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Doo-wop is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, D.C., 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 and 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 best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as being 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 Turbans were an American doo-wop vocal group that formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1953. The original members were: Al Banks, Matthew Platt, Charlie Williams (baritone), and Andrew "Chet" Jones (bass). They came from Downtown Philadelphia.
The Crows were an American R&B vocal group formed in 1951. They achieved commercial success and popularity during the 1950s with their debut single and only hit, "Gee". The single, released in June 1953, has been credited with being the first rock and roll hit by a rock and roll group. It peaked at position number 14 and number 2, respectively, on the Billboard pop and R&B charts in 1954. Although Gee fell into the doo-wop genre, and "was the first 1950s doo-wop record to sell over one million records" in that genre, some consider it as the first of the "rock and roll records".
The Dubs are an American doo wop vocal group formed in 1956, best known for their songs "Could This Be Magic", "Don't Ask Me to Be Lonely" and "Chapel of Dreams".
The Chips were a short-lived New York City doo-wop vocal group consisting of teenage friends Charles Johnson, Nathaniel Epps (baritone), Paul Fulton (bass), Sammy Strain and Shedrick Lincoln (tenors). The group's first recording is their most enduring; "Rubber Biscuit" started life as Johnson's answer to the marching rhythms of the Warwick School for Delinquent Teenagers while he was an intern there.
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin. The song was written for the 1934 film Dames, in which it was performed by Dick Powell. Several other successful recordings of the song were made in 1934, and it later became a hit for the Flamingos in 1959 and Art Garfunkel in 1975.
The Valentines were one of the most highly regarded American doo-wop groups from the mid-1950s.
The Cleftones were an American vocal group formed in 1955, who were then called The Silvertones at Junior High School 40 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City.
The Solitaires were 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.
Teddy and the Twilights were a R&B quintet from Philadelphia.
The Students were an American doo-wop vocal group, which formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1957. Although they only released four sides, two of them – "I'm So Young" and "Every Day of the Week" – became doo-wop standards. "I'm So Young" in particular became popular and durable, and has been covered by the Beach Boys, Rosie and the Originals, The Ronettes and Kid Kyle and "The Students".
Ladders were a 1950s New York City rhythm and blues and doo wop vocal group. The line up comprised Johnny Jackson (lead), Herb Jennings, Irvin Jones, Ron Clark (baritone), and Douglas Jackson (bass).
The Checkers were an American doo-wop quintet formed in 1952. The original members were John Carnegie (Tenor/Lead), Charlie White (Tenor/Lead), Irwin "Teddy" Williams (Tenor), James Turner "Buddy" Brewer (Baritone), and Bill Brown. The group, only having recorded 25 singles for the King Records imprint and their subsidiary Federal Records broke up in 1955. The most notable aspect of the group was their constantly changing sound due to the 5 personnel changes that happened within their short existence. King kept on releasing bands under the pseudonym of "The Checkers" until the mid 70s.
The Camelots were a New York City doo wop group of the 1960s led by Davie Nichols.
The Furys were an American doo-wop group of the 1960s featuring tenors Tony Allen and Jimmy Green with baritone Jerome Evans. They were best known for a cover of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, produced by James McEachin, and their performance of Gene Pitney's “If I Didn't Have a Dime".
The Hollywood Saxons were a Los Angeles R&B group who recorded under various other names. They were well known on the LA R&B circuit. Their recording history ran from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Their discography is complex due to the various names they recorded under and labels they recorded on.
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.
The Videos were a short-lived American Doo-wop group. The group was formed in 1957 by five individuals who were each seventeen years old.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Eder, Bruce. "The Wrens". Allmusic . Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- ↑ Mitch Rosalsky Encyclopedia of Rhythm and Blues and Doo Wop Vocal Groups 2000 0810836637 "In mid-1955, "Rocky" Washington replaced James "Archie" Archer of the Wrens. He can be heard on the Wrens' recording of What Makes You Do the Things You Do?/I Won't Come to Your Wedding from November 1955."
- 1 2 "Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks - THE WRENS". www.uncamarvy.com. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
- ↑ Doc Rock. "July to December". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues and Doo-Wop Vocal Groups p.440 "Personnel Perry Hayward (lead), Freddie Johnson (tenor), Gilbert Johnson (baritone), Joseph "Rocky" Washington (bass) : This group formed in 1956 as a result of the breakup of the Sparrows on Jay Dee. Hayward and Washington had been with the Sparrows and tried harmonizing after the breakup by starting the Performers."
- ↑ Mitch Rosalsky (2002). Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues and Doo-Wop Vocal Groups. Scarecrow Press. p. 618. ISBN 978-0-8108-4592-3. "Meanwhile, one of the Sparrows got Joe Davis interested in recording them on Jay Dee, and their first session took place in September 1953. ... Later in 1956, Washington and Hey ward formed the Performers (Tip Top)."
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