Doo-wop is a style of rhythm & blues that was developed in African-American communities
in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Detroit, Washington
D.C and Los Angeles in the 1940s, achieving mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early
'60s.
Built upon vocal harmony, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented R&B styles
of the time.
Singer Bill Kenny is often called the "Godfather of Doo-wop" for his "top and bottom" format
featuring a high tenor lead and "talking bass" in the middle of the song.
Doo-wop features vocal group harmony, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little
or no instrumentation, and simple music and lyrics.
The first record to use the syllables "doo-wop" was the 1955 hit "When You Dance" by The Turbans.
The term "doo-wop" first appeared in print in 1961.
During the late 1950s many Italian-American groups contributed a significant part in the
doo-wop scene.
The peak of doo-wop was in 1961.
Doo-wop's influence continued in soul, pop, and rock groups of the 1960s.
At various points in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the genre has seen revivals.
Origins During the years surrounding the second world
war, Hit records of African-American vocal groups, such as The Delta Rhythm Boys, The
Cats and the Fiddle, The Ink Spots and The Mills Brothers, set important precedents for
the genre.
The Ink Spots had a string of record successes in 1939–40, both in the USA and in Britain,
with "My Prayer", "Bless You" "If I Didn't Care", "Address Unknown", "Memories Of You",
"I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You" and "Whispering Grass" and The Mills Brothers followed suit
in 1943–44 with "Paper Doll", "You Always Hurt The One You Love" and "Till Then".
These were generally slow songs in swing time with simple instrumentation and close four-part
harmony reminiscent of the barbershop quartet—The Mills Brothers evolved from there.
The subject of the lyrics was generally love and relationships.
The typical chord progression I–vi–IV–V that generated several American 1930s hits
such as Rodgers and Hart's "Blue Moon", and Hoagy Carmichael's "Heart and Soul", was preferred;
it later become closely associated with doo-wop such that it is sometimes referred to as the
50s progression.
Early groups were quite diverse musically, performing blues and jump blues.
From the outset, singers gathered on street corners, and in subways, generally in groups
of three to six.
They sang a cappella arrangements, and used wordless onomatopeia to mimic instruments
since instruments were little used: the bass singing "bom-bom-bom", a guitar rendered as
"shang-a-lang" and brass riffs as "dooooo -wop-wop".
For instance, "Count Every Star" by The Ravens, includes vocalizations imitating the "doomph,
doomph" plucking of a double bass.
This art dates to The Mills Brothers, who first came to fame in the 1930s with their
mimicking of instrumental music.
Radio, gramophone, and cinema inspired imitation in many U.S. cities.
The late 1940s and early 1950s brought the so-called "bird groups"; The Swallows, the
Ravens, The Orioles, The Penguins, The Crows, The Flamingos, The Blue Jays and The Larks.
A number of band names are also drawn from cars.
The Orioles helped develop the doo-wop sound with their hits "It's Too Soon to Know" and
"Crying in the Chapel".
Doo-wop scored 1951 R&B chart hits such as "Sixty Minute Man" by Billy Ward and His Dominoes,
"Where Are You?" by The Mello-Moods, "The Glory of Love" by The Five Keys, "Shouldn't
I Know" by The Cardinals, "I Will Wait" by the Four Buddies, and "Will You Be Mine",
by The Swallows.
The doo-wop years The term "doo-wop" first appeared in print
in 1961 in the Chicago Defender; fans of the music coined the term during the height of
a vocal harmony resurgence.
The phrase was attributed to radio disc jockey Gus Gossert but Gossert suggested "doo-wop(p)
was already in use [before me] to categorize the music in California."
The first record to use the syllables "doo-wop" in the refrain was the 1955 hit "When You
Dance" by The Turbans.
Previously, the scat backing vocal "doo-wop" is heard in The Clovers' 1953 release "Good
Lovin'" and in the chorus of Carlyle Dundee & The Dundees' 1954 song "Never".
Other early uses include the 1955 song "Mary Lee" by The Rainbows on Red Robin Records,
which contains the background "do wop de wadda"; and the 1956 smash "In the Still of the Night"
by The Five Satins, which features a plaintive "doo-wop, doo-wah" refrain in the bridge.
After some time, the term "doo-wop" finally caught on as both a description and category
for R&B vocal group harmony.
The definition expanded backward to include rhythm and blues groups from the mid-1950s,
then cascaded even further back to include groups from the 1940s.
Doo-wop songs featured both fast beats and slow beats.
In 1954, doo-wop groups played a significant role in ushering in the rock and roll era
when two big rhythm and blues hits by vocal harmony groups, "Gee" by The Crows and "Sh-Boom"
by The Chords crossed over onto the pop music charts.
Quickly, other R&B vocal groups entered the pop charts, particularly in 1955, which saw
such cross-over doo-wop hits as "Sincerely" by The Moonglows, "Earth Angel" by The Penguins,
and "Only You" by The Platters.
The same year saw a number one pop chart hit, "The Great Pretender" by The Platters.
In 1956, Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers appeared on the Frankie Laine show in New York, which
was televised nationally, performing their hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?".
Frankie Laine referred to it as "rock and roll"; Lymon's extreme youth appealed to a
young and enthusiastic audience.
His string of hits included: "I Promise To Remember", "The ABCs of Love" and "I'm not
a Juvenile Delinquent".
In 1958, "Book of Love" by The Monotones became an icon of the style.
1958 also saw the rise of Italian American doo-wop groups.
Like African-Americans, the Italian Americans generally attended church, where they gained
singing experience, and lived in urban neighborhoods, where they would sing on street corners.
By the late 1950s, Italian American street corner doo-wop groups were seen in urban cities
such as New York, especially the Bronx and Brooklyn.
Some of the Italian American groups with national chart hits included: Dion and the Belmonts,
in 1958, with "I Wonder Why"; The Capris with "There's A Moon Out Tonight", in 1960; The
Demensions; The Elegants; The Mystics; The Duprees; Vito & the Salutations; The Gaylords;
Johnny Maestro; and The Del-Satins.
Other Italian American groups included Randy & the Rainbows, who charted with their 1963
hit single "Denise".
The contribution of Hispanics is often overlooked.
Early, especially in U.S. East Coast cities, Puerto Ricans were lead singers in some groups
with black and white members, including The Crests, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the
Five Discs and the Tune Weavers.
"Racially integrated" groups with both black and white performers, included The Del-Vikings,
who hit big in 1957 with "Come Go With Me" and "Whispering Bells"; and The Crests, whose
"Trouble in Paradise" appeared in 1960.
All-white doo-wop groups were also appearing: The Mello-Kings' 1956 "Tonight, Tonight" and
The Diamonds' chart-topping "Little Darlin'" in 1957, The Skyliners' 1959 "Since I Don't
Have You" and 1960 "This I Swear", The Tokens' 1961 "Tonight I Fell In Love" and "I Love
My Baby", all saw success.
The peak of doo-wop might have been in 1961, with hits that included The Marcels' "Blue
Moon".
There was a revival of the nonsense-syllable form of doo-wop in the early 1960s, with popular
records by The Marcels, The Rivingtons, and Vito & the Salutations.
A few years later, the genre reached the self-referential stage, with songs about the singers and the
songwriters, in 1961.
Other important groups, including The Coasters, The Drifters, The Midnighters, and The Platters,
helped link the doo-wop style to the mainstream, and to the future sound of soul music.
The style is heard in the music of The Miracles, particularly in their early hits such as "Got
A Job", "Bad Girl", "Who's Loving You", "(You Can) Depend on Me", and "Ooo Baby Baby".
The style is also heard in the early days of The Famous Flames, led by James Brown;
the group recorded several doo-wop hits, including "Please, Please, Please", "Try Me", "Bewildered",
"I Don't Mind", "Oh Baby Don't You Weep" and their hit cover of The "5" Royales' "Think"
. Doo-wop's influence continued in soul, pop,
and rock groups of the 1960s, including The Four Seasons, girl groups, and vocal surf
music performers such as Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys.
In the Beach Boys' case, the doo-wop influence is evident in early hits such as "Surfin'"
and "Surfer Girl", and in albums recorded within their psychedelic era, during which
the group experimented and innovated with the human voice as an instrument in a self-described
effort to "expand modern vocal harmony".
Revivals
At various points in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the genre has seen revivals.
Main artists are concentrated in urban areas, e.g.,.
Revival TV shows and boxed CD sets have kindled interest in the music, the artists, and their
stories.
In December 1968, Frank Zappa's band The Mothers of Invention released a doo-wop parody/tribute
album called Cruising with Ruben & the Jets.
An early notable revival of "pure" doo-wop occurred when Sha Na Na appeared at the Woodstock
Festival.
Over the years groups have remade doo-wop songs, with great success.
Part of the regional beach music or shag music scene, centered in the Carolinas, and surrounding
states, includes both the original classic recordings, and numerous remakes.
Britain chimed in with notable contributions, in the mid-late 1970s, by the group Darts,
who successfully revived revered doo-wop standards such as "Daddy Cool", "Come Back My Love"
and "Zing!
Went the Strings of My Heart".
Other artists had doo-wop or doo-wop-influenced hits in later years, such as Led Zeppelin's
1973 song "D'yer Mak'er", David Bowie's 1973 hit "Drive-In Saturday", and Billy Joel's
1984 hit, "The Longest Time".
Punk bands like the Misfits, The Ramones, and The Riverdales included a healthy amount
of doo-wop in their songs.
The last known doo-wop hit was "It's Alright" by Huey Lewis and the News, a cover of The
Impressions' 1963 Top 5 smash.
It reached number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in June 1993.
D.R.S "Gangsta Lean" and TLC "Red Light Special does have some doo-wop elements as well.
"Someone," a B-side from the 2002 Red Hot Chili Peppers' album By The Way is an example
of 2000s doo-wop style.
Much of the album contained a doo-wop flavor.
Another song from the By The Way sessions to feature a doo-wop influence was a cover
for "Teenager In Love," originally recorded by Dion and The Belmonts.
Mr. Bungle also displayed doo-wop influences on their final album, California, particularly
on the song "Vanity Fair".
Doo-wop is popular among barbershoppers and collegiate a cappella groups due to its easy
adaptation to an all-vocal form.
Doo-wop, at the turn of the millennium, experienced a resurgence in popularity, with PBS's doo-wop
concert programs: Doo Wop 50, Doo Wop 51, and Rock, Rhythm, and Doo Wop.
These programs brought back, live on stage, some of the better known doo-wop groups of
the past.
In addition to The Earth Angels, doo-wop acts in vogue in the second decade of the 21st
century range from The Four Quarters to Street Corner Renaissance.
The ultimate longevity of doo-wop has been disputed.
Bruno Mars is one of the few new artists who incorporate doo-wop music during studio albums,
and live shows.
Mars says he has "a special place in my heart for old-school music".
See also
List of doo-wop musicians Scat singing
Vocalese 50s progression
Boogie References
Bibliography Baptista, Todd R. Group Harmony: Behind the
Rhythm and Blues.
New Bedford, MA: TRB Enterprises.
ISBN 0-9631722-5-5.
Baptista, Todd R. Group Harmony: Echoes of the Rhythm and Blues Era.
New Bedford, MA: TRB Enterprises.
ISBN 0-9706852-0-3.
Cummings, Tony.
The Sound of Philadelphia.
London: Eyre Methuen.
Engel, Ed.
White and Still All Right.
Scarsdale, NY: Crackerjack Press.
Goosman, Stuart L. Group Harmony: The Black Urban Roots of Rhythm and Blues.
Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania.
ISBN 0-8122-3886-9.
Gribin, Anthony J., and Matthew M. Shiff.
Doo-Wop: The Forgotten Third of Rock 'n.
Roll.
Iola, WI: Krause Publications.
Gribin, Anthony J., and Matthew M. Shiff.
The Complete Book of Doo-Wop.
Iola, WI: Krause Publications.
Groia, Phil.
They All Sang on the Corner.
West Hempstead, NY: Phillie Dee Enterprises.
Keyes, Johnny.
Du-Wop.
Chicago: Vesti Press.
Lepri, Paul.
The New Haven Sound 1946-1976.
New Haven, CT: [self published].
McCutcheon, Lynn Ellis.
Rhythm and Blues.
Arlington, VA.
Pruter, Robert.
Doowop: the Chicago Scene.
Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press.
ISBN 0-252-02208-4.
Rosalsky, Mitch.
Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues and Doo Wop Vocal Groups.
Lanham, MD: Scarecrow.
Warner, Jay.
The Da Capo Book of American Singing Groups.
New York: Da Capo Press.