Coasters' Carl Gardner Dead at 83
tr...@iwvisp.com
Sharing my most deepest feelings of the love that my father and I
shared -- especially when we were on stage together.
Carl Gardner spent an extraordinary 50 years (and more) at the
forefront of R&B harmony vocal music. Born Carl Edward Gardner in
Tyler, Texas in 1928, he showed serious musical ability from an early
age, but his family's poverty seemed an almost insurmountable
impediment. He joined the army at 16 and during his time in uniform he
organized a singing group of his own. Music continued to draw him
after he returned to civilian life, and he eventually headed to Los
Angeles, where he managed to cross paths with the r&b vocal group the
Robins. In 1954, lightning finally struck when the Robins found
themselves without a lead tenor -- member Grady Chapman had run into
legal trouble and was in jail, and the call went out for Carl Gardner.
He joined in time to play a key role in their hit "Riot In Cell Block
9". When the Robins' lineup disintegrated in 1955 amid the dissolution
of the record label to which they were signed, he made the jump to the
Coasters -- essentially an offshoot group -- alongside fellow ex-Robin
Bobby Nunn. As first tenor and generally the lead singer of the
Coasters, Gardner became a familiar voice across a decade's worth of
singles, from "Down In Mexico" and "Youngblood" (and its B-side,
"Searchin'"), on into the 1960's. He has also kept the legitimate
Coasters name alive -- as opposed to versions of the group with no
connection to the original outfit -- into the twenty-first century,
this despite a battle with throat cancer. Although semi-retired since
2005 (his spot in the group having been taken over by his son, Carl
Jr.), Gardner continues to coach the group, and in 2007 he published
his autobiography, -Yakety Yak, I Fought Back, recounting his life and
his decades in the music business.
Ray Arthur
busgal
Now they were rock and roll
R H Draney
A tribute from a perhaps improbable direction:
"The other night we painted posters.
We played some records by the Coasters."
- Frank Zappa, "Status Back Baby"
....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
Goldman
<3433c4d5-e786-4c3e...@e17g2000prj.googlegroups.com>,
"tr...@iwvisp.com" <tr...@iwvisp.com> wrote:
http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/06/13/carl-gardner-leader-of-the-coasters-
dies-at-83
obit with pic.
KingDaevid
> A tribute from a perhaps improbable direction:
>
> "The other night we painted posters.
> We played some records by the Coasters."
> - Frank Zappa, "Status Back Baby"
...nothing improbable about it -- anyone who'd ever listened to UNCLE
MEAT or CRUISING WITH RUBEN & THE JETS could tell how much of a doo-
wop fan FZ was...
kdm
R H Draney
>
>On Jun 12, 9:13=A0pm, R H Draney sez:
>
>> A tribute from a perhaps improbable direction:
>>
>> =A0 =A0We played some records by the Coasters."
>> =A0 =A0 - Frank Zappa, "Status Back Baby"
>
>...nothing improbable about it -- anyone who'd ever listened to UNCLE
>MEAT or CRUISING WITH RUBEN & THE JETS could tell how much of a doo-
>wop fan FZ was...
Yeah, or the opening act of JOE'S GARAGE which pretty much gave the game
away...it's just so at odds with what most people thought of Frank (from Joe
Pyne on down to anyone who noticed his obsession with Varese)....r
Ted The Cat
Who walks in the classroom, cool and slow
Who calls the English teacher, Daddy-O