Another one of the those fun story-telling R&B doo wop songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller is “Little Egypt.” In this case, it’s the story of how the singer found a love of many talents. The track was released in 1961 as a single, with the B-Side “Keep on Rolling,” and went to #16 on the R&B Chart and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also on the 1962 Coast Along with the Coasters album. There have been covers of “Little Egypt,” including versions by The Downliners Sect, Elvis Presley, and Cher.

The Coasters formed in 1955 in as a spin-off of The Robins, which was a Los Angeles-based rhythm and blues group. Only Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn moved to New York. Nunn left the group after a while, and the famous lineup was Gardner, Billy Guy, Will “Dub” Jones, and Cornell Gunter. The Coasters had many hits, including “Charlie Brown,” “Down in Mexico,” “Yakety Yak,” “Searchin’,” “Young Blood,” and “Along Came Jones,” among many others. Needless to say, there were plenty of personnel changes after that, and The Coasters still perform today.

Here are the lyrics to “Little Egypt” by The Coasters:

“I went and bought myself a ticket
And I sat down in the very first row, wo wo
They pulled the curtain but then when
They turned the spotlight way down low, wo wo
Little Egypt came out strutting, wearing nothing
But a button and a bow, wo wo, singing
‘Ying yang, ying yang, ying yang, ying yang…’

She had a ruby on her tummy
And a diamond big as Texas on her toe, wo wo
She let her hair down and
She did the hoochie koochie real slow, wo wo

When she did her special number on a zebra skin
I thought she’d stop the show, wo wo, singing
‘Ying yang, ying yang, ying yang, ying yang…’

She did a triple somersault and when she hit the ground
She winked at the audience and then she turned around
She had a picture of a cowboy tattooed on her spine
Saying ‘Phoenix, Arizona, 1949’

Yeah, but let me tell you people
Little Egypt doesn’t dance there anymore, wo wo
She’s too busy mopping and
A taking care of shopping at the store, wo wo
‘Cause we got seven kids and all day long
They crawl around the floor, wo wo, singing
‘Ying yang, ying yang, ying yang, ying yang…'”

If you would like to read about and listen to other Lieber and Stoller songs by The Coasters: “Poison Ivy,” “Charlie Brown,” “Young Blood,” and “Yakety Yak.”

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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