Charlie Brown (The Coasters song)

"Charlie Brown" is a popular Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song that was a top-ten hit for the Coasters^[2] in the spring of 1959 (released in January, coupled with "Three Cool Cats", Atco 6132).^[3] It went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, while "Venus" by Frankie Avalon was at No. 1.^[4] It did reach No. 1 in Canada.^[5] It was the first of three top-ten hits for the Coasters that year. It is best known for the phrase, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?"

"Charlie Brown"
Single by The Coasters
B-side	"Three Cool Cats"
Released	January 1959
Recorded	December 11, 1958
Genre	Rhythm and blues[1]
Length	2:19
Label	Atco 6132
Songwriter(s)	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Producer(s)	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
The Coasters singles chronology
"The Shadow Knows" (1958) "Charlie Brown" (1959) "Along Came Jones" (1959)

According to Jerry Leiber, "After 'Yakety Yak', I thought we could write every Coasters song in ten minutes. Man, was I wrong! When we tried to write a follow-up, Mike had lots of musical ideas, but I was stuck. … After nearly a week of agonizing, a simple name came to mind. 'Charlie Brown.' Then, 'He's a clown, that Charlie Brown.' Mike already had a skip-along melodic template in place. He helped me with the story and suddenly a character, played by Dub Jones, stepped out on stage."^[6]

Towards the end of the bridge of the song, the words "Yeah, You!" were recorded at half speed, so the voices would play back at a higher pitch. King Curtis plays the tenor saxophone during the instrumental and the fade out of the record. The best-known version is in mono. However, a stereo rendering (with slightly different vocals) was released on the LP Atlantic History of Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 4, along with several other rare stereo versions of late 1950s Atlantic hits.

Lyrics

The lyric "Who calls the English teacher 'Daddy-o'?"^[2] is most likely a reference to the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, in which high school students mock the surname of a new teacher, Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford), changing "Dadier" to "Daddy-o," a then-current slang term (usually genial) for a male friend or a father. The term 'seven come eleven' is a reference to the dice game craps, and therefore that lyric likely refers to an (in school, at least) illegal gambling session.

It has been claimed that the song is not actually a reference to the Peanuts character of the same name.^[7] The strip had debuted less than a decade prior and had not yet reached its peak of popularity; however, it was being published in numerous newspapers on a daily basis,^[8] and had had several strip reprint collections published by that time. Adding to the confusion is the line "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?", reflecting the comic strip Charlie Brown's generally pessimistic attitude.

Personnel

• Mike Stoller, piano
• King Curtis, saxophone
• Adolph Jacobs, Don Arnone, guitars
• Milt Hinton, bass
• Belton Evans, drums^[9]

The Kim Sisters version

"Charlie Brown"
Single by The Kim Sisters
from the album Their First Album
A-side	"Korean Spring Song"
Released	1962
Genre	Doo-wop, pop, R&B
Length	2:35
Label	Monument Records
Songwriter(s)	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Producer(s)	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
The Kim Sisters singles chronology
"Mister Magic Moon" / Roses in the Snow"" (1964) "Charlie Brown" (1962) "Bittersweet" / "Tic-A-Tic-A-Toc-Toc" (1965)

The Kim Sisters had a successful cover of the song in 1964, which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Charts.^[10][11]

Charts

Chart (1962)	Peak position
US Singles Chart (Billboard)	7

Other versions

There have been over 80 cover versions of the song recorded, including one by British comedy actor Bernard Bresslaw and a German language version (as "Charly Brown") by Hans Blum, both in 1959. Deep River Boys with Mikkel Flagstad's orchestra recorded their spin in Oslo on August 25, 1960; it was released on the extended play En aften på "Casino Non Stop" 1960 (HMV 7EGN 36). Dr. Lonnie Smith does an extended instrumental on his live 1969 album Move Your Hand. Guy Mitchell put out a cover,^[12] and in 1995 Voodoo Glow Skulls did a ska-punk version on their album Firme.^[13]

In popular culture

In a 1979 episode of The White Shadow, the Carver basketball team performs this song at a school dance. In the 1996 film Jack, the title character (played by Robin Williams) and his friends, including his teacher (played by Bill Cosby), sing it in their tree house. The weight in the tree house is so great with the kids and the two adult-sized people that it begins to creak. While they are singing, a butterfly lands on the tree house and it collapses. Once they are on the ground, Jack uses the tag line of the song and says, "Why is everybody always fallin' on me?" The song was included in the musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe. The song was used in Jim Reardon's short Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown (1986) which incorrectly credited the Platters.

References

1. Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "BTS - "Dynamite"". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 296.
2. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 13 - Big Rock Candy Mountain: Rock 'n' roll in the late fifties. [Part 3]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
3. Billboard Hits of 1959 Retrieved February 7, 2012
4. "Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
5. "CHUM Hit Parade - March 9, 1959".
6. Leiber and Mike Stoller with David Ritz, Jerry (2009). Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography. Simon & Schuster. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-1-4165-5938-2.
7. "You're a Misinterpreted Song, Charlie Brown!". Lyric Interpretations. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
8. Arnone, Chris M. (October 11, 2021). "The History Of The Peanuts Comic". Book Riot. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
9. The Coasters: The Complete Singles As & Bs 1954-62, Acrobat Licensing LTD., ADDCCD3180, 2016, UK
10. "Girl Groups in Korean Pop Music History". KBS World. 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
11. "The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music". Rolling Stone. 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
12. The Ultimate History of Rock & Roll Collection, Vol. 1: Rock's Pioneers Retrieved February 7, 2012
13. Voodoo Glow Skulls, Firme Retrieved February 7, 2012