Veta Gardner

Yakety Yak I Fought Back: My Life with the Coasters Veta Gardner First edition

The story in this book is about a young man who left his home and family in Tyler, Texas at the age of twenty three and moved to Los Angeles to follow his dream of becoming a big band singer or to be another Nat King Cole or Billy Esktine. Like fate had it, instead, he became the lead singer and founder of the first vocal group to be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, along with other members, Billy Guy, Will Jones and Cornell Gunter and has performed over five decades internationally before many large audiences. Today, due to poor health Carl has retired from show business but still controls the group he formed in 1955. Carl Gardner now resides with his wife Veta of nineteen years in Port St. Lucie, Florida.