Charlie Brown by The Coasters

Album: Greatest Hits (1959)

Charted: 6 2

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Songfacts®:

Like most Coaster's songs, this was written by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They wrote hits for many artists, including Elvis Presley, The Drifters, and Ben E. King. The songs they wrote for The Coasters were usually more comical.
Leiber and Stoller made up the story of Charlie Brown, a kid who is always getting in trouble and wonders why everyone's always picking on him. It has nothing to do with the character in the Peanuts comic strip.
Jerry Leiber, of Leiber and Stoller fame, reports that the phrase "He's a clown, that Charlie Brown" occurred to him after a long creative dry spell. Their previous Coasters hit was "Yakety Yak," which almost wrote itself when Mike Stoller was fooling around on the piano and Leiber yelled from the kitchen, "Take out the papers and the trash!"
For "Charlie Brown," Mike Stoller already had a melody written, to which the lyrics were fitted.
n the book Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography, Mike Stoller tells of the fascinating character that was Cornell Gunter: "...you wouldn't exactly call Cornell macho. The minute he opened his mouth, you knew he was gay. He had a queenly elocution and, in fact, did a dead-on imitation of the Queen of the Blues, Dinah Washington, too." You can hear this slight lisp in the line "Why is everybody always picking on me?" In spite of this, he had an 18-inch neck, considerable strength, and once threw an assailant over a pickup truck!
This song was also played and referenced in the Robin Williams film Jack, including a parody of the tagline when Bill Cosby (playing Jack's teacher) exclaims "Why is everybody always falling on me?" after their tree house crashes to the ground.
The BBC banned this song because of the bad behavior Charlie Brown demonstrated, especially throwing spitballs. This ban was soon lifted.

Comments: 14

George Pope from Vancouver BcHow did Charlie become the bad boy? Lucy's the spit disrturber in that little group of kids. Oh, she might disrespectfully address the English teacher, but as a ventriloquist thing using Chuck's voice.
Emily from Toronto, CanadaThere was a skunk outside my daughter's school, so we would always joke, "Fe fe fi fi fo fo fum
I smell skunk in the auditorium."
Seventhmist from 7th HeavenA future big-time animation producer/director named Jim Reardon made good use of this song for the end credits of his animated parody of violent movies, "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown!" a project for his animation school. It's easily found on YouTube.
Jennifur Sun from RamonaWould have loved to have seen them in person. Knew a few Charlies in my life and I can identify with the Peanuts character very well.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 28th 1959, Cash Box released their Top 100 Singles chart for the week ending 02-28, and for the first time began using a red 'bullet' to indicate strongest upward movement each week...
The highest position record with a 'bullet' was "Charlie Brown" by the Coasters, it was at #3 and surprisingly only reached #2 on Cash Box's chart and also on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart...
The three lowest ranking records with a 'bullet' were all in their first week on the chart; ""Telling Lies" by Fats Domino at #78, "Never Be Anyone Else But You" by Ricky Nelson at #79, and "Pink Shoe Laces" by Dodie Stevens at #81.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 21st 1959, Atco Records released the Coasters' "Charlie Brown"; six days later on January 27th it would enter Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #69; on March 9th it peaked at #2* {for 3 weeks} and it stayed on the chart for 15 weeks...
Exactly twenty eight years later on January 21st, 1987 the Coasters were inducted in the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame...
And sadly, on January 21st, 1999 blues singer Charles Brown passed away at the age of 76; his 1961 his classic "Please Come Home for Christmas" reached #76 on the Top 100...
May he R.I.P.
* The three weeks that "Charlie Brown" was at #2, the #1 record for those three weeks was "Venus" by Frankie Avalon.
Esskayess from Dallas, TxI always smile at the Chipmunkian line, 'Yeah, you!'
Christy from Rome, GaAccording to Glenn Altschuler in _All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America_ the lyrics to Charlie Brown are an example of how Rock N Roll songs have presented stereotypes of blacks as comic figures. (see page 57)
Chomper from Franjkin County, Paoops..I mean in the fifties and sixties. my mistake .
Chomper from Franjkin County, Pa(from the book "The Wacky Top 40" ") Rock On : .. After writing hits in the and early sixies for the Coasters and such stars as Elvis Presley , the Drifters , and Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller oversaw the rise of top girl groups like the Dixie Cups and the Shangri - Las, produced records for Procol Harum, and scored a number of movies. ...As for the Coasters, tragedy struck several former and newer members. .. In 1961, saxaphonist King Curtis was stabbed to death outside his apartment. ..In 1980, bass singer Nathaniel "Buster" Wilson was shot and killed, his body dismembered and dumped near Hoover Dam. ..Six days later, Bobby Nunn died of a heart attack. ..In 1990, tenor Cornelius Gunter was gunned down in his car. ...In 1987, Leiber and Stoller and the Coasters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Stew from Bklyn, NyI was always under the impression that charlie brown was written by charles millette, originally, around 1956/ 57. Further it was written about a kid in our 7th grade class, (of the same name), and was a pretty good description of him. The school was Mark Twain jhs in Bklyn. NY.
Alex from Albany, NyThe line "Who calls the English teacher Daddy-O?" is a reference to The Blackboard Jungle.
Howard from St. Louis Park, MnI like the part where the bass voice says "Why is everybody always picking on me?" I can do that part very well and right in sync.
Dee from Indianapolis, InWhat a great song. I like alot of the Coaster's songs but this is the one most people associate with them when you hear it.

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