Poison Ivy (song)

"Poison Ivy"
Single by The Coasters
B-side "I'm A Hog For You"
Released August 1959
Recorded July 16, 1959
Label Atco 6146
The Coasters singles chronology
"Along Came Jones"
(1959)
"Poison Ivy"
(1959)
"What About Us"
(1959)

"Poison Ivy" is a popular song by American songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by The Coasters in 1959. It went to #1 on the R&B chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1] This was their third top-ten hit of that year following "Charlie Brown" and "Along Came Jones".

The song discusses a girl named Ivy, calling her "Poison Ivy" because of her reputation with men as a player. The song makes references to other flowers such as a rose and a daisy, and diseases like measles, mumps, chickenpox, the common cold, and whooping cough. In a recently published biography about Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller, the song's authors, it was revealed that the song's lyrics are about sexually-transmitted disease, not the illnesses previously thought.

Cover versions

Popular culture references

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 125. 
  2. ^ "The Dave Clark Five". unknown. c.late 90s-2000s. Archived from the original on 2009-10-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20091024005543/http://geocities.com/fabgear6366/clark.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 
  3. ^ a b c Nuttall, Lyn (2000s). "Feature Item - poparchives.com.au - Poison Ivy". Lyn Nuttall. http://www.poparchives.com.au/feature.php?id=235. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 
  4. ^ "The Paramounts". unknown. c.late 90s-2000s. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20091025042206/http://geocities.com/fabgear6366/paramounts.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 
Preceded by
"I'm Gonna Get Married" by Lloyd Price
"You Better Know It" by Jackie Wilson
Billboard Hot R&B Singles number-one single
October 5, 1959
October 26, 1959 - November 9, 1959
Succeeded by
"Sea of Love" by Phil Phillips with The Twilights
"So Many Ways" by Brook Benton