Experience a true pioneer of American rock n' roll and rhythm and blues, Leon Hughes - The Original & His Coasters.
Leon Hughes was an original member of the iconic American R&B band, The Coasters. Since 1956, The Coasters' music has influenced generations of American musicians including The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, and The Grateful Dead. In 1987 the band became the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1994 Leon Hughes received the Rhythm and Blues Pioneer Award.
A few of the band's top ten singles include Down in Mexico, Young Blood, Searchin', and Sweet Georgia Brown, and their songs have appeared in numerous popular television shows and films, such as Home Alone, Stand By Me, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.
Leon "Pops" Hughes started acting with his parents as a child and toured with early lineups of the Hollywood Flames (with which he also recently acted in a 1998 revival show). He was an original member of the Lamplighters during 1952-53 (together with Mathew Nelson and Willie Ray Rockwell). Hughes left the Lamplighters before they recorded with new lead Al Frazier. Leon was recommended by Bobby Nunn (who knew him from Watts, L.A.) for The Coasters´ original line-up. Around this time (or possibly in early 1957) Leon recorded with The Celebrity's (which included his brother Elder O’Neal) on Caroline and also recorded on his own label Leoneal Records with The Signeals (a group inlcuding both his brother and his sister Shirley Hughes). Leon stayed in California when the Coasters moved to New York (recorded the two Flip singles as The Dukes with Bobby Nunn in 1959) and later launched a non-original, occasionally acting, Coasters group originally featuring Young Jessie (one record on Chelan was issued as "The Coasters Two Plus Two" featuring him and Nunn in 1975 – and two other singles were issued as "The World Famous Coasters").
Today, at the ripe young age of 87, "Pops" is still going strong, touring around the world with his group, known as "Leon Hughes - the Original & His Coasters."