Booking Carl Gardners' Coasters

Carl Gardners' Coasters Biography

The Coasters came together in the 1950’s, born from an already successful group, the Robins. The Robins didn’t last more than a few years, and members Bobby Nunn and Carl Gardner decided to form a new group. With the addition of Leon Hughes and Billy Guy, they formed the Coasters and went on to provide American music with some of its most light-hearted and humorous classics.

“Down in Mexico” was released in 1956 and became a hit record. “Young Blood” (and its flipside “Searchin’”) became another hit in 1957, but additional singles were not as successful. Hughes and Nunn left the Coasters and were replaced by Cornell Gunter and Will Jones, and then in 1958 they hit again with the smash “Yakety Yak.” It reached the top of the charts at number one, and the follow-up “Charlie Brown” was also a huge success, reaching number two. An additional string of hits followed over the coming years, including: "Poison Ivy," "Along Came Jones," "Shoppin' for Clothes," and "Little Egypt." ??

Changes in the lineup came in the coming years, and with the changing sound of music, the Coasters found themselves slipping in popularity. The Coasters were inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, though, and despite the early passing of Nunn, Jones, and Gunter, the remaining members continue to tour the oldies circuit with a variety of other musicians.