Doo-wop is the term used for the genre of rock that
consists of group vocal harmony with a lead singer and back-up singers
who harmonize using nonsense syllables. Its heyday was the late 1950s. Two
groups that were influential in this style were the Orioles and the
Ravens---both active around 1950. Alan Freed made a practice featuring black
vocal groups on his radio show and as a result, there was a great demand for
doo-wop music. One of the first big hits was the Orioles' Crying in the
Chapel (1953). In 1954, the Penguins, a group out of Los Angeles, released
Earth Angel. one of the all-time doo-wop favorites. For the classic doo-wop
sound, listen to the Dell-Vikings Come Go With Me or Little
Anthony and the Imperials' Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop.Here are
some other notable doo-wop tunes:
The Nutmegs: Story Untold (1955)
The Flamingos: I Only Have Eyes For You (1959)
The Edsels: Rama Lama Ding Dong (1961)
The Marcels: Blue Moon (1961)
