Tuesday, February 22, 2022

#4

 Much like Carole King, who we talked about earlier in the countdown, the number of hit songs written by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller is nothing short of staggering.

They brought a sense of humor to the artform of churning out hit Rhythm and Blues Records that regularly crossed over to great success on the Pop Charts as well.

One of their greatest vehicles for accomplishing this feat was a group called The Coasters.

In fact, between 1956 and 1971, The Coasters placed FIFTEEN songs on The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Charts penned by Leiber and Stoller.

One of those, "Yakety Yak," went all the way to #1 in 1958 ... and today's #2 Hit stayed there for an accumulated ten weeks the following year, racking up 112 points in the process.

It was kept out of the #1 spot by "Venus" by Frankie Avalon ... but works as the perfect example of what Leiber and Stoller brought to the rock and roll table.