There are people who LIKE Sha Na Na? And BOWZER?! I do love doo-wop but if someone asked me to think of someone who best exemplifies douchery, I’d have to go with Bowzer. Ugh.
I’ve always wondered if 1950’s kids in New York really sang Doo-Wop on the street corners? That would be pretty cool to hear. Unfortunately, I was still in my crib at the time and wasn’t allowed to crawl around outside on my own. 
I’ve never heard a Doo-Wop group live. I like watching American Graffiti because of the great Doo-Wop music.
Denise, Randy and The Rainbows.
The Tokens still sounding great singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
My father and Uncle sang doo wop on the corner when they were young and would burst into song at a party with little prompting. This was my favorite: Bloodstone’s Natural High. Of course they didn’t do the extended version.
I don’t like Sha Na Na as a group, but I’d prefer them over a world with no Doo Wop at all. Bowzer was part of the TV show phase of the group, and almost a seperate act. I don’t think he was at Woodstock, but its hard not to give some cred to any band that was there. Remember, it’s about the music.
How the Time Flies - Jerry Wallace
And/or
This Time - Troy Shondell
“The King’s Men” was also one of the theatrical companies Shakespeare was involved with–and I love discombobulating the scholars with discussions of "their production of Henry VIII and The Winter’s Tale, not to mention the big hit they had with ‘Louis, Louis’ . . . "
You are of course, entitled to your opinion, Freudian Slit, but what you wrote comes very close to jerkism. Take another look.
Yes, I’m a person and yes, I like Sha Na Na, and yes I like Jon (Bowzer)http://www.bowzerparty.com/bio.htm. But am I a fan of what you call “douchery” because I like the group or him?
Well, am I?
Thanks
Quasi
That’s my favorite too, and since you so rudely stole it (;)) I’ll go with A Teenager In Love by Dion and the Belmonts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Xvgv92GBc
And I can’t believe nobody mentioned good old *Duke Of Earl *yet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9PoUsRibtE
Wow! I’m number 50, and In the Still of the Night by the Five Satins hasn’t been mentioned?? Definitely MY favorite doo-wop.
Doesn’t look like my favorite has been mentioned yet:
The winner.
I suspect I could give you a run for you money. I wasn’t around in the good-old-days, but been following this stuff for a while now, including a lot of excellent stuff that didn’t get much airplay, and especially so many previously unpublished recordings that are these days being belched out of studios. Of course, it’s not a competition. =) Really, I just hope to call attention to a few things that people who like Doo-wop might want to look into.
I’ll put up YouTube Links later when I’m not discretely posting from work.
First of all, if you have any interest in this stuff, let me just toss out a couple of suggestions for groups I consider essential listening:
The Clovers - Mostly remembered for Poison Ivy, arguably the least ass-kicking song in their catalog.
The Drifters (1950’s) - The 60’s group of the same name deserves to remembered for its vocal harmonies, but it’s such a tragedy that the 50’s group has been forgotten by all but enthusiasts. Whether fronted by Cylde McPhatter or Johnny Moore, they produced consistently fantastic R&B.
The Earls - Though they come in right at the end of the golden era of Doo-wop, they produced a handful of pieces that are not only excellent in their own right, but which I would argue are definitive of the genre at least as far as the “whiter shade of doo-wop” was concerned.
Not unusual at all, actually. I’m particularly fond of the more R&B side of Doo-wop, but it would be hard to actually say whether there were more white groups or black groups, and some groups were in fact racially diverse, such as the Del Vikings or The Eternals.
Indeed, the Inkspots and the Mills Brothers are often treated as proto-Doo-wop, although groups like the Red Caps and the Delta Rhythm Boys deserve a mention for setting the stage.
Funny thing about Buick '59 – it was recorded in 1954. Sadly, the futuristic car it describes never came to be. See also Push-button Automobile.
Jim “The Curator” at the Wax Museum did a spotlite on the Medallions a couple of months ago. It seems they often did records with a car song on one side and a song about a letter on the other side. Old fans of Cecil may recall the mention of the Medallions song The Letter as the likely origin of the phrase “The pompatus of love.”
The fact that this excellent rock anthem has not been playing on oldies stations all these years is a travesty. I have only recently become aware of it, though I have the vague impression that it was better known in what’s known as the “Carolina Beach Music” scene, which appears to be a subculture that because of the segregated culture of the Carolinas only got exposed to R&B on the beaches.
Bowzer and Johnny Contardo still perform, sometimes together. But they’re not really in on the most happening parts of the ongoing Doo-wop scene, though I have seen a YouTube vid of Bowzer introducing Kid Kyle.
Sha-na-na is credited with creating the 50’s revival that, among other things, resulted in me getting into the music. I don’t think I’m alone in that. Bauman was a classically trained musician who portrayed a character that was meant to be the 50’s version of our modern Guido. I don’t think he himself would claim to be a patch on Gerald Gregory of the Spaniels, but he wasn’t a shabby bass man.
Of course, there’s a lot I’d like to comment on with YouTube links to back me up, but that’ll have to wait.
Johnny Angel - you rock! Thank you for that!
Would you put **Dion and the Belmonts **in a doo-wop category? Dion was certainly influenced by doo-wop, but their songs are more driving and his vocal is more dominant and Elvis-influenced…
I feel shame for not putting the Duke at the top of the list. It is quintessentially Doo-Woppy.
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)
True. In addition to the many copies that got worn out on juke boxes and record players, It Will Stand was played by nearly every soul music cover band in the Carolinas back in the 60’s. Some of us even got to play it actually backing up The Showmen at live performances. For some bands, mine included, and The Showmen themselves, this was the set closer as “It Will Stand” segued into a rousing sing-along version of Hey Baby. “I wanna’ know-o-o, if you’ll be my girl.”
“Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. We’re gonna’ take a short break, we’ll be right back.” Great memories.
I was barely aware of The Showmen when they were mourning the passing of General Johnson a couple of months ago on Destination Doo-wop. And now I still mostly know that one song, but it features the best strategic use of a voice on the verge of cracking that I’ve heard since the Capris’ God Only Knows.
Cool - got it; I will check them out.
I think Dion and the Belmonts are one of the best acts from that era. Songs like Runaround Sue and The Wanderer 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).