Posted on 12/15/2012 12:21:10 PM PST by JoeProBono
YUP....O well
Village People?
I saw "the Drifters" (one of a number of "Original Drifters" groups) perform "White Christmas" in Washington, DC in September, 1979. They exuded some early Yuletide cheer.
Wow, pretty influential for a song that couldn’t be played on the radio!
Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Washington D.C and areas of greater Los Angeles including El Monte and Compton. Built upon vocal harmony, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented R&B styles of the time.
As a musical genre, doo-wop is a type of vocal group harmony with the musical qualities of many vocal parts, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little or no instrumentation, and simple music and lyrics. It is ensemble singing with single artists appearing with a backing group. Solo billing usually implies that the individual is more prominent in the musical arrangement
As far as I’m concerned, Elvis died when he went into the army. After he got out, the only stuff he produced was mostly sappy ballads and awful movies. I don’t know if Colonel Parker led him down that path or Elvis always wanted to go mainstream, but the total artistic worth of the crap he produced music-wise and movie-wise after he got out of the army doesn’t amount to one of the Elvis on velvet paintings.
If songs like "Work With Me, Annie" couldn't be played on the radio, there was nothing the FCC could do to keep them from being played on juke boxes. Both "Work With Me, Annie" and "Annie Had a Baby" rose to the top of the R & B charts in 1954.
Huzzah! You didn't forget El Monte!
Memories of El Monte--The Penguins (1963)
Thanks for the link. That sent me on a listening excursion that lasted most of the afternoon ;-)
Yup, that would have been the old analog channel TV 13. It was on for a short period of time unfortunately and began with a hokey looking rocket ship carboard cut out zooming across the screen.
Sound tracks of some of the period movies like
Bronx Tale are excellent too i.e. it has Nights in White Satin; Ten Commandments of Love; I only have eyes for you, and for your precious love amongst others on it.
The early songs on part of the Goodfellows sound track are excellent also: Sincerely, Rags to Riches, Speedo, Baby I love you amongst others.
And last and best: American Grafitti with too many to list.
...
This great song qualifies as doo-wop.
Oo-Wee--The Interludes (1958)
My personal #1 of all time?
Donna The Prima Donna by Dion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI4olJiJEeE
Tell Me, Darling--The Gaylarks
This group is apparently from the Oakland, Calif. area. I have a 78 rpm version of this tune.
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