# Share Your Favorite Doo-Wop Oldie With Me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594 "2010-12-01T22:22:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/61 "2010-12-03T20:50:15Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I think Dion and the Belmonts are one of the best acts from that era. Songs like _Runaround Sue_ and _The Wandere_r are just so…perfect. Dion has that edgy, almost snarl-ish and raspy quality to his voice that I find really appealing (like in _The Wanderer_ when he rasps “I got my two fists of iron and I’m going nowhere”…still gets the arm-hair raised). Couldn’t agree more, and I hear the doo-wop all over it, and had heard Dion discuss his doo-wop background but I find his vocal more gritty than I normally associate with doo-wop so I wasn’t sure…his stuff totally rocks. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/62 "2010-12-03T20:54:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > I don’t think you’ll find anybody to argue that Dion and the Belmonts aren’t Doo-wop. Many I suspect would give them the distinction I reserve for the Earls as the quintessential representatives of the later, whiter development of the Doo-wop sound particularly associated with the Italian singers and with the Philidelphia area. If that particular sub-genre appeals to you, you may wish to check out these, which I consider outstanding: > > The Four J’s - Rock ‘n’ Roll Age (another neglected rock anthem) > Hushabye My Love - Dino and the Diplomats (remarkably I find the more recent cover by the Acapella Swingers even better than the original, for all that it is quite faithful to the feel of the original) WHO THE HELL IS PLAYING GUITAR ON THAT [Four J’s TRACK](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8NIzY6gIyw)(1 minute in)?!?!? Wow! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/63 "2010-12-03T21:01:40Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > WHO THE HELL IS PLAYING GUITAR ON THAT [Four J’s TRACK](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8NIzY6gIyw)(1 minute in)?!?!? Wow! That’s a pretty damn long solo for those days! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/64 "2010-12-03T21:09:46Z")
Oh yeah, and since no one else has mentioned it, my other favorite songs from that era are from Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, like the ubiquitous “Walk Like A Man”. And it seems I was a little incorrect about Dion. “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer” appear to have been released after he left The Belmonts. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/65 "2010-12-04T00:48:45Z")
Right. Now that I have a chance to post my own links… > [@aceplace57](#): > > I like a lot of doo-wop and 50’s R&B. I have the Time Life set \*Malt Shop Memories \*on my mp3 player in the car. > > Another favorite is > Earls - Remember Then > A little unusual because they were white. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ-bdlPqJME](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ-bdlPqJME) Speaking of The Earls, here’s another for the sine qua non list: [Never](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7MjYMvo0l4). If you liked that, you should get a listen to the Spanish version [Nunca by the Latin Lads](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMu08MjSwWs). Songs by The Earls were also exactly the kind of thing Sha Na Na were set up do very well: [Sha Na Na - Never](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1YMH3KVTkw) [Sha Na Na - Remember Then](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfZfH33baMs) > [@Rilchiam](#): > > Either [Pretty Little Angel Eyes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-hgI1aGTtg) by Curtis Lee or [Little Bitty Pretty One](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8PhP3yIlRw) by Thurston Harris. Also, get a load of this: [Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers - Little Bitty Pretty One](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ziaIcKiOzA&feature=fvsr) [Thurston Harris - Hey Bopa Reba](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knHUJydqYx0) > [@TriPolar](#): > > [Who Wrote the Book of Love?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW_SKWjrE2U) Legend has it that during recording, somebody threw a baseball or something against the back wall of the studio. They covered it with the sound of a base drum, and that worked so well that it became essential to the song. Here in this version by the modern group The Acapella Swingers, they use mouth-popping noise to take its place in an acapella arrangement: [Acapella Swingers - Book of Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he7pgIBPQUk) > [@Quasimodem](#): > > Well, I don’t KNOW, DO they??? 🙂 There were definitely significant female vocalists of the Doo-wop genre. Go ahead and take your pants off, because it’ll hurt less than having them blown off: [Lillian Leach & The Mellows - Smoke from Your Cigarette](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl5gF_gdsYc) [Lillian Leach & The Mellows - Loveable Lily](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACl83z8k3qo) [Capris (not the Moon-Out-Tonite guys) - God Only Knows](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xKwJ85lbA) [The Six Teens - A Casual Look](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg19rEHugZc) [The Chantels - Maybe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuUgr_-GFlc) [The Storey Sisters - Bad Motorcycle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KVotWLF6GQ) [Kathy Young - A Thousand Stars](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6OztcWULRI) > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I really like the Schoolboys’ [Please Say You Want Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of9IUfswFIQ). > > And of course, [Why Do Fools Fall In Love?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvUW0n2TdWs) For the Kid Sound, you might also want to look into: [The Students - I’m So Young](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX5YPpfOINQ) [Dino & The Diplomats - I Can’t Believe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKm7Ww81Y2A) [Dino & the Diplomats - Hushabye My Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skNUmDMghnY) [The Kodaks - Teenager’s Dream](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TMhcXMI6Jw) [Kid Kyle - I’m So Young](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOX_4lPUsRY) > [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > The Orioles, [It’s Too Soon To Know](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1q7xXXVoCY) … There is a lot of good stuff in the Orioles’ catalog. [The Orioles - Crying in the Chapel](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1B9QtdNXA) > [@WordMan](#): > > [The Dell Vikings, Come Go with Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1eU_lDQaVM&feature=related)- recorded on a single mic in one of their basements, IIRC… A very nice take on the song, though you should also listen to the original: [The Federals - Come Go with Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R7GG72rM1s) > [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](#): > > I think this fits the bill: > [If I Didn’t Care - The Inkspots](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvwfLe6sLis) Here’s another that Doo-wop fans should be familiar with: [Ink Spots - Java Jive](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP6IUqrFHjw) [Ink Spots - My Prayer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7KJCns5v3g) (you may recall the Platters’ version – I think of the Platters as an Ink Spots cover band) > [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > [Blue Angel](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BjRvLzG0Bg) (the incomparable Roy Orbison) This modern group does a sweet cover of another Roy Orbison tune: [The Del Prince - Lana](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWKAlzCh5fg) > [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [“Buick '59” by The Medallions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZxIsaDae7M), who also sang about [a '59 Volvo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxUH8SE5jbI). [The Medallions - Push Button Automobile](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQWP1oE0Zg8&feature=related) [The Medallions - Coup De Ville Baby](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdLq-wvvWGM) > [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Surprised that “Angel Baby” by Rosie and the Originals hasn’t made the list. My stone fave. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LjxfNxbZM4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LjxfNxbZM4) > > Haunting and beautiful. Small trivia fact. Rosie disappeared. Never to be heard from again. One song and gone. Well, she had one hit, but she had other gems: [Rosie & The Originals - Lonely Blue Nights](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZGIcC9CoyQ) [Rosie and the Originals - A Thousand Stars in the Sky](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7-GHjlo6Bw&feature=related) And of course, if you liked Rosie, you’ll probably also like Kathy Young: [Kathy Young & the Innocents - Angel Baby](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1CjbMvwu3g) [Kathy Young & the Innocents - Sparkle and Shine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwAaNcxV7dI) > [@salinqmind](#): > > Frankie Lymon, Why Do Fools Fall In Love. I have this burned on a CD out in my car (with other oldies) and I play it on a regular basis and never get tired of it. (Whatever happened to those oldies on the oldies radio station? They’ve all been retired to bin of history, with ragtime and swing.) Hell, my oldies station never even played these: [Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers - The ABCs of Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gp71EcmONk) [Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers - I’m Not a Juvenile Delinquent](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGmXb1xenrQ) [Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers - Glow Worm](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9X-vue7YG8) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/66 "2010-12-04T08:09:41Z")
[quote=“Quasimodem, post:28, topic:562594”] finger on the trigger: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0\_2Z3pPNM8/QUOTE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0_2Z3pPNM8/QUOTE)] I’ve said plenty already, of course, but this is a particularly interesting case. Many attempts to reproduce the doo-wop sound-and-feel even by the original artists, fail. Yet this piece, which is unmistakably 70’s soul in its sound is also unmistakably doo-wop. Further, it has a feature that I associate with country music – beating its central metaphor to death. It’s a fascinating case. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/67 "2010-12-05T23:57:33Z")
No! Don’t die thread! I am a sucker for the slow and romantic. [The Dells. Stay In My Corner](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0toXDKMgHQ). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/68 "2010-12-06T01:22:01Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Angel] A very nice take on the song, though you should also listen to the original: [The Federals - Come Go with Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R7GG72rM1s) [/quote] How is this not a later “cover” on the original song by the Del Vikings? ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/69 "2010-12-06T03:06:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > …other gems…Rosie and the Originals - A Thousand Stars Thanks muchly **Johnny Angel** for all the melodic links. If I could pick a(nother) nit, your link sounds to me more like Kathy Young & The Innocents. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK3VjAmv\_yY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK3VjAmv_yY) sounds more to me like Rosie & The Originals. Thanks muchly also for the Latin Lads. Here are Los Cinco Latinos with Estela Raval, doing “La hora del crepúsculo”: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VswiTn7EWoo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VswiTn7EWoo) The El Dorados doing “I’ll Be Forever Loving You”: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VTFnnXaXn8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VTFnnXaXn8) Skeeter Davis doing “I Can’t Stay Mad At You”: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbUQYxfDSxQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbUQYxfDSxQ) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/70 "2010-12-06T05:45:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Legend has it that during recording, somebody threw a baseball or something against the back wall of the studio. They covered it with the sound of a base drum, and that worked so well that it became essential to the song. Here in this version by the modern group The Acapella Swingers, they use mouth-popping noise to take its place in an acapella arrangement: > > [Acapella Swingers - Book of Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he7pgIBPQUk) That sounds like doo wop. It was an art form based on street corner music, from kids with no instruments to make music with. They used the doo-wops, hand claps, and ad hoc drumming instead. And the best music still carried these basics into the studios. Plenty of doo-wop has been covered with orchestral music and the finest voices, but the gritty quality of the basics give it character. I prefer the original recordings, tinny and gritty sometimes, to the ‘higher quality’ covers. The Duke of Earl is one of those doo wop basics because it doesn’t require great singing ability. The ‘duke-duke-duke’ is a timing thing, and the lyrics don’t require great range. And any group of people with a little ability can do an entertaining rendition. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/71 "2010-12-06T06:08:47Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > How is this not a later “cover” on the original song by the Del Vikings? That’s entirely on the basis of the fact that the DJ I first heard play it said so. Now that you’ve called me on it, I checked: [Wikipedia has it from the Del Vikings in 1956](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Go_with_Me) [This web site’s page on The Federals says their version came out in 1957](http://www.blogg.org/blog-65325-billet-1236862.html) So, it looks like I should have fact-checked it. Sorry about that. Say, here’s one thing I didn’t get around to mentioning previously: The Coasters. They’re mostly remembered these days for Yakity Yak, Poison Ivy and Charlie Brown, and so are seen as a kind of novelty act (and indeed there was generally a lot of playfulness in their music), they were really an R&B group to be reckoned with. First of all, they split off from The Robins, which was also a group that also did a bunch of Leiber & Stoller tunes. If you search for Smokey Joe’s Cafe on YouTube, you’ll get a lot of performances of varying quality of the Leiber/Stoller broadway show somebody turned out a few years ago. But you can find a few other of their records on YouTube: [Robins - Cherry Lips](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JThZCnjSQs&feature=related) [Robins - Since I First Met You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf-7HlHkNnA&feature=related) Unfortunately, I don’t see the one you really want to hear: A Fool Such as I. After hearing this, I just get so annoyed that the Elvis version is so much more famous. You can hear it if you go to the [Vintage Vocal Group Harmony Shows Archive](http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/vghs_wma.htm) and download [program #408](http://www.group-harmony.com/VGHS-WMA/vghs_408.wmv). The song I mentioned starts up about 1:20, and the rest is golden as well. Also, [that same website](http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/) has other downloadable/streamable Vocal Harmony shows. It’s quite an education. Anyway, in addition to the songs you may already know from The Coasters, you’ll want to see if you can find the following, though there is a surprising dearth of this stuff on YouTube: The Coasters - Brazil The Coasters - That is Rock and Roll ([here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ayjN22uF4Y&feature=related) a cover by a Japanese band called The Checkers) [The Coasters - Shopping for Clothes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetJMlt3-l4&feature=related) [The Coasters - Three Cool Cats](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJJtX0JaROs) The Coasters - Hey Sexy (the slightly dirty version of Lovey, which is only available on YouTube in a [crappy alt take](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plsHw83VuxE)) Really, you might as well listen to any Coasters and Robins you can get your hands on. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/72 "2010-12-06T06:41:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That sounds like doo wop. It was an art form based on street corner music, from kids with no instruments to make music with. They used the doo-wops, hand claps, and ad hoc drumming instead. And the best music still carried these basics into the studios. Plenty of doo-wop has been covered with orchestral music and the finest voices, but the gritty quality of the basics give it character. I prefer the original recordings, tinny and gritty sometimes, to the ‘higher quality’ covers. The Duke of Earl is one of those doo wop basics because it doesn’t require great singing ability. The ‘duke-duke-duke’ is a timing thing, and the lyrics don’t require great range. And any group of people with a little ability can do an entertaining rendition. Yeah, I really prefer acapella where I can find it. And in fact, I like vocal harmony of multiple eras, though too many singers will tend to wreck it. For example, there seems to be a creature out there called a “Jazz Vocal Choir” that feasts on the souls of good songs and does a macabre dance in their skins. Consider [Trickle, Trickle by the Videos](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV99GJg0tvA). Now prepare yourself: [Crapier by the Dozen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcInQjmVIfI) [Thirty? Forty?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVBrsus6cHY&feature=related) My guess is that some commonly used book or curriculum for high school choir has Trickle, Trickle in it, so choirs across the country are murdering the tune as something for a bunch of kids to cut their teeth on. Well, it’s got to be something, but come on! Isn’t that what the Cole Porter songbook is for? Yet, I’ve been much happier with the renderings of Duke of Earl you get on YouTube from random groups: [Ridgefield Quartet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkBXDSmts6c) [UCapella](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0W3k_7nToo&feature=related) [Some Kids With a Hat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtDvu4YGvKg&feature=related) I have no idea what it is about Duke of Earl that it brings out more tollerable YouTube vids. My theory is that a young man can really strut about and get his ego into it. But perhaps as you say it doesn’t require a lot of talent. Still, I think charisma would still go a long way. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/73 "2010-12-06T07:19:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Yeah, I really prefer acapella where I can find it. And in fact, I like vocal harmony of multiple eras, though too many singers will tend to wreck it. For example, there seems to be a creature out there called a “Jazz Vocal Choir” that feasts on the souls of good songs and does a macabre dance in their skins. Consider [Trickle, Trickle by the Videos](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV99GJg0tvA). Now prepare yourself: > > [Crapier by the Dozen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcInQjmVIfI) > [Thirty? Forty?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVBrsus6cHY&feature=related) > > My guess is that some commonly used book or curriculum for high school choir has Trickle, Trickle in it, so choirs across the country are murdering the tune as something for a bunch of kids to cut their teeth on. Well, it’s got to be something, but come on! Isn’t that what the Cole Porter songbook is for? Yeah, the Pat Boone effect. There oughta be a law. > [@](#): > > Yet, I’ve been much happier with the renderings of Duke of Earl you get on YouTube from random groups: > > [Ridgefield Quartet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkBXDSmts6c) > [UCapella](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0W3k_7nToo&feature=related) > [Some Kids With a Hat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtDvu4YGvKg&feature=related) > > I have no idea what it is about Duke of Earl that it brings out more tollerable YouTube vids. My theory is that a young man can really strut about and get his ego into it. But perhaps as you say it doesn’t require a lot of talent. Still, I think charisma would still go a long way. Great Links! I loved UCapella singin’ in the stairwell. Reminds me of high school. I realized then that doing your own renditions of Alice Cooper wasn’t going to work out too well. I should have said it was a young man’s thing. A song that basically says ‘Look at me! I am great! Don’t you want to be my girl?’. And charisma is that thing that’s more than a voice or timing that makes an entertainer great. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/74 "2010-12-08T18:54:36Z")
Something relatively recent but in the Doo-Wop realm: [“The Birth of Christ” by Boyz II Men](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlYRqcknVV0). ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfyre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfyre/32/9972_2.png) [@Shadowfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfyre)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/75 "2010-12-08T19:53:49Z")
Best. Thread. Ever. I can’t wait to read it when I get home and can get access to YouTube but they blocked access to that here at work. Hence, you’ll have to do your own YouTube searches if you want to hear any of these. Although mentioned before, I think The Capris’ There’s a Moon Out Tonight is one of my favoritest Doo Wop songs. I have two versions of Silhouettes on the Shade by the Rays, the original and a version labeled simply as “Silhouettes” in my playlist which is newer and has (I think) tighter vocals. I just realized that the newer version might be by The Nylons. Phil Phillops & The Twilights - Sea of Love Little Anthony & The Imperials - Tears on My Pillow The Marcels - Blue Moon I even have some new\* Doo Wop songs: BoyZ II Men were always good for some new Doo Wop. Huey Lewis & The News - Naturally Huey Lewis & The News - It’s Alright (not to be confused with “But It’s Alright” which is also a good song, but not Doo Wop) Billy Joel - For the Longest Time Billy Joel - River of Dreams (might be more gospel, but could easily pulled off as Doo Wop) Frank Stallone - Take You Back (Yes, that Stallone. The song was featured in Rocky 2) All 4 One does a good version of So Much In Love. I’ve heard it used in many weddings since the last verse is about getting married. \*“New” meaning made after 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/76 "2010-12-10T04:16:27Z")
Here’s [a girl group](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Delicates) in the realm of Doo-Wop: [Black & White Thunderbird](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjSv-Mel47c) [Flip Flip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YOJVXOdggw) [Little Boy of Mine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXR7ZC-023Y) ---
**Author:** ![Zelski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c67d28/32.png) [@Zelski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelski)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/77 "2010-12-13T01:50:01Z")
I’ve got two I want to mention. First off, the Platters are very famous for lots of good songs, but I feel that their best song by far is [_ **Twilight Time** _](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHuZa1DxrM). However, this song seems to be overshadowed in most people’s minds by _**Only You (and You Alone)**_, _ **The Great Pretender** _, _ **the Magic Touch** _, or _ **Smoke Gets in Your Eyes** _, none of which are as nearly as beautiful. Most of my friends under age 35 have never heard Twilight Time probably because it doesn’t get as much airplay even on Oldies stations. I am told by friends in the Cincinnati area that this song has been defiled as a jingle for the Skyline Chili fast food chain. The other song I want to mention is not nearly so famous: the Jarmels singing [_ **A Little Bit of Soap** _](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GauF-y5-7X4). Great backup sounds, three verses, and an awesome reprise of the third verse with heart-rending lead vocals all packed into about two minutes. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/78 "2010-12-13T02:17:35Z")
> [@Zelski](#): > > I’ve got two I want to mention. > > First off, the Platters are very famous for lots of good songs, but I feel that their best song by far is [_ **Twilight Time** _](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHuZa1DxrM). However, this song seems to be overshadowed in most people’s minds by _**Only You (and You Alone)**_, _ **The Great Pretender** _, _ **the Magic Touch** _, or _ **Smoke Gets in Your Eyes** _, none of which are as nearly as beautiful. Most of my friends under age 35 have never heard Twilight Time probably because it doesn’t get as much airplay even on Oldies stations. I am told by friends in the Cincinnati area that this song has been defiled as a jingle for the Skyline Chili fast food chain. > > The other song I want to mention is not nearly so famous: the Jarmels singing [_ **A Little Bit of Soap** _](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GauF-y5-7X4). Great backup sounds, three verses, and an awesome reprise of the third verse with heart-rending lead vocals all packed into about two minutes. Pretty much all there songs were great. I have most on vinyl 45’s. I’d disagree with your choice of Twilight Time. Just a personal opinion. _Great Pretender_ was more impressive(enough to have Stan Freberg do a take-off version). ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_Next\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@Girl\_Next\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Next_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/79 "2010-12-13T02:24:35Z")
Love this thread! Can’t wait to listen to some of these links. Carry on, folks. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594/80 "2010-12-14T12:34:28Z")
Here’s an obscure one: The Thornton Sisters. An all-black family group who won Amateur Night at the Apollo _6 times in a row_!! [Watch Your Step](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9qSfzeX9M&NR=1) [Big City Boy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtJA7aMVNJw) I’m friends with the sax player, who is now an accomplished physician… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-doo-wop-oldie-with-me/562594.md?page=5)