Rhythm and Blues Singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of the music group "The Coasters." He began singing at an early age and gravitated to jazz and blues, as his musical genre likings were shaped by Nat "King" Cole, T-Bone Walker and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. After moving to Los Angeles during the late 1940s, he met musician and club owner Johnny Otis and later record executive Lester Sill who introduced him to the music group The Robins. Gardner was a substitute vocalist, prior to joining them full-time and while with the Spark record label, they came in contact with the writing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who helped guide them on a course to commercial success. Following their renaming to The Coasters, over the next two years under the Atco label, they scored six Top-Ten chart placings beginning with "Searchin'" (1957), also including "Young Blood" (1957), "Yakety Yak" (1958, reaching number 1), "Charlie Brown" (1959), "Along Came Jones" (1959) and "Poison Ivy" (1959). Over the next four decades, the group encountered several lineup changes and endured the deaths of members Bobby Nunn, Cornelius Gunter and Will "Dub" Jones. The Coasters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Gardner remained an active performer until poor health in recent years forced him to stop.
Rhythm and Blues Singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of the music group "The Coasters." He began singing at an early age and gravitated to jazz and blues, as his musical genre likings were shaped by Nat "King" Cole, T-Bone Walker and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. After moving to Los Angeles during the late 1940s, he met musician and club owner Johnny Otis and later record executive Lester Sill who introduced him to the music group The Robins. Gardner was a substitute vocalist, prior to joining them full-time and while with the Spark record label, they came in contact with the writing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who helped guide them on a course to commercial success. Following their renaming to The Coasters, over the next two years under the Atco label, they scored six Top-Ten chart placings beginning with "Searchin'" (1957), also including "Young Blood" (1957), "Yakety Yak" (1958, reaching number 1), "Charlie Brown" (1959), "Along Came Jones" (1959) and "Poison Ivy" (1959). Over the next four decades, the group encountered several lineup changes and endured the deaths of members Bobby Nunn, Cornelius Gunter and Will "Dub" Jones. The Coasters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Gardner remained an active performer until poor health in recent years forced him to stop.
Bio by: C.S.
Advertisement
See more Gardner memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
