Yakety Yak

This was written by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had written Elvis Presley's hits "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock." "Yakety Yak" was one of several hits they wrote for The Coasters. In the song, a kid is being scolded by his parents for not doing his chores. There are lots of social implications that can be read into this song, which was written by two Jewish men and sung by a black vocal group. In the book The History of Rock, Bill Millar writes: "The Coasters were clearly irreverent and opposed institutions that white adults held in high esteem. Authority, parents, fidelity, hard work, piety and the suppression of risky pleasures were questioned with a blood and subversive wit. Jews (Leiber and Stoller) and Southern blacks (the Coasters) were expected to show gratitude towards the system. Instead they stood up and criticized it, a theme that can be recognized in almost all their songs."

King Curtis, who recorded as a solo artist for Atlantic Records in the '60s, played the famous saxophone solo. In 1963, Boots Randolph used this song as the basis for his instrumental "Yakety Sax."

"Yakety Yak" opens the 1988 movie The Great Outdoors, starring John Candy and Dan Aykroyd. The Ripley family sings along with it as they drive to their vacation destination. The song was also features on the soundtracks to Stand By Me (1986), Always (1989) and October Sky (1999). The rock band Phantom Planet also covered it for the 1999 film Mumford. The song also shows up in these TV shows: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ("Doink" - 2017) The Office ("The Sting" - 2010) Quantum Leap ("Good Morning, Peoria - September 9, 1959" - 1989) Rags to Riches ("Pilot" - 1987)