Searchin' (2:44) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate, with the drums accenting every even-numbered beat. The other instrument is a piano. The narrator has been searching far and wide for his girlfriend; he resolves to find her even if it means swimming a river or climbing a mountain. Besides this version, I have one by Paul Revere and the Raiders. This is also the first of five Coasters songs of which I also have a version by the Beatles.
Young Blood (Leiber/Stoller/Pomus) (2:19) - The drums again accent the second and fourth beats of each measure, but this time the tempo is slow. The drums, the saxophone, and the guys' voices are more audible than the piano. The term "young blood" meant a girl younger than 18. The narrator falls in love with a young girl and follows her home, but her father appears and orders the narrator to leave the girl alone. This is the second of the five songs later covered by the Beatles.
Sweet Georgia Brown (Bernie/Pinkard/Casey) (2:44) - The tempo is even slower here than in the previous song, but the same instruments play here and in the next song. Georgia wears a yellow dress, stops traffic as she walks along streets, and drives young men out of their minds. The narrator resolves that he will stay in town as long as Georgia does. In a later version, the Beatles would sing behind Tony Sheridan.
Yakety Yak (1:50) - The tempo is very fast. The narrator is a parent ordering a child to do household chores or else forfeit allowance money and dating privileges.
Charlie Brown (original version 2:18; 1990s stereo version 2:16) - The original version is fast and in the key of A; the newer version is slightly faster and in the key of G. In the first two lines of each verse the drums and piano play whole beats. During the instrumentals a guitar joins the drums, piano, and sax. Charlie pulls many pranks at school, such as writing on walls and calling teachers "Daddy-O"; sooner or later he will get in big trouble. Dub, who sang bass in this song, plays the role of Charlie as he speaks the final line of the chorus: "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?"
Three Cool Cats (2:09) - The only instruments in this moderately slow song are drums and a guitar, except during the instrumental when a piano and a sax also play. As three men (cats) sit in their old car and share a candy bar, they see three girls (chicks) strutting around and eating potato chips. On sight of the girls, the guys fall in love with them. This is the fourth of the songs of which I also have a Beatles version.
Along Came Jones (2:56) - I've liked this song a lot ever since I first heard it, and now it's my favorite Coasters song. The tempo is fast and instruments include African drums, a sax, and a banjo. The narrator turns on his TV to find a show in which the villain, Salty Sam, tries to kill the young woman, Sweet Sue, after she refuses to surrender the deed to her ranch. The use of "and then" holds me in suspense until the hero, Jones, appears. Simply his coming implies that he saves Sue just in time.
Poison Ivy (2:42) - This moderately fast song features guitars and, during the chorus, clicking drums to provide the sound effect of a man scratching himself. The subject of this song is a sexually active girl who will give measles, mumps, and chicken pox to any man who dares sleep with her.
Besame Mucho (Velasquez/Skylar) (2:15) - The tempo is moderate. I would guess one of the instruments to be a set of small chimes. Dub sings most of the lead vocals; the other guys sing "besame" repeatedly. The narrator asks the girl to love him eternally and fulfill his dreams; if she ever leaves him he will die. I've been told that "Besame mucho!" is Spanish for "Kiss me a lot!" This is the last of the five Coasters/Beatles songs.