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Doo-wop is a genre 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, but continued to influence performers in other genres.
The Belmonts are an American doo-wop group from the Bronx, New York, that originated in the mid-1950s. The original group consisted of Angelo D'Aleo, Carlo Mastrangelo, and Fred Milano. They took their name from Belmont, the Bronx street in which Mastrangelo lived, known as the Little Italy of the Bronx. There were several stages in their history, including the 1958–60 period with Dion DiMucci when the group was named Dion and the Belmonts. At this time Mastrangelo sang the bass parts, Milano the second tenor, D'Aleo the falsetto, and DiMucci did lead vocals.
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 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.
Shep and the Limelites was an American doo-wop trio of the early 1960s, composed of James "Shep" Sheppard, Clarence Bassett and Charles Baskerville. They are best known for their 1961 hit recording, "Daddy's Home", co-written by Sheppard.
"Canadian Sunset" is a popular song with music by jazz pianist Eddie Heywood and lyrics by Norman Gimbel. An instrumental version by Heywood and Hugo Winterhalter reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 7 on the R&B chart in 1956. A version sung by Andy Williams was also popular that year, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard chart. The Sounds Orchestral, conducted by Johnny Pearson, hit the Easy Listening chart reaching No. 14 and the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965 reaching No. 76.
Lee Andrews & the Hearts were an American doo-wop quintet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formed in 1953. They recorded on the Gotham, Rainbow, Mainline, Chess, United Artists, Grand and Gowen labels. Managed by Kae Williams, in 1957 and 1958 they had their three biggest hits, "Tear Drops", "Long Lonely Nights" and "Try the Impossible".
"Imagination" is a popular song with music written by Jimmy Van Heusen and the lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was first published in 1940. The two best-selling versions were recorded by the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey in 1940.
The Quotations are an American doo-wop band, primarily from James Madison High School in East Brooklyn, New York, United States.
The Valentines were one of the most highly regarded American doo-wop groups from the mid-1950s.
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.
The Stereos were an American pop/rock/doo-wop group from Steubenville, Ohio.
The Five Du-Tones were an American soul vocal group, who enjoyed success in the dance craze era of the early 1960s. The group comprised Willie Guest, Robert Hopkins, LeRoy Joyce, Oscar Watson and James West. They came together while attending Patrick Henry High School in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1957.
Robert Raymond Hendricks was an American R&B singer who charted two hits in the late 1950s.
"Bad Girl" is a 1959 doo-wop single by The Miracles. Issued locally on the Motown Records label, it was licensed to and issued nationally by Chess Records because the fledgling Motown Record Corporation did not, at that time, have national distribution. It was the first single released on the Motown label – all previous singles from the company were released on Motown's Tamla label. Although The Miracles had charted regionally and on the R&B charts with several earlier songs, including "Got a Job", "I Cry", "I Need a Change", and "(You Can) Depend on Me", "Bad Girl" was their first national chart hit, reaching #93 on the Billboard Hot 100. Written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson and Motown Records' President and Founder Berry Gordy, "Bad Girl" is a sad, remorseful ballad about a young woman, whom Robinson, as the narrator, says "was so good at the start", but who later in the song "is breaking my heart". It is in the popular doo-wop style, as several of The Miracles' songs were during the late 1950s. The record's success, coupled with the distributor's failure to pay Gordy and The Miracles properly for its sales, prompted Robinson to urge Gordy to "go national" with it, meaning that Motown should do its own national distribution of its songs, and eliminate the middleman, to ensure that all money from sales of its records would go directly to the label.
James Mullins, better known as Jimmy Velvit, is an American rock and roll singer, who began his career in the 1960s. He is originally from Coalgate, Oklahoma, later from Dallas, Texas. He is best known for recording a white rhythm and blues version, in 1962, of Robert & Johnny's 1958 hit "We Belong Together". Velvit's first release was "Sometimes at Night" on Division Records in 1961, afterwards released on Cub Records. He also recorded under the name 'James Bell', in 1968, when he charted "He Ain't Country", a Country & Western release, for Bell Records.
Ronald David Bright was an American R&B and doo-wop singer of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was born in New York City.
Carlo Mastrangelo was an American doo-wop and progressive rock singer. Born and raised in The Bronx, he lived in an apartment on the corner of 179th St. and Mapes Ave. He also played drums before and after The Belmonts with several groups.
Fred Milano was an American doo-wop singer of Italian descent. Born in the Bronx, New York, he was a member of The Belmonts who became successful in the late 1950s as Dion and the Belmonts, and in the early 1960s. The Belmonts got their name from the street that Milano lived on, Belmont Avenue.
"Love Knows We Tried" is a song written by Rory Bourke, Kerry Chater and Jan Crutchfield, and recorded by American country music artist, Tanya Tucker. It released in April 1981 as the third single from the album Dreamlovers. The song reached the top forty of the North American country music charts.
References
- ↑ Bryan Thomas. "The Dreamlovers | Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- 1 2 3 "The Dreamlovers | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- ↑ "January to June 2014". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- ↑ "The Doo-Wop Society of Southern California: The DREAMLOVERS". Electricearl.com. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
