Searchin'

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"Searchin'" is a song written by Leiber and Stoller specifically for The Coasters. It was released as a single on Atco Records in March 1957, and topped the Rhythm and Blues Chart for twelve weeks. It reached #3 on the national pop singles chart.

Although the Coasters had previously done well on the R&B charts, it was "Searchin" (along with "Young Blood" on the flip side) that sparked the group's rock and roll fame.

The song

The lyrics, written by Leiber, use vernacular phrasing. The plot revolves around the singer's determination to find his love wherever she may be, even if he must resort to detective work. The song's notable gimmick was in citing specific law-enforcement figures from popular culture, such as Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Joe Friday and Sam Spade. The baritone vocals of The Coasters' lead singer Billy Guy are raw and insistent. Driving the song is a pounding piano rhythm of two bass notes alternating on every second beat. The theme of the song is searching for love:

"Well searching"

"Yeah I'm gonna searching"

The refrain is simple variations of this phrase

"Gonna find her, yeah ah, gonna find her"

References

External links

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Last updated on Saturday February 23, 2008 at 10:36:27 PST (GMT -0800)
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