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Doo-wop is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated among African-American youth in the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until the early 1960s, but continued to influence performers in other genres.
The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and most influential vocal groups in pop and doo wop music history. In 2001, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Clovers are an American rhythm and blues/doo-wop vocal group who became one of the biggest selling acts of the 1950s. They had a top 30 US hit in 1959 with the Leiber and Stoller song "Love Potion No. 9".
"Tears on My Pillow" is a doo-wop song written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The composition was first recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials on End Records and was that group's debut recording under that name. Their original recording of the song became a Billboard Top 10 Pop smash, peaking at #4, and was The Imperials' first million-seller. It was also a two-sided hit, with its flip side, "Two People in the World," also becoming a major hit. Although it remains one of the Imperials' signature songs, "Tears on My Pillow" has been extensively covered, including a No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart version by Kylie Minogue in January 1990.
"Heart and Soul" is a popular song composed by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Frank Loesser. It charted with different artists between 1938 and 1961. A simplified version is a popular piano duet.
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film Dames (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934 and later there were charted versions by The Flamingos (1959) and Art Garfunkel (1975).
"Buffalo Gals" is a traditional American song, written and published as "Lubly Fan" in 1844 by the blackface minstrel John Hodges, who performed as "Cool White." The song was widely popular throughout the United States, where minstrels often altered the lyrics to suit local audiences, performing it as "New York Gals" in New York City, "Boston Gals" in Boston, or "Alabama Girls" in Alabama, as in the version recorded by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins on a 1959 field recording trip. The best-known version is named after Buffalo, New York.
"There Goes My Baby" is a song written by Ben E. King, Lover Patterson, George Treadwell and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for The Drifters. This was the first single by the second incarnation of the Drifters, who assumed the group name in 1958 after manager George Treadwell fired the remaining members of the original lineup. The Atlantic Records release was King's debut recording as the lead singer of the group.
The Valentines were one of the most highly regarded American doo-wop groups from the mid-1950s.
The Solitaires are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1957 hit single "Walking Along". Although they never had a national chart hit, they were one of the most popular vocal groups in New York in the late 1950s.
The Innocents were an American pop group from Sun Valley, California, United States. The trio existed primarily between 1958 and 1964, although they did reform in the 1990s.
Paul Winley Records Inc. was a doo-wop record label founded in 1956 that, in 1979, became one of the earliest hip hop labels. It was situated on 125th Street, Harlem, New York City. Winley released doo-wop by The Paragons and The Jesters, and hip hop records by Paul Winley's daughters, Tanya and Paulette, produced by Winley's wife, Ann. The label can lay claim to a number of firsts: one of the earliest rock and roll compilations, one of the earliest breaks compilations, an early solo female rap artist and an early instance of social commentary in rap. Winley was also the first label to record one of hip hop's most important figures, Afrika Bambaataa.
The Zircons or The Zirkons was a singing musical group in the late 1950s and 1960s with various line-ups.
"It's Too Soon to Know" is an American doo-wop ballad by Deborah Chessler (1923–2012), performed first by The Orioles. It was number one on the American Rhythm and blues charts in November 1948. It is considered by some to be the first "rock and roll" song, and described by others as "the first rhythm and blues vocal group harmony recording".
Danny Winchell was an American pop singer, magazine publisher, record producer, music promoter and radio show host.
The Uniques were a Chicago-based doo-wop group, active in the early 1960s, recorded by Lenny LaCour, and signed to Demand/Dot Records.
The Emotions are an American doo-wop vocal group from New York City, United States.
The Kuf-Linx were an American rock and roll vocal group, active in the 1950s. Other groups used similar names at the same time, and even recorded some of the same songs, causing some confusion. Band members included John Jennings, Johnny Woodson (tenor), Gaines Steele (tenor), George "Biggy" McFadden (bass), Leo Z. Manley, Darrell Johnson, and Gwen Johnson. Jennings and McFadden had been in the Jubalaires together.
So Tough is a song recorded by the Original Casuals and The Kuf-Linx group in 1958. Both versions charted. On March 17, 1958, Billboard listed "So Tough" as tied for Number 76 on "Top 100 Sides for Survey Week Ending March 8". On February 19, 1958 the Casuals performed the song on American Bandstand. The song topped out at #42 on the Hot 100 chart, and #6 on the Most Played R&B By Jockeys chart.
The Original Casuals, first known as The Casuals, were an American doo-wop trio from Dallas, Texas, United States. They had a charting hit with their version of "So Tough" in 1958. The Kuf-Linx also charted with their version of the song in 1958. The group included lead singer (Fred) Gary Mears, Paul Kearney and Jay Joe Adams and recorded with Back Beat Records of Houston. Paul Kearney accidentally shot himself fatally in 1960.
References
- ↑ Rizzo, Ken (March 2008). "Reinventing an Artistic Life". Allegro. CVIII (3).
- 1 2 Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today . Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 266. ISBN 0634099787.
Rockin' chairs memories of love billboard.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rosalsky, Mitch (2002). Encyclopedia of Rhythm and Blues and Doo Wop Vocal Groups. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 485–486. ISBN 978081083663-1.
- ↑ Gribin, Anthony (2000). The Complete Book of Doo-Wop. Krause Publications. p. 441. ISBN 978-0873418294.
- ↑ "Distributor News". Billboard . 26 May 1958. p. 6.
- ↑ "The Billboard's Music Popularity Charts: Pop Records". Billboard . 22 June 1959. p. 77.
- ↑ Anthony Gribin; Matthew Schiff (1 September 2014). The Top 1000 Doo-Wop Songs: Collector's Edition. Lulu.com. pp. 207–. ISBN 978-0-9827376-5-1.
