Biography
Although primarily recalled in the present day as the ensemble that preceded the Coasters, the Los Angeles vocal group the Robins compiled an independent catalog of successful recordings that stood on its own merits. Their story unfolds across two distinct eras and contains far more intricate turns than most admirers of the Coasters realize. The origins trace to 1945 at Alameda High School in San Francisco, where tenor Terrell Leonard, performing under the name Ty Terrell, joined baritone brothers Billy Richards and Roy Richards to establish the A-Sharp Trio. Their early material reflected the clear imprint of the Golden Gate Quartet, the Nat King Cole Trio, and the Delta Rhythm Boys, along with other prominent harmony acts of the era. After relocating to Los Angeles, the singers secured steady engagements throughout the Watts district, yet their initial opportunity arrived via a second-place finish at a contest held at the Barrelhouse Club, the venue operated by bandleader Johnny Otis, who subsequently booked them for weekend appearances.
It was there that they encountered bass and baritone singer Bobby Nunn, who performed odd tasks at the club while awaiting his own chance. Otis soon converted the trio into a quartet in an effort to capture part of the audience then gathering around the rival Ravens. Terrell, the Richards siblings, and Nunn first appeared as the Four Bluebirds, a name Otis selected, and they recorded one side under that billing, “My Baby Done Told Me,” backed by an Otis performance, for Excelsior early in 1949. Shortly afterward they abandoned the Bluebirds designation; at their next session, held for Aladdin Records in May 1949, the ensemble recorded as the Robins. Their debut single, “Around About Midnight” backed with “You Sure Look Good To Me,” reached stores in June 1949, followed weeks later by “Don’t Like The Way You’re Doing” paired with “Come Back Baby.”
The group next joined Savoy alongside the remainder of Otis’s performing company, producing a run of releases that featured Otis himself and included their support on the single “Double Crossin’ Blues” behind his featured vocalist Esther Jones, known professionally as Little Esther. That record became one of Savoy’s strongest sellers. Meanwhile the first Savoy single issued under the Robins’ own name, “If I Didn’t Love You So” backed with “If It’s So Baby,” appeared in December 1949. Throughout 1950 they recorded prolifically for Savoy, sometimes credited directly to the group and at other times appearing on sides released under Johnny Otis, Little Esther, or Mel Walker (where they were listed as the Blue Notes). The upbeat flip side “If It’s So Baby” eventually supplanted the original A-side and reached number ten on the R&B charts, marking the group’s first national chart entry. “Double Crossin’ Blues” climbed even higher, attaining the top position on the R&B lists.
Momentum appeared assured until the spring of 1950, when the initial wave of success abruptly ended. After the members questioned Johnny Otis about their compensation, he dismissed them from his revue just before a scheduled national tour. Although the Robins departed Otis’s circle and their Savoy contract, the label continued to issue several of their recordings from existing masters over the following months; Nunn, who had already issued solo sides, also released additional singles after the split. In the summer of 1950 the group resumed activity under a new agreement with Dolphin Records, yielding “Race of Man” backed with “Bayou Baby Blues.” Later that year they moved to the Bihari Brothers’ RPM and Modern imprints, where they provided backing for Mickey Champion.
During a 1951 session that produced four tracks, one number, “That’s What the Good Book Says,” marked the first commercially notable songwriting effort by the young white team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Issued as a B-side and credited to “the Robbins” to avoid contractual conflict with Dolphin, the recording signaled the initial professional encounter between Leiber & Stoller and the group. Military conscription sidelined Terrell and the Richards brothers in mid-1951, leaving Nunn the sole active member for most of the following year; he issued several solo singles and collaborated with Little Esther on Federal sides. The four original members reunited late in 1952, inaugurating the second chapter of the Robins’ history by adding a fifth voice, Grady Chapman. Chapman’s higher tenor extended the group’s range and supplied an essentially new texture.
Under new manager Jack Lewis the expanded quintet secured an RCA Victor contract early in 1953. Their February debut for the label paired “A Fool Such as I” with the original composition “My Heart’s the Biggest Fool.” They remained with RCA through the close of the year, although their final session occurred in the autumn; despite several strong recordings, none charted. In October RCA issued the Leiber & Stoller song “Ten Days in Jail,” a comic yet pointed treatment of incarceration distinguished by the group’s gritty, humorous delivery. When Leiber & Stoller encountered difficulties collecting royalties, they established their own publishing firm and, with veteran executive Lester Sill, launched Spark Records. The Robins, having returned to the Bihari Brothers on the Crown imprint, issued several sides in 1954 and added tenor Carl Gardner after Chapman’s availability grew uncertain due to personal and legal matters. Gardner’s presence ensured five voices for performances and occasionally six when Chapman appeared.
In the spring of 1954, between contracts, the group accepted an offer from Leiber & Stoller to join Spark. Their second Spark release, “Riot in Cell Block #9,” delivered an even more exaggerated comic treatment of confinement, complete with machine-gun effects; the producers substituted guest vocalist Richard Berry, later famous for “Louie Louie,” for Nunn on the lead. The similarly themed follow-up “Framed” found immediate favor with listeners, yet Spark’s limited national distribution prevented strong sales or chart placement. The summer 1954 recording of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” brought the situation to a climax and supplied Leiber & Stoller with material that transcended Spark’s reach. Nesuhi Ertegun of Atlantic Records licensed the track for the Atco subsidiary; issued on both Spark and Atco, it reached number 79 on the pop charts and number ten on the R&B charts.
Spark soon attracted major-label interest, and negotiations with Decca ultimately collapsed. Atlantic’s Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler instead acquired the entire Spark catalog and signed Leiber & Stoller as independent producers, a novel arrangement. The Robins, however, declined to relocate to the East Coast, and Terrell’s independent copyright registration of the group name further complicated matters. Terrell and the Richards brothers refused the Atlantic deal, leaving only Gardner and Nunn available to the producers. Gardner initially remained with the others but eventually joined Nunn. Leiber & Stoller recruited Leon Hughes and Billy Guy to complete the lineup, which became the Coasters and achieved lasting success under Atlantic; Gardner later guided a performing edition that included his son, Carl Gardner, Jr.
The Robins themselves persisted on the West Coast. Terrell and the Richards brothers signed with Whippet Records and released the promising but uncharted single “Cherry Lips.” They continued performing and recording sporadically, with Chapman handling leads. After the Whippet contract concluded in 1957 they moved to the Knight subsidiary of Imperial the following year. Chapman departed late in 1958 and was replaced by Bobby Sheen; with Sheen as lead they later recorded for Arvee and Lavender, extending activity into the early 1960s. Their final two releases for Lavender, “White Cliffs of Dover” backed with “How Many More Times” and “Magic of a Dream” backed with “Mary Lou Loves to Hootchy Kootchy Coo,” appeared in 1961.
It was there that they encountered bass and baritone singer Bobby Nunn, who performed odd tasks at the club while awaiting his own chance. Otis soon converted the trio into a quartet in an effort to capture part of the audience then gathering around the rival Ravens. Terrell, the Richards siblings, and Nunn first appeared as the Four Bluebirds, a name Otis selected, and they recorded one side under that billing, “My Baby Done Told Me,” backed by an Otis performance, for Excelsior early in 1949. Shortly afterward they abandoned the Bluebirds designation; at their next session, held for Aladdin Records in May 1949, the ensemble recorded as the Robins. Their debut single, “Around About Midnight” backed with “You Sure Look Good To Me,” reached stores in June 1949, followed weeks later by “Don’t Like The Way You’re Doing” paired with “Come Back Baby.”
The group next joined Savoy alongside the remainder of Otis’s performing company, producing a run of releases that featured Otis himself and included their support on the single “Double Crossin’ Blues” behind his featured vocalist Esther Jones, known professionally as Little Esther. That record became one of Savoy’s strongest sellers. Meanwhile the first Savoy single issued under the Robins’ own name, “If I Didn’t Love You So” backed with “If It’s So Baby,” appeared in December 1949. Throughout 1950 they recorded prolifically for Savoy, sometimes credited directly to the group and at other times appearing on sides released under Johnny Otis, Little Esther, or Mel Walker (where they were listed as the Blue Notes). The upbeat flip side “If It’s So Baby” eventually supplanted the original A-side and reached number ten on the R&B charts, marking the group’s first national chart entry. “Double Crossin’ Blues” climbed even higher, attaining the top position on the R&B lists.
Momentum appeared assured until the spring of 1950, when the initial wave of success abruptly ended. After the members questioned Johnny Otis about their compensation, he dismissed them from his revue just before a scheduled national tour. Although the Robins departed Otis’s circle and their Savoy contract, the label continued to issue several of their recordings from existing masters over the following months; Nunn, who had already issued solo sides, also released additional singles after the split. In the summer of 1950 the group resumed activity under a new agreement with Dolphin Records, yielding “Race of Man” backed with “Bayou Baby Blues.” Later that year they moved to the Bihari Brothers’ RPM and Modern imprints, where they provided backing for Mickey Champion.
During a 1951 session that produced four tracks, one number, “That’s What the Good Book Says,” marked the first commercially notable songwriting effort by the young white team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Issued as a B-side and credited to “the Robbins” to avoid contractual conflict with Dolphin, the recording signaled the initial professional encounter between Leiber & Stoller and the group. Military conscription sidelined Terrell and the Richards brothers in mid-1951, leaving Nunn the sole active member for most of the following year; he issued several solo singles and collaborated with Little Esther on Federal sides. The four original members reunited late in 1952, inaugurating the second chapter of the Robins’ history by adding a fifth voice, Grady Chapman. Chapman’s higher tenor extended the group’s range and supplied an essentially new texture.
Under new manager Jack Lewis the expanded quintet secured an RCA Victor contract early in 1953. Their February debut for the label paired “A Fool Such as I” with the original composition “My Heart’s the Biggest Fool.” They remained with RCA through the close of the year, although their final session occurred in the autumn; despite several strong recordings, none charted. In October RCA issued the Leiber & Stoller song “Ten Days in Jail,” a comic yet pointed treatment of incarceration distinguished by the group’s gritty, humorous delivery. When Leiber & Stoller encountered difficulties collecting royalties, they established their own publishing firm and, with veteran executive Lester Sill, launched Spark Records. The Robins, having returned to the Bihari Brothers on the Crown imprint, issued several sides in 1954 and added tenor Carl Gardner after Chapman’s availability grew uncertain due to personal and legal matters. Gardner’s presence ensured five voices for performances and occasionally six when Chapman appeared.
In the spring of 1954, between contracts, the group accepted an offer from Leiber & Stoller to join Spark. Their second Spark release, “Riot in Cell Block #9,” delivered an even more exaggerated comic treatment of confinement, complete with machine-gun effects; the producers substituted guest vocalist Richard Berry, later famous for “Louie Louie,” for Nunn on the lead. The similarly themed follow-up “Framed” found immediate favor with listeners, yet Spark’s limited national distribution prevented strong sales or chart placement. The summer 1954 recording of “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” brought the situation to a climax and supplied Leiber & Stoller with material that transcended Spark’s reach. Nesuhi Ertegun of Atlantic Records licensed the track for the Atco subsidiary; issued on both Spark and Atco, it reached number 79 on the pop charts and number ten on the R&B charts.
Spark soon attracted major-label interest, and negotiations with Decca ultimately collapsed. Atlantic’s Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler instead acquired the entire Spark catalog and signed Leiber & Stoller as independent producers, a novel arrangement. The Robins, however, declined to relocate to the East Coast, and Terrell’s independent copyright registration of the group name further complicated matters. Terrell and the Richards brothers refused the Atlantic deal, leaving only Gardner and Nunn available to the producers. Gardner initially remained with the others but eventually joined Nunn. Leiber & Stoller recruited Leon Hughes and Billy Guy to complete the lineup, which became the Coasters and achieved lasting success under Atlantic; Gardner later guided a performing edition that included his son, Carl Gardner, Jr.
The Robins themselves persisted on the West Coast. Terrell and the Richards brothers signed with Whippet Records and released the promising but uncharted single “Cherry Lips.” They continued performing and recording sporadically, with Chapman handling leads. After the Whippet contract concluded in 1957 they moved to the Knight subsidiary of Imperial the following year. Chapman departed late in 1958 and was replaced by Bobby Sheen; with Sheen as lead they later recorded for Arvee and Lavender, extending activity into the early 1960s. Their final two releases for Lavender, “White Cliffs of Dover” backed with “How Many More Times” and “Magic of a Dream” backed with “Mary Lou Loves to Hootchy Kootchy Coo,” appeared in 1961.
Albums
