in 55, headed for New York, became The Coasters and soared to even greater heights with legendary songwriters Leiber & Stoller.
With musical savvy and upbeat humor, they bridged R&B, pop, early rock and doo-wop, scoring fourteen Billboard® s R&B chart, eight
of which also made the pop Top 40. This single disc survey features sixteen classic including Searchin, Young Blood, Charlie
Brown, Along Came Jones, and two that reached #1 in both pop and R&B, Yakety Yak and Poison Ivy.Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were attempting mini-radio plays in the writing and production work with the Coasters that provided all concerned with a string of hits that ran from 1955 into the early '60s. They added a few things to their memories of chestnuts like The Shadow Knows, however: the new R&B's stomp and swing, along with a subversive edge that made this kid stuff sound knowing to adults. As finely calibrated as anything to come out of the era's recording studios, sides like "Young Blood," "Searchin'," and "Along Came Jones" are definitely raucous, definitively hilarious. Inspirational verse, from "I'm a Hog for You": "One little piggy ate a pizza / One piggy ate potato chips / But this little piggy's comin' over your house / He's gonna nibble on your sweet lips." --Rickey Wright
