Yakety Yak I Fought Back: My Life with the Coasters

Yakety Yak

I Fought Back

My Life With The Coasters

As told by

Carl Gardner

Leader & Founder

Written by

Veta Gardner

Edited by Tom Ingrassia

© 2009 Veta Gardner. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 7/23/2009

ISBN: 978-1-4259-8981-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4343-6224-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-8812-1 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007902155

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Acknowledgements

In Loving Memory

An Appreciation

Introduction

Chapter One:

Young Blood—Growing Up in Tyler, Texas

Chapter Two:

Just Want To Sing

Chapter Three:

The Army, The Army

Chapter Four:

Moving to Los Angeles

Chapter Five:

Searching for Fame and Fortune

Chapter Six:

The Robins

Chapter Seven:

Pimping and Singing—

The Fine Art of Pimping

Chapter Eight:

Jack Warner

Chapter Nine:

Meeting The Mob

Chapter Ten:

Leiber and Stoller—Let’s Grab Carl

Chapter Eleven:

Atlantic Records

Here I Come

Chapter Twelve:

Reluctantly The Coasters

Chapter Thirteen:

The Classic Coasters Making Great Music Together

Chapter Fourteen:

The British Invasion

Chapter Fifteen:

The Coasters Financially Paralyzed

Chapter Sixteen:

Down and Out…But Far From Over

Chapter Seventeen:

Finding True Love

Chapter Eighteen:

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Chapter Nineteen:

Imposter Groups of Coasters

Chapter Twenty:

The Legal Battles Continue

Chapter Twenty-One:

Devastated By Throat Cancer

Chapter Twenty-Two:

The Rhythm and Blues Foundation

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Seventieth Birthday Celebration

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Epilogue

THE COASTERS – SINGLES DISCOGRAPHY

THE COASTERS – TIME-LINE

Liner Notes Quoted

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to my wife, Veta, my children, my brother Howard and sister Carol, my stepsons and grandchildren.

I could not have written this book without the constant support of my loving wife, Veta, who kept pressing me to write my story. I know at times I can be very difficult, but she stood by me through it all. Veta, you are my life, my love and my joy. Thank you for being there for me through all of my ups and downs.

To my songwriters and producers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Thanks for giving The Coasters such great hits. It was fun working with you. Sorry it had to end so soon. We were a great team. You were the best and still are. May God bless you both in your new endeavors.

To my family, thanks for your support and help during my early days.

To my friends who came along with me and went through some of the hardships along the way. May we who are still here continue to support each other.

Thanks to Tony Turner, who did most of the research for the book and helped to guide us with the writing, and to Thomas Ingrassia who assisted with the editing.

In Loving Memory

My parents, Robert and Rebecca Gardner. Thanks for guiding me in the right direction and teaching me right from wrong. I love you and you will always be in my heart.

My brother, Richard Gardner, who was my idol.

My sister, Iris, who passed away in 2004.

My dear friends, Doris Jackson of The Shirelles, Cornell Gunter, Will Jones and Billy Guy of The Coasters.

My teachers, Mrs. Winter and Mr. Harvey, who helped me with my singing career. I will always be grateful.

Lester Sill, who managed The Coasters for eight wonderful years. You will long be remembered.

An Appreciation

Since 1955/1956, The Coasters, formed in Los Angeles for over 50 years defined the art of street corner harmony that was crafted into one of, if not, the greatest stage act by all vocal groups in the 20th Century.

The Coasters saw the need for harmony, choreography, and comedy as an necessary part of singing. The song never and couldn’t lose its identity, because the passion of the song was well defined.

Even though some changes were made in the group, The Coasters image and crowd pleasing antics gave the music industry more than just exciting popular music but a history as well.

Down in Mexico, Searchin’, Young Blood, Yakety Yak, Charlie Brown, Poison Ivy and my favorite Shoppin’ for Clothes were solid visual and vocal definitions of African American realities.

The total dynamics of these songs showered a community never before exposed in pop music culture.

Tom Reed

DV/TV Producer/Author

Los Angeles, CA

Introduction

After I was diagnosed with throat cancer five years ago, I thought my life was over. But God had other plans for me. I just celebrated my seventieth birthday, and thank God I am still singing and performing with The Coasters.

The flight home from last night’s performance in Biloxi, Mississippi—which was very successful—left me very tired and completely stressed out. You see, I had to fly one of those turbo-prop planes. But that sort of comes with the job. I still love to perform, but not as much as I have had to. However, I also like to eat well. I am at the stage, though, where I find myself getting kind of bored. I am also at the age where you realize that your eyes have seen it all—and you are beginning to see it all over again…yet you don’t really want to!

Thank God I am back home now, safe and sound. Although it is three o’clock in the morning, and I am emotionally drained and weak, I simply cannot sleep. I have wandered my way through the house, like some sort of Charlie Brown who is missing something. Something earned, something promised…but not yet delivered. So, I sit myself down in my home office, and for some reason begin to think about a few of the oddities of my career. Things like acid Jimmy Hendrix, who once backed up The Coasters; and Paul McCartney, sitting down with me at the Peppermint Lounge in Miami many years ago, telling me how much he and The Beatles had enjoyed The Coasters’ music—and warning me that in the very near future they might be doing some of The Coasters’ stuff!

I sit here in the dark, surrounded by the trappings of doing business around the world. Fax machines, files, multiple phone lines, computers, publicity photos, bios and all the rest. I can’t help but wonder if Paul McCartney—or any of the multitude of superstars I had the joy of meeting—ever experienced this same moment. A moment when you wonder what had actually happened. You sort of peer back into the period of your life when you arrived at your peak. Then, as your mind wanders through your heyday, you find yourself heading toward your present situation—when you are just coasting.

I was a pioneer—until The Beatles changed the sound, and then they became the pioneers. Then Michael Jackson came along, and changed not only the sound, but also the rules on The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and everyone else. I try very hard not to be bitter. After all, I am still the leader of the very first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But can I now pioneer the sound back on myself, like fellow Hall of Fame members Tina Turner and Little Richard have done? At my million-selling zenith, my group was considered a Novelty Act. But unlike others, I ran a very clean act, and that, I feel, has been one of the ingredients in our continued success. Novelty acts are notoriously hard to place without a current hit record. Despite that fact, I comfort myself here in the dark, knowing that over forty years into a career, people still want my type of music. That is something to be proud of.

I am proud of the accomplishments of my career. The list of television performances that spans several decades, and includes everything from show biz staples of yesteryear, like the Steve Allen and Dick Clark shows, all the way to the staples of today—Entertainment Tonight, ABC Prime Time Live, and Inside Edition—just to name a few.

My concern appears as my group’s lead singer covers the scope from the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, all the way around the world to the London Palladium. New York’s Fearsome Foursome—The Apollo Theater, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the queen of them all, Carnegie Hall. My lead vocals have been coveted by Hollywood in many movies, including Stand By Me; the Arnold Schwartzenegger/Danny DeVito blockbuster, Twins; Always; All I Want For Christmas. I also have several television commercials to my credit.

I have tangled with the mob. Broken the color barrier in Las Vegas. Cursed out racist audiences who came to hear race music—and at times had to get out of town fast! Yet, I still managed to sell over thirty million records in my time. My group has often been ripped off by many claiming to be me, using our name with their voices—and cashing my check. I steeled myself and stood up to it all. The glamour, the danger, the glory and the bullshit. In my weakest moment, I still marched on.

Through all of the ups and downs of a painful—yet joyous—career, I have come out…unlike many others. Still performing, still standing, still sane and still intact. The goal was to be rich and famous. I became both for a while. But in the end, I ended up coasting on the fame, and trying to see just who had gotten rich.

Now I know why I am sitting here in my office in the wee hours of the morning, staring down the dawn. I know what I am missing. I know what I earned. I know what was promised. And I now realize with some bitterness how little I got. Granted, it is comfortable and not the nightmare and losing battle that many other artists of my time have endured. But it is not what was promised.

I am a long way from my hometown of Tyler, Texas. I didn’t put Tyler on the map the way the Branch Davidians put Waco on the map. That was never my intention. All I ever wanted to do was sing. What I actually did was much more. I never dreamed that so many problems and dangers came with being famous.

My story is wonderful, given the circumstances—yet shocking given the outcome. Thank God I have lived through it all and moved past the bitterness and anger that plagued me for years. With only faith and sheer determination, I was able to overcome all of the horrors and begin to write about it.

My name is Carl Gardner, and I am the founder and original lead singer of The Coasters. And this is my story.

Yakety Yak,

I Fought Back

Chapter One:

Young Blood—Growing Up in Tyler, Texas

I never had any intentions of staying in Tyler, Texas. Never in my life. My first thoughts were, I am going to be somebody and get the hell out of here.

When I was ten years old I already knew what I wanted to do--and that was to be a big star. Sing those pretty ballads and make people happy. You see, I had been singing since I was five.

In my era, Black people didn’t have much opportunity to get out and do anything,and especially where I came from. Most of them wouldn’t even have thought of it at that time. Tyler was a prosperous town located in hot and humid Texas. It was extremely racially segregated during that time. You probably would have considered it the Deep South or, even worse, called it Dixie. However, it did have one redeeming feature for some. Unlike Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, the state of Texas had made some things a little easier for blacks. And as I remember, that made it just a little different for us living there during those horrendous times of blatant racism and almost total segregation.

Strangely enough, it had to do with food. As I recall, in Tyler, any colored person (as we were then called), with money (of course), could go right in through the front doors of any restaurant and order food at the counter. However, we were not allowed to sit and eat in the restaurant. We could take it out. In any other part of the South during that period, if you had been crazy enough to try something like this, you probably would have been murdered, dragged through the streets, or hung by your neck from a tree, like a piece of fruit, until you were dead.

In many ways, my dad, Robert Gardner, was very much a gentleman. He never went down the street without his hat and tie. Some of the neighbors said