Tag: Novelty Songs

We’re well into February so the challenge from Glyn at Mixed Music Bag is to write about a band or singer that starts with the Letters C or D.

There weren’t too many artists in rock history to successfully straddle the line between music and comedy. The Coasters was one of those groups. Their undeniably funny lyrics and on-stage antics might have suggested a simple troupe of clowns, but the Coasters’ records were no mere novelties; their material was too witty, their arrangements too well-crafted, and the group itself too skilled musically. That engaging and infectious combination made them one of the most popular early R&B/rock & roll acts, as well as one of the most consistently entertaining doo-wop/vocal groups of all time.

Originally from Los Angeles, The Coasters began as the Robins; instead of singing the usual ballads and rhythm pieces, they sang novelty songs written by the duo of Leiber and Stoller. In 1955 they became The Coasters and started recording what would become a series of rock & roll hits directed at teenage listeners. “Searchin’ ” and “Young Blood” (both 1957), “Yakety Yak” (1958), and “Charlie Brown” and “Poison Ivy” (both 1959).

The Coasters alternated lead singers and featured clever arrangements, including amusing bass replies and tenor saxophone solos by King Curtis, who played a crucial role in creating Atlantic’s rhythm-and-blues sound. With further personnel changes they continued performing in “oldies” shows into the 1990s. The Coasters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Here are two of The Coasters’ hits, “Yakety Yak” and “Poison Ivy”.

LYRICS

Take out the papers and the trash
Or you don’t get no spendin’ cash
If you don’t scrub that kitchen floor
You ain’t gonna rock and roll no more

Yakety yak (don’t talk back)

Just finish cleanin’ up your room
Let’s see that dust fly with that broom
Get all that garbage out of sight
Or you don’t go out Friday night

Yakety yak (Don’t talk back)

You just put on your coat and hat
And walk yourself to the laundromat
And when you finish doin’ that
Bring in the dog and put out the cat

Yackety yack (Don’t talk back)

Don’t you give me no dirty looks
Your father’s hip, he knows what cooks
Just tell your hoodlum friend outside
You ain’t got time to take a ride

Yackety yack (Don’t talk back)

Yakety yak, yakety yak
Yakety yak, yakety yak
Yakety yak, yakety yak

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller
Yakety Yak lyrics © Belinda Aberbach Stevenson Agar Revocable Trust, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

LYRICS

She comes on like a rose but everybody knows
She’ll get you in Dutch
You can look but you better not touch

Poison ivy, poison ivy
Late at night while you’re sleepin’
Poison ivy comes a-creepin’ around

She’s pretty as a daisy but look out man she’s crazy
She’ll really do you in
If you let her under your skin

Poison ivy, poison ivy
Late at night while you’re sleepin’
Poison ivy comes a-creepin’ around

Measles make you bumpy
And mumps’ll make you lumpy
And chicken pox’ll make you jump and twitch
A common cold’ll fool ya
And whooping cough’ll cool ya
But poison ivy, Lord’ll make you itch!

You’re gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion
You’ll be scratchin’ like a hound
The minute you start to mess around

Poison ivy, poison ivy
Late at night while you’re sleepin’
Poison ivy comes a-creepin’ around

Measles make you bumpy
And mumps’ll make you lumpy
And chicken pox’ll make you jump and twitch
A common cold’ll fool ya
And whooping cough’ll cool ya
But poison ivy, Lord’ll make you itch!!

You’re gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion
You’ll be scratchin’ like a hound
The minute you start to mess around

Poison ivy, poison ivy
Late at night while you’re sleepin’
Poison ivy comes a-creepin’ around

La da la da la da
La da la da la da
La da la da la da
La da la da la da

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller
Poison Ivy lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

Mixed music bag 2024 – Week 7 – Depeche Mode

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