Yakety Yak: Difference between revisions

The song is a "playlet," a word Stoller used for the glimpses into teenage life that characterized the songs Leiber and Stoller wrote and produced.<ref name="roll">{{cite book

| first=& James Henke (eds)

| last= Anthony DeCurtis

| authorlink=

| coauthors=

| year=1980

| title= The RollingStone: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music

| edition=(3rd Ed.)

| publisher=Random House, Inc.

| location=New York, N.Y.

| isbn= 0-679-73728-6

| page= 98}}</ref> The lyrics describe the listing of household chores to a kid, presumably a teenager, the teenager's response ("yakety yak") and the parents' retort ("don't talk back") — an experience very familiar to a middle-class teenager of the day. Leiber has said the Coasters portrayed "a white kid’s view of a black person’s conception of white society."<ref name="rockhall"/> The serio-comic street-smart “playlets” etched out by the songwriters were sung by the Coasters with a sly clowning humor, while the screaming saxophone of [[King Curtis]] filled in hot, honking bursts in the up-tempo doo-wop style. The group was openly theatrical in style—they were not pretending to be expressing their own experience.<ref name="matoes">{{cite web

|first=Michaelangelo

|last=Matos

|year=2005

|month=April 13

|url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/music/0515/050413_music_christgau.php

|title=Yakety Yak

|publisher=Seattle Weekly

|accessdate=2006-11-08

}}</ref>

The threatened punishment for not taking out the garbage and sweeping the floor is, in the song's humorous lyrics:<ref name="social">{{cite book

| first= Paul

| last= Friedlander

| authorlink=

| coauthors=

| year= 1996

| title= Rock and Roll: A social history

| edition=

| publisher= Westview Press (Harper Collins)

| location= Boulder, CO

| isbn= 0-8133-2725-3

| page = 66 }}

</ref>

:"You ain't gonna rock and roll no more,"

And the refrain is:

:"Yakety yak; don't talk back."

* Québécois duo [[Jean_Lapointe|Les Jérolas]] recorded in 1959 a french version "Rouspet' pas"

*[[Sha Na Na]] performed this as part of their set at the original [[Woodstock Festival]] and recorded 2 live covers of the song in 1971 and 1972

*[[Lee "Scratch" Perry|Lee Perry]] released a cover version in 1969 (as Lee Perry and the Upsetters), altering the lyric "You ain't gonna rock and roll no more" to "You ain't gonna reggae reggae reggae no more"

*[[Vince Vance & The Valiants]], one of multiple groups parodying [[Barbara Ann (song)]] as "[[Bomb Iran]]" in 1980, created a similarly themed 2005 parody called "Yakety Yak (Bomb Iraq)".<ref name="houston">[http://www.houstonpress.com/2005-06-30/music/the-show-band-that-wouldn-t-die/ "The Show Band that Wouldn't Die"]. ''Houston Press'', June 30, 2005.</ref>

*[[Alvin and the Chipmunks]] recorded a version for the 1987 ''[[Alvin and the Chipmunks (TV series)|Alvin and the Chipmunks]]'' episode "Dave's Dream Cabin."

*The song has also been mixed & recorded by [[2 Live Crew]] for the movie ''[[Twins (1988 film)|Twins]]''. In the same film, Julius ([[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]) sings along, with hilarious results, as the song plays in his earphones while flying to the United States.

*It has also served as the theme to [[Clive Anderson]]'s chat-show ''Clive Anderson Talks Back'' during the 1990s, and as the opening theme of the movie, ''[[The Great Outdoors (film)|The Great Outdoors]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095253/soundtrack |title=The Great Outdoors (1988) - Soundtracks |publisher=IMDb |accessdate=2009-03-13}}</ref>

*It was the inspiration and theme song for the 2002-2003 Nickelodeon series, ''[[Yakkity Yak]]''.

*A modified version, "Yakety Yak - Take It Back," was used in a 1990 all-star PSA for the Take It Back foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joliejones.com/takeitback/take-it-back-video.html |title='Yakety Yak – Take It Back!' Music Video |publisher=Take It Back Foundation | accessdate=2012-02-08}}</ref>

*A children's picture book, "[http://www.twinkleshark.co.uk/yak.html Yakety Yak!]" with illustrations by Simon Beck was published in 2013. The song is acted out by a family of anthropomorphic [[yak]]s.

*A music video staring [[Plucky Duck]] as the teenager tasked with chores aired on the 90th episode of [[Tiny Toon Adventures]].

==External links==

* {{MetroLyrics song|the-coasters|yakety-yak}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->

{{The Coasters songs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yakety Yak}}

[[Category:Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]]

[[Category:1958 singles]]

[[Category:The Coasters songs]]

[[Category:Number-one singles in the United States]]

[[Category:Billboard Top 100 number-one singles]]

[[Category:Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles]]

[[Category:Novelty songs]]