SfanGoch's Greaser Guide To Doo Wop

[SfanGoch]

Okay, this isn't everybody's cup of tea; but, this is from where Rock and Roll evolved. It's also my favorite music genre. This is the music I grew up listening to on the radio and on the street in the form of acapella street corner harmony as a youngster in the '60s. What attracted me to this music were the harmonies. You won't find this type of vocal style in music today. The tenors, baritones and bassman combined to create a rich sound, each part distinct but working together. I'm going to start off with a couple of songs recorded for Bobby Robinson's Red Robin Records, located on 125th Street in Harlem. Although only forty singles were released on this label, Red Robin is one of the legendary names in the recording industry. The first is "I" by The Velvets, the second of three records made by this group, released in December 1953, and which has to be the shortest song title in music history. Charles Sampson is the lead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ayNlfsBpC4

The second song is "Love You" by one of the most talented vocal groups ever, The Vocaleers. The Vocaleers were lead by John Martinez, who was known professionally as Joe Duncan. Joe had one of the most distinctive voices and vocal styles in group harmony music. Joe, you see, sang through his nose, not his diaphragm. Other members were Herman Dunham, also known as Herman Curtis (first tenor), William "Red" Walker (second and first tenor), Melvin Walton (second tenor and baritone) and Teddy Williams (bass). This record is the fourth of five made by the group and was released in January 1954, This is a really beautiful ballad and it's amazing how fresh it sounds today.

 

The third record from Red Robin is titled "Mary Lee", by a Washington, D.C. group called the Rainbows. It was the only record released by this group on the Red Robin label and was released in November 1954 with Berry and Miles sharing the lead. The group consisted of John Berry (second tenor and lead), Ronald "Poosie" Miles (second tenor and co-lead), Henry "Shorty" Womble (first tenor), James "Sally" Nolan (baritone), Frank "Jake" Hardy (bass) and pianist Donald Watts. Don Covay, a legend in his own right, was a later member. The rumors that Billy Stewart and Marvin Gaye sang with the Rainbows arose from the fact that Stewart and Gaye were friends of the group and occasionally appeared with them when an original member was sick or couldn't make a show. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIkhfNMjn6I

 

 

 

 

[High octane]

Interesting, however my black leather jacket, switchblade knife, and thick hair w/grease are long gone, and the streets of Chicago just a memory. I still do enjoy the music of the 50's and 60's very much.

[SfanGoch]

It's always good to keep a tube of Brylcreem in your toolbox. You might need to lubricate a squeaky door hinge or grease up a battery post in a pinch.

I'll be covering Chicago labels such as United and States, Sabre, Vee-Jay, Checker/Chess, Parrot and Chance in future posts.

[10thumbs]

I like this thread, and the music. 

What can better bring back memories of the 50's than some doo wop smooth.  Thanks Joe for this old thrill.  I was born '51, good old cars had good old radios, some of my very first music memories was this cool shady crooning.  I like.

[SfanGoch]

I like this thread, and the music. 

What can better bring back memories of the 50's than some doo wop smooth.  Thanks Joe for this old thrill.  I was born '51, good old cars had good old radios, some of my very first music memories was this cool shady crooning.  I like.

 

Interesting, however my black leather jacket, switchblade knife, and thick hair w/grease are long gone, and the streets of Chicago just a memory. I still do enjoy the music of the 50's and 60's very much.

Thanks for checking out the thread, guys. I never was a fan of '50s pop. Too bland and safe. This was the music of youth and rebellion. It was to the times as was punk in the '70s.

The next group hailed from the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant. The Mello-Harps formed in 1955 and consisted of Arnold "Johnny" Malone (first tenor), Joe gowder (second tenor), Daniel "Bunny" Elder (baritone), Ossie Davis (bass) and Vernon Staley (high tenor). After appearing at Club Baby Grand, on Fulton Street in brooklyn, the group had a recording session with morty Craft's Do-Re-Mi label which produced the first song, "Love Is A Vow" and the flipside, "Valerie". This song features Johnny Malone on lead with Vernon Staley's amazing tenor echoing Malone's lines. This record is interesting in that the only instrument used was a standup bass. Craft only did a limited production run in the Fall of 1955, making this an extremely rare and valuable record selling for $2000.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_5Dgr8mzjE

After this session, Ossie Davis left and was replaced by bobby Hawkins, brother of basketball legend Connie Hawkins. The group switched to Jack Corvais' Tin Pan Alley label. Their first release for Tin Pan Alley was "I love Only You" and the flipside "Ain't got the Money", featuring Joe Gowder on lead, was released in December 1955. Here is "Ain't Got The Money":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Xt9Lcd_G4

They recorded four more sides for Tin Pan Alley before moving to Rego Records. At the same time, Bunny Elder departed and was replaced by tenor William Brown. While at Rego, the re-recorded "Love Is A Vow" and backed it with "Walkie Talkie Baby", which was their only release (September 1956) for the label. They had recorded material which wasn't released by Rego, one of the songs titled "My Lost Love", an uptempo song featuring Johnny Malone on lead and a honking tenor sax break. Note that writing credits are given to Bunny Elder, who penned this song before he left the group. This number has "Ed Norton's type of music" written all over it.

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by SfanGoch

[Harry P.]

Hmmm..... interesting topic for sure, but me? Never a doo-wop fan. It always seemed to me to be a more Noo Yawk/Joizy/east coast thing. Never big here in Chicago.

[SfanGoch]

Hmmm..... interesting topic for sure, but me? Never a doo-wop fan. It always seemed to me to be a more Noo Yawk/Joizy/east coast thing. Never big here in Chicago.

Au contraire, Mr. P. Chicago has a rich history in Doo Wop. Some of the most famous groups and labels were in the Windy City. The Flamingos, Dells, The Moonglows, to name just a few, all came from Chicago. Plus, it was the home of Chess Records which had Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Dale Hawkins and a host of other great artists in its stable of stars.

[Harry P.]

Chess Records was the Blues as far as I knew. I grew up in the city, and believe me, Doo Wop was never big. Never got airplay, Chicago radio in the 60s was strictly Top 40. If Doo Wop was big here, I would undoubtedly been exposed to it at some point, as I listened to the radio all the time.

Maybe it was a bit before my time? Could be... but growing up here, it was never on my radar at all.

[SfanGoch]

It wasn't any different than in New York. Once the British Invasion happened, very few stations played Doo Wop, dropping all pre-1964 music from their playlists. There were a number of smaller Stations which did stick to the music, though. The biggest thing in radio, insofar as Doo Wops were concerned, was when WCBS-FM 101.1 switched formats on July 7, 1972 to an all oldies format. It still is the highest-rated station in New York and one of the highest-rated classic hit stations in the U.S. I'd have to check on the radio scene in Chicago to see if there are any stations which have a classic hits format. There is an excellent book on the Chicago Doo Wop scene aptly titled, "Doowop: The Chicago Scene", by Robert Pruter.

[Harry P.]

I won't try to argue your point. All I'm saying is, as a lifelong radio-listening Chicagoan, Doo Wop was never in the mix as far as I knew.

The two big powerhouse AM stations I listened to as a kid were both 50,000 watt "blow torches" that could be heard throughout the midwest–WLS AM 890 and WCFL AM 1000. They both played top 40 exclusively. Motown was big. Beatles/Stones were big. Local bands like the Buckinghams, Cryan Shames, Ides of March were big. Doo Wop was never played. Like I said, might have been a "before my time" thing, so I would have been totally unaware.

[SfanGoch]

There probably are groups and associations in Chicago which cater to diehard fanatics of the genre. Besides, you listened to the stations and you would know better than me.  

[Harry P.]

I think it might have just been before my time. Wasn't the Doo Wop thing big in the early/mid '50s? I wasn't around yet...

[Ace-Garageguy]

... Wasn't the Doo Wop thing big in the early/mid '50s? I wasn't around yet...

I was. About 60 miles south of New Yawk on the Joisey shore. 

Love the music. 

[peteski]

While I enjoy Doo Wop, I always thought that Rock-n-Roll originally evolved from R&B music with some other additional influences (as described in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll ) Doo Wop is also mentioned in that article but as a branch of Rock-n-Roll.

[SfanGoch]

R & B, was an evolutionary outgrowth of Blues, Jazz, Swing, Gospel and early African-American spiritual styles. Doo Wop, properly known as vocal group harmony, was an outgrowth, and contains elements, of all those styles. Groups like the Mills Brothers, Ink Spots, Ravens, Delta Rhythm Boys and others, pioneered the vocal group sound as far back as the early 1930s. Stylistically, vocal groups used a "call and cadence" technique which was used in spirituals and working songs sung by blacks in the 19th century. That's when the lead singer's lines are echoed by the backup members. The bass was the most important member. It was up to him to maintain the beat and timing. Most, if not all, of the early vocal groups started singing in church choirs. This is why many of the early vocal group records had a distinct gospel music feel. You can hear it in the following song, "God Only Knows", recorded by Rena Hinton & The Capris, for Gotham Records in Philadelphia and released in 1954:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ArN9N-A-o

You can also hear the Gospel influence in the next two recordings by another legendary Philly Group, George Grant & The Castelles:

Both of these were recorded for Grand Records in Philly and were released in 1953. Whatever your feelings about Doo Wops, you have to admit these are beautiful, haunting songs. A note about "Heavenly Father":

The Castelles recording is a cover of the song originally done by Edna McGriff, for Jubilee Records (recorded with Buddy Lucas and His Band of Tomorrow in Dec.1951 and released in Jan. 1952. She was sixteen when she recorded the song). "Heavenly Father" is one of the most covered songs in R&B/Doo Wop/pop music. Here is Edna's original version:

What a voice! Unfortunately, she passed away in 1980. She was only 44.  

 

Some other Gospel music-influenced songs are "My Autumn Love" and "May God Be With You" by Chicago's Danderliers, recorded for Chicago's States record label, released in 1955 and 1956 respectively:

 

"Doo Wop" wasn't used to describe this music when it was originally recorded. They were listed in the "Blues & Rhythm" categories of trade publications such as Billboard and Cash Box. As a matter of fact, "Rock and Roll" records were also listed under that category, from 1955, and didn't have a separate "Rock and Roll" section until 1958. 

This is diverging somewhat from where I intended to go; but, R n'R has its roots not only in the same music forms as Doo Wop, but also in Country, Western Swing and folk music. The prevailing thought is that "Rock Around The Clock", by Bill Haley & The Comets, was the first true R n' R song. Bill and the boys were originally a Western Swing group, dating back to the late '40s. Personally, I think Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" and Bo Diddley's self-titled "Bo Diddley" are the first. Nobody ever expressed teen angst and rebellion and fun the way Chuck could. He was the granddaddy of Rock n' Roll, hands down. All of the Brit rockers who appeared on the scene owe him more than a debt of gratitude for the way he revolutionized guitar playing. Heck, they grew up listening to him swinging his axe. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmxBKWVOWwg

If Chuck Berry was the granddaddy, this lady, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, was the grandmother:

Check out her solo in this clip:

She scorches that Les Paul SG! Her record. "Strange Things Happening Ever Day", recorded in 1944 and released in 1945, has been cited as a precursor to rock and roll:

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a major influence on early rock and roll musicians including Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Getting back to the topic, Rock n' Roll linearly evolved from, and was influenced by, numerous music genres, including Doo Wop/vocal group harmony. Early Rockabilly was influenced by vocal group music. You can hear it in a lot of Warren Smith, Bob Luman, Billy Lee Riley and Sonny Burgess recordings. Wait until I get to discussing the the "Great Split" of 1959, when R&B and Rock and Roll permanently parted ways and gave birth to Soul. it was to music what the Great Schism of 1054 was to religion.  

 

 

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've never heard that '44 Rosetta Tharp recording before. I mean, damm man. If that isn't rock-and-roll, I don't know what is.

[madhorseman]

Not really a fan of this style. This would be about as close as I could come:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jMxAQlvYlc

[1972coronet]

I'm sure that you've heard -- or at least heard of -- "Crusin' with Ruben and the Jets" (1968) . Here's a rip from the original vinyl : https://youtu.be/kwYoQ-cd12Y

 

[SfanGoch]

Frank Zappa was a musical genius. "Cruisin' with Ruben and the Jets" is a classic. Frank loved Doo Wops. They were one of his musical influences growing up in the '50s. As a matter of fact, he wrote "Memories of El Monte" for the Penguins, which they recorded for Art Laboe's Original Sound label in 1963.