Cornell Gunter
Encyclopedia
Cornell Gunter was an American
rhythm and blues
singer, most active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in Coffeyville
, Kansas
, and died in Las Vegas
, Nevada
, after being shot in his automobile.
. He had recorded
with the yet-unnamed Platters singing back-up
on Big Jay McNeely
's recording "Nervous Man Nervous" on Federal Records
in 1953. He also was a member of The Flairs
and The Coasters
. The title song
from the 1957 Susan Oliver
movie
, The Green Eyed Blonde, was sung by Gunter. Will "Dub" Jones and Gunter joined The Coasters
as replacements for Bobby Nunn
and Leon Hughes
in early 1958. After he left the Coasters, he toured with Dinah Washington
. In 1963, he formed his own Coasters group; they were usually billed as "The Fabulous Coasters". Gunter made several solo
singles
in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including a cover version
of Sam Cooke
's "You Send Me
" on Dot Records
in 1957.
In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
along with the rest of The Coasters
.
Cornell's sister
, Shirley Gunter, also recorded with The Flairs
and released with the Queens and in solo in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ace Records
released a compilation album
in 2006 of Shirley's recordings from the 1950s entitled Oop Shoop: The Flair and Modern Recordings 1953-1957.
Another sister, Gloria Gunter, recorded the singles "Move On Out" and "Your Love Reminds Me" (Arch #1610) in 1959. "Move On Out" was an answer to The Coasters
' hit
"Yakety Yak
", on which Cornell sang. Both sides of the record were made available on CD
in 2006. "Move On Out" appears on Rock 'n' Roll Mamas (Popcorn #6004), and "Your Love Reminds Me" appears on Rare Female Doo Wops (Popcorn #6005).
Cornell (who was gay
and in later years preferred to spell his name Cornell Gunther) was in the process of making a new comeback, when an unknown assassin
shot
him in his car in Las Vegas
on February 26, 1990 (some files say February 27). The survivors of his group continue to tour as "The Original Cornell Gunter's Coasters Inc."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer, most active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in Coffeyville
Coffeyville, Kansas
Coffeyville is a city situated along the Verdigris River in the southeastern part of Montgomery County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,295...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and died in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, after being shot in his automobile.
Biography
Gunter was an original member of The PlattersThe Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
. He had recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
with the yet-unnamed Platters singing back-up
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely is an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.-Biography:...
's recording "Nervous Man Nervous" on Federal Records
Federal Records
Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to Rhythm & Blues releases. But also hillbilly and rockabilly recordings were released,...
in 1953. He also was a member of The Flairs
The Flairs
The Flairs were an American doo-wop group based in Los Angeles. They went through several lineup changes during their existence. Their notable members included Richard Berry and Cornell Gunter, who would go on to being a member of The Coasters.-Career:In 1952, an African-American musical group...
and The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
. The title song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
from the 1957 Susan Oliver
Susan Oliver
Susan Oliver was an American actress, television director and aviator.-Early life and family:Susan Oliver was born Charlotte Gercke, the daughter of journalist George Gercke and astrology practitioner Ruth Hale Oliver, in New York City in 1932. Her parents divorced when she was still a child...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, The Green Eyed Blonde, was sung by Gunter. Will "Dub" Jones and Gunter joined The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
as replacements for Bobby Nunn
Bobby Nunn
Ulysses B. "Bobby" Nunn was an American singer with the musical groups The Robins and The Coasters. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., and died of heart failure in Los Angeles, California, U.S.-Biography:...
and Leon Hughes
Leon Hughes
Leon Hughes is an American singer. He is best known as an original member of The Coasters.-Biography:...
in early 1958. After he left the Coasters, he toured with Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
. In 1963, he formed his own Coasters group; they were usually billed as "The Fabulous Coasters". Gunter made several solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
's "You Send Me
You Send Me
-Background:Cooke made a demo recording of "You Send Me" featuring only his own guitar accompaniment in the winter of 1955. The first recording of the track was made in New Orleans in December 1956 in the same sessions which produced "Lovable", the first release outside the gospel field for Cooke...
" on Dot Records
Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...
in 1957.
In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
along with the rest of The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
.
Cornell's sister
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
, Shirley Gunter, also recorded with The Flairs
The Flairs
The Flairs were an American doo-wop group based in Los Angeles. They went through several lineup changes during their existence. Their notable members included Richard Berry and Cornell Gunter, who would go on to being a member of The Coasters.-Career:In 1952, an African-American musical group...
and released with the Queens and in solo in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ace Records
Ace Records (UK)
Ace Records Ltd. was started in 1978. Initially the company only gained permission from the label based in Mississippi to use the name in the UK, but eventually also acquired the rights to publish their recordings. When Chiswick's pop side was licensed to EMI in 1984, Ace switched to more licensing...
released a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
in 2006 of Shirley's recordings from the 1950s entitled Oop Shoop: The Flair and Modern Recordings 1953-1957.
Another sister, Gloria Gunter, recorded the singles "Move On Out" and "Your Love Reminds Me" (Arch #1610) in 1959. "Move On Out" was an answer to The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
' hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
"Yakety Yak
Yakety Yak
"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for The Coasters and released on Atlantic Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as number one on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Hot 100 pop list...
", on which Cornell sang. Both sides of the record were made available on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 2006. "Move On Out" appears on Rock 'n' Roll Mamas (Popcorn #6004), and "Your Love Reminds Me" appears on Rare Female Doo Wops (Popcorn #6005).
Cornell (who was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and in later years preferred to spell his name Cornell Gunther) was in the process of making a new comeback, when an unknown assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
shot
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
him in his car in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
on February 26, 1990 (some files say February 27). The survivors of his group continue to tour as "The Original Cornell Gunter's Coasters Inc."
Singles
- "True Love" / "Peek, Peek-A-Boo" (Loma #701) (1955) (as The Ermines)
- "You Broke My Heart" / "Pretty Baby I’m Used To You Now" (Loma #703) (1956) (with The Ermines)
- "Keep Me Alive" / "Muchacha, Muchacha" (Loma #704) (1956) (with The Ermines)
- "I'm Sad" / "One Thing For Me" (Loma #705) (1956) (with The Ermines)
- "She Loves To Rock" / "In Self Defense" (ABC Paramount #9698) (1956) (with The FlairsThe FlairsThe Flairs were an American doo-wop group based in Los Angeles. They went through several lineup changes during their existence. Their notable members included Richard Berry and Cornell Gunter, who would go on to being a member of The Coasters.-Career:In 1952, an African-American musical group...
) - "You Send Me" / "Call Me A Fool" (Dot #15654) (1957)
- "Baby Come Home" / "I Want You Madly" (Eagle #301) (1957)
- "If We Should Meet Again" / "Neighborhood Dance" (Liberty #55096) (1957) (as Cornel Gunter)
- "Lift Me Up Angel" / "Rope Of Sand" (Warner Brothers #5266) (1962)
- "It Ain't No Use" / "In A Dream Of Love" (Warner Brothers #5292) (1962)
- "If I Had The Key To Your Heart" / "Wishful Thinking (Challenge #59281) (1965) (as Cornell Gunter and The Cornells)
- "Love In My Heart" / "Down In Mexico" (Together #101) (1976)