"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. This song was one of a string of singles released by the Coasters between 1957 and 1959 that dominated the charts, making them one of the biggest performing acts of the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

era.

Song

The song is a "playlet," a word Stoller used for the glimpses into teenage life that characterized the songs Leiber and Stoller wrote and produced. The lyrics describe the listing of household chores to a kid, presumably a teenager, the teenager's response ("yakety yak") and the parents' retort ("don't talk back") — an experience very familiar to a middle-class teenager of the day. Leiber has said the Coasters portrayed "a white kid’s view of a black person’s conception of white society." The serio-comic street-smart "playlets" etched out by the songwriters were sung by the Coasters with a sly clowning humor, while the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician ...

filled in, in the up-tempo

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

style. The group was openly "theatrical" in style—they were not pretending to be expressing their own experience. The threatened punishment for not taking out the garbage and sweeping the floor is, in the song's humorous lyrics: :"You ain't gonna rock and roll no more," And the refrain is: :"Yakety yak. Don't talk back." In the last verse, the parents order their son to tell his "

hoodlum A hoodlum is a thug, usually in a group of misfits who are associated with crime or theft. Early use The earliest reference to the word "hoodlum" was in the December 14, 1866, ''San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin'' after the Hoodlum Band was ...

friend" outside in the car, that he won't be allowed to go out with him at all for a ride.

Personnel

Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

, piano *

* Alan Hanlon, guitar *

Adolph Jacobs Adolph Jacobs, later known as Al Jacobs (April 15, 1939 – July 23, 2014), was an American guitar player, best known as an original member of The Coasters. Biography Born Adolf Jacobs in Pineland, Sabine County, Texas, he played guitar with Vern ...

, guitar *

Wendell Marshall Wendell Marshall (October 24, 1920 – February 6, 2002) was an American jazz double-bassist. Marshall was Jimmy Blanton's cousin. He studied at Lincoln University, then served in the Army during World War II. Following his discharge, he perf ...

or Lloyd Trotman, bass *

Joe Marshall Joseph Hanley Marshall (February 19, 1876 – September 11, 1931), nicknamed "Home Run Joe",

, drums * Chino Pozo, congas

Cover versions

* Québécois duo Les Jérolas recorded in 1959 a French version, subtitled "Rouspet' pas", for the

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

label. * Billy Sanders recorded a version in German, "Jackety Jack" in early 1959. . *The song was covered by Jan & Dean and was planned to be released on their album ''Carnival of Sound'' in 1968. ''Carnival of Sound'' was not released until 2010. * Lee Perry released a cover version in 1969 (as Lee Perry and the Upsetters), altering the lyric "You ain't gonna rock and roll no more" to "You ain't gonna reggae reggae reggae no more" * Sha Na Na performed this as part of their set at the original

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

and recorded two live covers of the song in 1971 and 1972. * The Pipkins covered the song in 1970, produced by John Burgess. *Electronic/disco group El Coco covered this song in 1975 with some comedy elements, taken from their debut album, ''Mondo Disco'', released on AVI Records. *The song was covered by 2 Live Crew for the 1988 movie '' Twins''. In the film, Julius (

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

) sings along as the song plays in his earphones while flying to the United States. *

Phantom Planet Phantom Planet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald (vocals, rhythm guitar), Darren Robinson (lead guitar), Sam Farrar (bass guitar) and Jeff Conrad (drums). The band is best known for ...

covered this song for the soundtrack of the 1999 film '' Mumford.''

Parodies and alternate lyrics

*The song was parodied for use in adverts for

Radox Radox is a brand of personal care products, best known for their range of bubble bath and shower gels. The brand was founded in the United Kingdom in 1908, and is now also available in Ireland, Czech Republic, Australia, Malaysia and South Afric ...

bath soak and McCain Micro Chips in the 1980s and 1990s respectively. *A modified version, " Yakety Yak, Take It Back", was used in a 1990 all-star PSA for the Take It Back Foundation. * Vince Vance & the Valiants, one of multiple groups parodying Barbara Ann as " Bomb Iran" in 1980, created a similarly themed 2005 parody called "Yakety Yak (Bomb Iraq)"."The Show Band that Wouldn't Die"
''Houston Press'', June 30, 2005.

Other uses in popular culture

* The

solo by

inspired the 1963

Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit "Yakety Sax" (which became Benny Hill's signature tune). Randolph was a major part of the " Nashville sound" for most ...

song "

Yakety Sax "Yakety Sax" is a pop novelty instrumental jointly composed by James Q. "Spider" Rich and Boots Randolph. Saxophonist Randolph popularized the selection in his 1963 recording, which reached number 35 on the pop charts. Comedian Benny Hill later ...

". *The song is sung by the Coasters in the 1988 horror-comedy ''Phantom of the Ritz'', in which the four-man group makes a cameo appearance. *It has also served as the theme to

Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedy writer, and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts durin ...

's chat-show ''Clive Anderson Talks Back'' during the 1990s, and as the opening theme of the 1988 movie *It was the inspiration and theme song for the 2002-2003 Canadian/Australian animated series, ''

Yakkity Yak ''Yakkity Yak'' is a Flash animated television series produced by the Vancouver-based animation studio Studio B Productions and Kapow Pictures. It was created by Mark Gravas and aired on Teletoon in Canada and on Nickelodeon in Australia from 9 ...

''. *A music video starring Plucky Duck as the kid tasked with chores, and a group of anthropomorphic yaks in police officer suits, aired on the 90th episode of ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation a ...

'' and used in '' The Plucky Duck Show''. *The song name was used for the code name of

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...

16.10, a

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...

operating system with its

versions Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

all named after animals. *Used as the opening theme for

Barstool Sports Barstool Sports is an American blog website and digital media company headquartered in New York City that produces content on sports and pop culture. Founded by David Portnoy in 2003 in Milton, Massachusetts, the company's two primary owners ...

radio show ''The Yak''. *The song is sung by Paul Bettany in a pivotal scene as Vision in the '' WandaVision'' episode " Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience". *This song was sung by caveman-clad Muppet pigs in ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

'', Episode 5x13. *A commercial for Barbie Sweet Treats was sung to the tune in 1999. The original recording was also included in films including '' Stand by Me'' (1986), '' The Great Outdoors'' (1988) and '' Always'' (1989) and the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

original miniseries, '' WandaVision''.

References