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I Coasters (sorti a Los Angeles sulle ceneri dei Robins, che avevano gia`
Double Crossing Blues al primo posto delle charts nel 1950)
furono i clown del doo-wop.
Anch' essi di Los Angeles, come tanti altri gruppi analoghi,
poterono pero` servirsi di canzoni scritte dalla coppia Leiber e Stoller.
Ognuna di queste canzoni e` una mini-commedia sociale,
raccontata dal protagonista (in genere Carl Gardner)
con linguaggio vernacolare e sempre conclusa
da una morale.
Searchin' (1957) fu la prima canzone a citare personaggi della sotto-cultura popolare (i detective Charlie Chan e Sam Spade). Searchin' stabili` anche uno standard della forma-canzone rock: l'improvvisazione del rhythm and blues venne infatti limitata alle parti vocali, ancorando rigorosamente le parti strumentali a un ritmo semplicissimo. The sax solo was by Plas Johnson. Un'altra caratteristica dei Coasters fu la "fool voice". Come nei drammi antichi compariva all'improvviso un "fool" a commentare con ironia l'azione, cosi` nella scatenata Charlie Brown (1959) la musica si ferma di colpo e un cantante basso esclama "why is everybody picking on me", con il tono ebete e indolente associato dai minstrel al nero tonto. Infine c'era il "yakety sax" di King Curtis, cosi` detto perche' si impose con l'assolo della novelty Yakety Yak (1958), poche note sbrindellate che saltellano fuori tempo. Leiber e Stoller presero particolarmente di mira gli stereotipi di Hollywood con parodie dei film western (Along Came Jones) e dei film d'avventura esotica (Down In Mexico, 1956). Poison Ivy (1959), Shoppin' For Clothes (1960) e Little Egypt (1961), il canto del cigno, raffinarono ulteriormente la loro forma di "commedia di situazione". Nell'insieme le loro canzoni costituiscono una buffa storia dei costumi del ghetto. |
The Coasters, mostly a vehicle for Leiber & Stoller's compositions, were the clowns of doo-wop, their jovial musical vignettes the equivalent of television's sit-coms.
Each of their songs was also a social mini-drama, told (usually by tenor
Carl Gardner) in the vernacular language and capped by a moral:
Riot In Cell Block No 9 (1954),
Smokey Joe's Cafe (1955),
Searchin' (1957), whose greatly-simplified instrumental part bore little resemblance to rhythm'n'blues,
the lascivious Youngblood (1957),
Yakety Yak (1958), a childish novelty (albeit permeated by teen angst) that introduced King Curtis' "yakety sax",
Charlie Brown (1959), whose "fool voice" was still reminiscent of minstrel shows,
and Poison Ivy (1959).
(Italian text translated by Ornella C. Grannis) The Coasters were the clowns of doo-wop. Originally from Los Angeles like many similar groups, they had the advantage of Leiber and Stoller who wrote their songs. Each of their songs is a mini social satire narrated in common vernacular (generally by Carl Gardner), always concluding with a moral. Searchin' (1957) was the first song to quote characters of a popular sub-culture (the detectives Charlie Chan and Sam Spade). Searchin' also established the standard format of the rock song: the improvisation of the rhythm and blues was limited to the vocal parts, while the instrumentation was rigorously anchored to the simplest of rhythms. The sax solo was by Plas Johnson. Another characteristic of the Coasters was the "fool's voice". As in ancient dramas "the fool" suddenly appears to comment with irony, so in the refrained of Charlie Brown (1959) the music stops suddenly and a baritone asks, "why's everybody always picking on me?", in the dim-witted and indolent tone once upon a time associated with the "dumb Negro". Then there was the "yakety sax" of King Curtis, introduced as a novelty solo of Yakety Yak (1958) featuring a few sloppy notes jumping out of tempo. Leiber and Stoller particularly targeted Hollywood stereotypes with their parodies of westerns (Along Came Jones) and action movies (Down In Mexico, 1956). Poison Ivy (1959), Shoppin' For Clothes (1960) and Little Egypt (1961), their swan song, further refined their style - the situation comedy. As a whole their songs constitute a satire of life in the ghetto. |
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