Coasters lead singer was rock 'n' roll, R&B pioneer
(NEWSER) - Pioneering rocker Carl Gardner has died after more than a half-century of doo-wopping. Gardner, lead singer of the Coasters and the only surviving member from the group's heyday, died in Florida after a long illness, reports the AP . He was 83. The Coasters shot to fame in the late '50s with a string of hits including "Yakety Yak," "Poison Ivy," and "Young Blood," many of them written by the songwriting duo that also penned some of Elvis Presley's greatest hits. "He loved his singing," Veta Gardner said of her husband of 24 years. "That was his whole life." More»
