Carl Edward Gardner (April 29, 1928 – June 12, 2011) was an American singer, best known as the foremost member and founder of
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...
. Known for the 1958 song "
Yakety Yak
"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. ...
", which spent a week as
number one
Number One most commonly refers to:
* 1 (number)
Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song
* ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song
* ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC
* ''n.1 ...
on the
Hot 100 pop list, he was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
in 1987.
Life and career
Gardner was born in
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the 33rd most populous city in Texas and 2 ...
, to Rebecca and Robert Gardner.
As a singer, his first major career success came with
The Robins
The Robins were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound. They were founded by Ty Terrell, and twin brothers Bi ...
, a
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
group that had a big hit in 1955, "Smokey Joe's Café".
[
After leaving that group, in 1956 Gardner formed the Coasters with the Robins' bass singer Bobby Nunn, Leon Hughes and Billy Guy, at the behest of the songwriting/producing team of ]Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...
, and had a two-sided hit in 1957, "Young Blood" (on which Gardner sang lead) and "Searchin'". With new members Cornel Gunter and Will "Dub" Jones, the Coasters went on to produce several enduring classics of 1950s rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...
music including "Yakety Yak
"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. ...
", "Charlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip '' Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American a ...
", and " Poison Ivy".[
Together with the other members of the Coasters – Cornell Gunter, Billy Guy and ]Will "Dub" Jones
Will J. "Dub" Jones (May 14, 1928 – January 16, 2000) was an American R&B singer. He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and died in Long Beach, California.[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...](_blan ...<br></span></div> – Gardner was inducted into the <div class=)
in 1987.
Gardner's son, Carl Jr., officially joined the Coasters in late 2005, after Gardner semi-retired, although Carl Jr. had been touring with them since at least 1998. His father officially made him a member to carry on his group as the lead singer.
Since Gardner was the last of the original members the list of early Coaster songs performed live was limited in a sense, a fan recalls meeting Gardner after a concert in his last years, where this was mentioned:
"''There was a nightclub in Fayetteville, NC called Cagney's and they announced they were having the Coasters. When on stage, they did their set and asked for requests. They did whatever was requested except for mine. I went outside with them between sets and spoke to the leader of the group. I asked him why they wouldn't do Run Red Run. He just smiled and said that he was the only member of the original Coasters and that these fellows had never rehearsed it. I told him it was my favorite and right then and there, the two of us did it. When they went back inside to do their next set, I was high. What a great experience.''"
In 1993, shortly after moving with wife Veta to Port St. Lucie, Florida, Gardner sought treatment for a nosebleed. He was ultimately diagnosed by an ENT specialist with a cancerous tumor of the nasopharynx "the size of a grapefruit", and was told chances of survival were slim. Nevertheless after enduring weeks of radiation therapy, the cancer went into remission never to recur. Despite some change in the sonority of his voice he continued to perform with the Coasters as lead singer.
Carl Gardner, Sr. died on June 12, 2011, after suffering with congestive heart failure and vascular dementia (according to the Coasters website).
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Carl Gardner Sr. at Find a Grave
The Coasters Website - Those Hoodlum Friends