"Young Blood" is a song written by Doc Pomus along with the songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit by The Coasters in 1957.

Structure

Musically, the song follows a minor

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

structure, built mostly around three chords (i7, iv7, V7) except for the bridge (IV, VI, III, V). The lyrical theme is one typical of early rock and roll: boy meets girl, then meets girl's father, who does not approve of boy; so the boy departs, but cannot stop thinking about the girl, declaring "You're the one, you're the one, you're the one."

The Coasters' version

"Young Blood" was originally recorded by The Coasters and released as a single together with "

Searchin' "Searchin'" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller specifically for the Coasters. Atco Records released it as a single in March 1957, which topped the R&B Chart for twelve weeks. It also reached number three on the ''Billboard'' singl ...

" in March 1957 by Atco Records (#6087). This song is compared to the cleaner cut song "Standing on the Corner" from the musical ''The Most Happy Fella''. Their version can also be heard on ''The Very Best of the Coasters'' album. It topped

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's R&B chart and reached #8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The Coasters' version is ranked #414 on '' Rolling Stones list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

, the group's only song on the list. The song was included in the musical revue ''

Smokey Joe's Cafe Smokey Joe, Smokey Joe's or Smoky Joe's may refer to: Nickname * Joe Barton, Texan Congressman, nicknamed "Smokey Joe" for defending industries against pollution controls * Smokey Joe Baugh (1932–1999), American rockabilly musician * Happy Finne ...

''.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

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" ( ...

, piano *

Gil Bernal Gil Bernal (1931–2011) was a singer and a session musician. His saxophone can be heard on recordings such as " Searchin'" by The Coasters. In the 1950s he played on Duane Eddy's 1958 album ''Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel''. In later years, ...

, saxophone *

Barney Kessell Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as ...

, guitar * probably

Adolph Jacobs Adolph Jacobs, later known as Al Jacobs (April 15, 1939 – July 23, 2014), was an American guitar player, best known as an original member of The Coasters. Biography Born Adolf Jacobs in Pineland, Sabine County, Texas, he played guitar with Vern ...

, guitar * Ralph Hamilton, bass *

Jesse Sailes Jesse John Sailes (1919–2007) was a jazz drummer and session musician who performed on many hit records in the 1940s and 1950s such as Eddie Cochran's "Skinny Jim" and The Coasters' Riot in Cell Block Number 9, Framed, and Searchin'.''The Coaste ...

, drums * A.L. "Abe" Stoller, drums * Joe Olivera, congas * possibly Chico Guerrero, congas

The Beatles' cover version

The Beatles played "Young Blood" in their Cavern Club repertoire. It is one of twelve songs recorded by them in July 1962 on a tape, which was re-purchased by Paul McCartney at a Sotheby's auction in 1985. A previously unreleased version performed by The Beatles (for the BBC radio show ''Pop Go the Beatles'' broadcast on June 11, 1963) is included on their album '' Live at the BBC'', released in 1994. It was recorded at the BBC Paris Studio, London on June 1, 1963, and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

is the lead vocalist on this recording; the tempo is moderately fast, considerably faster than in the original.

Personnel

– lead vocals, lead guitar * John Lennon – backing vocals, rhythm guitar * Paul McCartney – backing vocals, bass guitar *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

– drums Personnel per The Beatles Bible

Bad Company cover

Bad Company recorded the song on their 1976 LP '' Run with the Pack''. It was released as a single, reaching the Top 20 in the United States and the Top 10 in Canada. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "a straight ahead rock -out version of a great song."

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions

"Young Blood" has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by several other artists, including a live performance by

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

at the 1971 Concert for Bangla Desh, who was accompanied by a stageful of world-class musicians including

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

and

; another performance was included in Russell's three disk set ''Leon Live''; a 1983 version by Beach Boys guitarist

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

that served as the title track to ''

Youngblood Youngblood, Youngbloods or Young Blood may refer to: Film and television * ''Young Blood'' (1926 film), a German silent drama film * ''Young Blood'' (1932 film), an American western film * ''Young Blood'' (1943 film), a Swedish drama film * ...

'' (his second solo album); and a version by Bruce Willis in ''

The Return of Bruno ''The Return of Bruno'' is a 1987 comedic film, originally aired as a one-hour special on HBO and later released on VHS. It is a mockumentary starring Bruce Willis as his fictitious alter-ego "Bruno Radolini," a legendary blues singer/musician wh ...

'' (1987). The Grateful Dead are known to have

soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

ed the song. "Young Blood" was performed by Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids (as "Johnny Fish and the Fins") in a Season Two episode of '' Happy Days''. The song appeared on Jerry Lee Lewis's 1995 album of the same name. For the 1995 Doc Pomus tribute album ''Till The Night Is Gone - A Tribute To Doc Pomus'' released by Rhino Records, The Band also recorded a cover, which later appeared on the re-release of their 1996 album '' High on the Hog''. The song was sung by season 10 American Idol contestant Scotty McCreery during the Leiber & Stoller week of the competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Blood Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Songs with lyrics by Doc Pomus 1957 singles The Coasters songs The Beatles songs Leon Russell songs Bad Company songs Carl Wilson songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Swan Song Records singles 1957 songs Atco Records singles