Hello there!  This week our blog features an enjoyable doo-wop song, Love Potion Number 9.  We will begin with the original version of this song by The Clovers.  We will then include a cover by The Searchers, and finally a version by The Coasters.

The Clovers and Love Potion Number 9:

The Clovers were a singing group that had much success in the 50s and early 60s.  They were initially formed in 1946 from a group of schoolmates at Armstrong High School in D.C.  After a few early changes, they became a quartet that sang rhythm & blues and doo-wop.  Below is a photo of The Clovers from the 50s. 

In 1951 the group secured a contract with Atlantic Records, where they added guitarist Bill Harris, and they worked with producer Ahmet Ertegun.  The Clovers then released a string of records that had big success on the R&B charts.  Three of their songs were #1 R&B hits, while another 11 placed in the top 10. 

In 1959, the Clovers moved to United Artists Records.  One of the songs from their first UA recording session was Love Potion Number 9.  That song had been written by the great songwriting duo Jerry Leiber (L) and Mike Stoller, who are pictured below.   

Leiber and Stoller wrote a slew of great early rock and roll hits.  They first started with R&B songs that crossed over and became rock and roll standards.  For example, in 1952 they wrote Hound Dog for Big Mama Thornton, which became one of Elvis’ first big hits.  That same year they wrote Kansas City for little Willie Littlefield, and Wilbert Harrison’s 1959 cover of that song became a #1 pop hit.

The story of Love Potion Number 9 is that a man goes to a palm-reader to complain about his non-existent love life.  She provides him with a potion that sends him off “kissing everything in sight.”  His bliss ends when he kisses a policeman, who breaks the magical bottle. 

I took my troubles down to Madame Rue
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth
She’s got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
Sellin’ little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine

I told her that I was a flop with chicks
I’ve been this way since 1956
She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign
She said “What you need is Love Potion Number Nine”

She bent down and turned around and gave me a wink
She said “I’m gonna make it up right here in the sink”
It smelled like turpentine, it looked like India ink
I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink

I didn’t know if it was day or night
I started kissin’ everything in sight
But when I kissed a cop down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion Number Nine

So here is the audio of the Clovers performing Love Potion Number 9. 

This is a fun, funky song, with Billy Mitchell on lead vocals.  It features a tinkling piano and an energetic saxophone solo. 

Love Potion Number 9 would become The Clovers’ biggest hit.  It was a smash on the R&B charts and was also a big crossover hit, reaching #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop playlist. The Clovers recorded an alternate version of the same song with an additional couplet at the end:

I had so much fun that I’m going back again, I wonder what’ll happen with Love Potion Number 10?

Well, in 1961 the Clovers split into two rival groups.  One of them was led by Harold Lucas and the second by Buddy Bailey.  The “dueling Clovers” have continued to record and perform.  They have been quite popular on “oldies” tours and also are apparently very popular in the Carolinas, where there is a big demand for so-called “beach music.” 

We salute all of the members and former members of The Clovers.  They experienced great success on the R&B charts in the 50s, and they have continued performing for a very long time. 

The Searchers and Love Potion Number 9:

The Searchers were a Liverpool band that formed as a skiffle group in 1959.  They took their name from a John Ford western film of the same name.  The band went through several personnel changes until they settled on a quartet with Tony Jackson on bass, Mike Pender on lead guitar, John McNally on rhythm guitar, and Chris Curtis on drums.  Except for McNally, every other member took lead vocals on certain songs. 

Above is a photo of the Searchers from the mid-60s. Like the Beatles, the Searchers also spent time in Hamburg, Germany honing their talents.  In Germany, The Searchers were regulars at Hamburg’s Star Club. 

The Searchers’ single of Love Potion Number 9 was released in the fall of 1964.  This became the group’s biggest hit in the U.S., shooting up to #3 on the Billboard Pop Charts.   

So here are The Searchers doing their version of Love Potion Number 9. 

The Searchers’ version of Love Potion Number 9 featured their trademark “jangly guitar” sound.  At this point The Searchers were considered one of the top “Merseyside” British Invasion bands, along with The Beatles, The Hollies and Gerry and the Pacemakers. 

Well, a band with three lead singers needs to make sure that everyone is happy with their share of the songs.  After the band’s third album, Tony Jackson abruptly quit the group, unhappy that he was lead vocalist on only one song on that album. 

However, the group found a new bassist and carried on.  In 1967, The Searchers were dropped by their record label when their contract expired.  But between 1964 and 1965, the group landed seven songs in the Billboard top 40. 

However, the band still kept on recording, even in the absence of much commercial success.  Eventually, the Searchers became very popular in tours of ‘oldies’ groups.  The group continued until they completed a farewell tour at the end of March, 2019.  By that time their only original member was John McNally, now promoted from rhythm guitar to lead guitar. 

The Searchers were a really enjoyable pop band, with an easily recognizable folk-rock style, something like a British version of The Byrds.  They enjoyed considerable success for a couple of years in the mid-60s, and have showed remarkable longevity.  We salute the surviving members of The Searchers. 

The Coasters and Love Potion Number 9:

The Coasters were originally members of a Los Angeles R&B quartet called The Robins.  They recorded with Spark Records, a company owned by Mike Leiber and Jerry Stoller, the writers of Love Potion Number 9.

By 1953, Leiber and Stoller were sufficiently successful that Atlantic Records offered them a deal whereby the pair could produce songs for Atlantic, but were also able to make recordings for other labels. 

At the time, this was a unique deal, and it made Leiber & Stoller the first independent record producers.  Leiber and Stoller offered the Robins the opportunity to move to Atlantic Records. However, only two of the Robins were willing to record for Atlantic.  So Leiber & Stoller added two additional vocalists, and re-named the group The Coasters. 

Here is a photo of The Coasters original lineup in 1956.  From L: baritone Billy Guy; bass vocalist Bobby Nunn; tenor Leon Hughes (front); and lead vocalist Carl Gardner.

The Coasters tend to be associated with the doo-wop genre.  However, their work was really not doo-wop music, but a mix of R&B and rock ‘n roll.  Leiber and Stoller wrote and produced nearly all the hit songs for the Coasters.  At the time, this was a unique situation, as song-writing and producing were generally totally separate activities. 

Nearly all the Coasters tunes were humorous, and were performed with very broad comedy styling.  The fact that Leiber/Stoller were producing the Coasters’ songs was crucial to establishing their signature sound. 

I don’t know of any other group that had a series of hit comedy songs.  Most comedy records in this era were either straight parody as with Stan Freberg, or silly ‘novelty’ songs as with Ray Stevens. 

Here is the audio of the Coasters’ single Love Potion Number 9, from 1971. 

As you can see, this is an unusual presentation of this song.  The rhythm is that of the cha-cha, and it contains a funky flute solo at the end. 

One of the hallmarks of Leiber and Stoller’s work was their ability to provide lyrics that capture the vernacular dialect of teenagers.  This was never more dramatically displayed than in Leiber and Stoller’s work for the Coasters. 

Coasters songs can instantly transport me back to my high school days.  I vividly remember the dialogue in several of the Coasters comedy hits, such as Yakety Yak (“Take out the papers and the trash, or you don’t get no spendin’ cash”), Charlie Brown (“Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?”), and Poison Ivy (“You’re gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion”). 

At the end of 1957, the Coasters moved from L.A. to New York.  At that time they replaced original members Nunn and Hughes with Cornell Gunter and Dub Jones. They continued to be an extremely successful pop group until 1961; after that, none of their singles charted in the top 50. 

Beginning in the 70s, a number of ‘Coasters’ touring groups materialized.  At least a couple of these had no members from the actual Coasters singing group. 

The 1958 version of the Coasters was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.  They were the first group inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

Then in 1995, a musical revue of Leiber and Stoller songs titled Smokey Joe’s Café opened on Broadway.  A significant portion of the music was devoted to Coasters songs.  The show won a Grammy Award and seven Tony Award nominations.  

So, we salute The Coasters: a most unusual rock ‘n roll comedy group, with many enduring hits. 

Source Material:

Wikipedia, Love Potion No. 9 (song)

Wikipedia, The Clovers

Wikipedia, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Wikipedia, The Searchers (band)

Wikipedia, The Coasters