OT: The Flamingos

[JordyG]

Not in 1959.

You're right. That really started 2 years later.

 

[Jingo]

Not in 1959.

 

[Jingo]

Before we leave the 50s & vintage doo wop, does anyone remember WNJR broadcasting outta Newark 1430-AM? Do you remember, "I am the BRUCE!"

Further thinking bout good doo wop memories, here's a QUIZ: "Eee-tiddly-ock! Ho! this is the Jock, and I'm back on the scene with the record machine, saying oo-pop-a-doo, how do you do?"
Who said that?

 

[donalddoowop]

Before we leave the 50s & vintage doo wop, does anyone remember WNJR broadcasting outta Newark 1430-AM? Do you remember, "I am the BRUCE!"

Further thinking bout good doo wop memories, here's a QUIZ: "Eee-tiddly-ock! Ho! this is the Jock, and I'm back on the scene with the record machine, saying oo-pop-a-doo, how do you do?"
Who said that?

I believe it was Jocko. By the way, do you know that lover of this music back in the 1950's hated the term Doo Wop. It was a derogatory term attached to it by some DJ who wanted to belittle the music. Also, most of the record company executives thought the music was a fad and would not last and that is why, or at least one of the reasons why, so few recordings were made of the acts performing live. I don't know if any of the Big Shows were recorded. I never heard WNJR but I do remember hearing about the BRUCE. AM was the thing back then, Hardly anyone listened to FM back then.

 

[Bigboote]

Not in 1959.

Tamla, which became Motown (and later a label under the Motown umbrella), did begin in 1959. I'm not sure it was before the crash or not.

 

[Golden Husky]

Shirley of the Shirelles also had a fine voice. I loved listening to her and Arlene.

For my money, The Shirelles are the best female group of all time.

 

[Golden Husky]

I am also fond of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Heat Wave is one of my favorites. And I love Linda Ronstadt's version too.

Martha & The Vandellas, as well as The Marvelettes, had some grit and heart to them. Of the Motown female groups, The Supremes may have been the most successful but are just too cloying and saccharine for my taste. I see them more as a pop group than a rock group.

 

[Ozimoto]

And here I am at work listening to "Lovers Never Say Goodbye" by the Flamingos...

 

[choochoo]

I wonder if anyone on here is from Pittsburgh then they could mention the Skyliners, one of the best ever. Dion and his Belmonts were good. "Where or When" was a really good song by them, a remake of a very popular standard. Didn't you have other good groups from the Bronx? The "Harptones" maybe? How far is the Bronx from Spanish Harlem?

Spanish harlem is in Manhatten south of 125th street. The bronx is across the river from Manhattan and runs north up to riverdale and southern Westchester county. maybe a mile or two from the south bronx to Spanish Harlem.

 

[Jingo]

Well, it may have been the day that music died, but Motown was right there baby, and it was strong as hell.

 

[Bama fan]

If you did't give Alan Freed what he wanted he made you pay .. it's called "payola" .. it's the reason so much great doo wop music was suppressed until this music came back to life with the advent of Napster and other Internet sites .. I was a big doo wop fan in high school but hadn't heard 75% of the great doo wop tunes until Napster due to 'payola' suppression .. Napster is the reason I started my doo wop site: nydoowop dot com .. now a lot of the great, previously suppressed, music can also be heard on YouTube

I listened to most of these recordings on the radio in Pittsburgh in the early Sixties. While Freed may have extorted money for air time in his markets, the songs were played in other places. By 1960 Art Laboe a dee jay from L.A. was producing collections on a series he called Oldies But Goodies. Several Pittsburgh area dee jays also began pushing the music, and other "hard to get" stuff. Porky Chedwick had a show on a small radio station called WAMO and he began publishing his own collections which he called "Dusty Discs". At the same time Terry Lee was playing his "Songs for Young Lovers" from a station in a small town upriver from Pittsburgh. Both of these guys did dances and shows around at local teen clubs throughout Southwestern Pa. Mad Mike Metrovich soon joined the action from a small station with WZUM as its call sign. He dug up old and not so old stuff from obscure groups and also had a regular series of teen dances around town. Most of the Doo Wop concerts one can see on Public Television are /were recorded in Pittsburgh by the local Public affiliate WQED. I am not sure why Pittsburgh became so enamored of that music genre, but I will be eternally grateful that I grew up listening to that classic sound. I think Napster and You Tube are latecomers , but they certainly helped keep it alive. Further, I am heartened by all the appreciation I see from the BoneYard crowd. And it just so happens that a met a lady in Alabama that likes it too. I was so impressed that I married her. Such good taste, I couldn't help it.

 

[Jingo]

Actually, doo wop didn't die in 1959, but rather morphed into an a capella phase which was started in a small record shop called Times Square Records run and operated by Irving "Slim" Rose. Besides Motown [FourTops, Supremes], other genres sprang up in the post-doo-wop early 60s, most notably the British Invasion [Beatles, RollingStones], Surf Rock [Beach Boys, Jan&Dean], Ray Charles Country [Patsy Cline], Folk rock/Protest music [Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Cat Stevens, Buffalo Springfield, Simon and Garfunkel, and Pete Seeger], Four Seasons [their own genre], Chubby Checker [his own genre], Mamas&Papas [their own genre] et al ..... the assassination of Kennedy, the Civil Rights movement & The Viet Nam War made the 60s a decade of turbulence, reflected in the music of the times, n'est-ce pas?

 

[JordyG]

Martha & The Vandellas, as well as The Marvelettes, had some grit and heart to them. Of the Motown female groups, The Supremes may have been the most successful but are just too cloying and saccharine for my taste. I see them more as a pop group than a rock group.

No they, all the R&B music from the 50's and 60's were a dance music group. Whether you like it or not today's pop music is in direct lineage of the dance music from the 50's, although the beat, the productions, and the sensibilities are vastly different. Rock as it is defined today is not a dance music.

 

[donalddoowop]

Martha & The Vandellas, as well as The Marvelettes, had some grit and heart to them. Of the Motown female groups, The Supremes may have been the most successful but are just too cloying and saccharine for my taste. I see them more as a pop group than a rock group.

I really did not care for the Supremes style. One of them, the one who died, even complained that she wanted the group to sing with the kind of background singing that the Shirelles and Chantels sang. She liked harmony, which is one of the things that defined that era. I like the way you described their sound.

 

[donalddoowop]

Tamla, which became Motown (and later a label under the Motown umbrella), did begin in 1959. I'm not sure it was before the crash or not.

I agree, but in 1959 Tamla was not at the level JordyG said Motown was. He later agreed. I remember The Miracles recorded on the Tamla label.

 

[Scud49]

For my money, The Shirelles are the best female group of all time.

Agree 100% - my fav girl group of all time. IIRC, Rolling Stone had them ranked in the top 100 groups of all time, somewhere in the 70's I believe. I'm also on board with donalddoowop and Golden Husky - the Supremes were OK but a bit too formalistic and saccharine for my tastes. There were other girl groups that I much preferred, and solo acts like Mary Wells, Barbara Mason, Barbara Lewis etc

 

[Huskygamble19]

WNJR brings back memories of when i listened to Danny Stiles and his Kit Cat Club. It was later at night and could be picked up in my area. Just grooved on the great oldies I heard on that show.

 

[Huskygamble19]

I'd add Earl Lewis, lead singer of The Channels, to the list of great doo wop singers but let's not forget the ladies: Arlene Smith of the Chantels had some impressive pipes and although I wouldn't call it doo wop, it would be difficult to find a more powerful vocal than Timi Yuro on "Hurt."

Perhaps those with greater computer skills than I possess will post videos of Lewis ("The Closer You Are"), Smith ("Maybe," "He's Gone," Look in My Eyes," et al.,) and Yuro.

Actually..Arlene Smith was not the lead singer on "Look in my Eyes". It was Annette Smith. Arlene went on to be a solo singer at that time.

 

[Huskygamble19]

One of my favorites is My True Story by the Jive Five. I believe this is Eugene Pitt singing lead, and adding a memorable ending to this live version:

Sadly..Eugene Pitt just passed away recently.

 

[Huskygamble19]

I think the first or second 45 I ever bought was Come Go With Me and later I bought Whispering Bells. Great group.

Shortly after Whispering Bells, the main group went to Mercury records except for Kripps Johnson, the lead singer of Whispering Bells , who remained on the Dot label..another one of those crazy contract deals back then.

 

[Huskygamble19]

Well,now some may call me Joe. Some may call me Moe. Just remember Speedo. He don't ever take it slow.

Now this is one of my favorite tunes of all time. The best by the Cadillacs IMHO.

 

[Jingo]

Agree 100% - my fav girl group of all time. IIRC, Rolling Stone had them ranked in the top 100 groups of all time, somewhere in the 70's I believe. I'm also on board with donalddoowop and Golden Husky - the Supremes were OK but a bit too formalistic and saccharine for my tastes. There were other girl groups that I much preferred, and solo acts like Mary Wells, Barbara Mason, Barbara Lewis etc

 

[Bama fan]

Many years ago, on a good night when the atmospheric conditions were just right, we could listen to WOWO radio from Fort Wayne, Indiana. We had few good radio choices in Pittsburgh as many local "good" stations went dark at 1800 hours. But WOWO played some good stuff back then. Guess they had a powerful transmitter, maybe 100,000 watts?

 

[donalddoowop]

Now this is one of my favorite tunes of all time. The best by the Cadillacs IMHO.

My favorite by the Cadillacs was The Girl I Love. It showed the pretty side of Earl's voice. Another very good female singer was Patty Drew of the Drewvells, who sang "Tell Him and Working On A Groovy Thing". I believe she was a solo act when she sang "Working On A Groovy Thing".

 

[cohenzone]

Now this is one of my favorite tunes of all time. The best by the Cadillacs IMHO.

I saw the Cadillacs in person at Hartford’s old State Theater in a show that included Clyde McPhatter. I was kinda young and don’t remember the performances.