The Coasters What About Us: Best Of 1955-61

The Coasters were one of the key vocal groups of the '50s and early '60s who successfully bridged the gap between the doowop and R&B eras of the early '50s through to the rock 'n' roll explosion and beyond, with a run of hits that extended into the 1960s. Starting life as a spin-off from the doo-wop group The Robins, they were adopted by the up-and-coming songwriting and production team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller as a vehicle for their work. They decided to change their name after their first hit from The Robins to The Coasters as they switched from Leiber & Stoller's Spark label to the Atlantic subsidiary Atco. This fantastic LP manages to feature all their US R&B chart entries and Hot 100 top tens alongside a selection of their best singles, starting with their biggest hits as The Robins and continuing through as The Coasters to 1961. It naturally features the legendary US and UK hits Searchin', Yakety Yak, Charlie Brown and Poison Ivy, plus other memorable US successes such as Smokey Joe's Café, Down In Mexico, Youngblood, Along Came Jones and Little Egypt. It's not only a hugely entertaining slice of R&B-flavoured rock 'n' roll, with hits that were landmarks along the rite of passage for many baby-boomers, but a testimony to the songwriting and production genius of Leiber and Stoller - heir humorous 'street saga' songs providing the biggest of the group's hits.