Doo-Wop was a big hit during the 40's, 50's, and 60's. It is said that doo-wop is a mixture of soul and R&B music. It originated in African American communities in the bigger cities. It started right after World War II by young black males. However, it did not take long for it to travel into a very large mix-culture style of song. This genre is the "og" of rock and roll. Runowicz mentioned in his article that other artist called doo-wop the "forgotten third of rock-'n'-roll." The original roots of doo-wop rose from barbershop quartets, gospel groups, and jazz. They were all combined together to get the new hip type of music. This style of music eventually bled into Motown groups in the 60's. It seems to me after listening to some doo-wop music that the best way to describe why this style is called doo-wop is because of the constant consonant vowel repetition behind the lead vocalist. It is normally what drives the tempo of the song.
This song "In the Still of The Night" by The Five Satins written in 1956 is a good example of the constant repetition of the consonant vowel.
This song by The Del Vikings "Come Go With Me" is also a great example of the vowel repetition. Also while you listen, notice how the back vocals drive the tempo of the song. It normally isn't the lead singer that carries the group, but more of the vocalist in the background.
I really like this quote that Runowicz made in his book Forever Doo-Wop: Race, Nostalgia, and Vocal Harmony: "To attempt to define a genre of music that has emerged from a long and continually evolving tradition as doo-wop did is like scooping a bucket of water from a flowing stream. We are merely taking a sample, in the context of a particular time and place, from the much larger flow of history."
In post-WWII America, there was a rise of vocal harmony among the black communities in larger cities. This started at a very young age for the people around the block. These young singers would start trying to create harmony groups at middle school age and sometimes earlier. They would get the sense of harmony and notation from listening to jazz and blues from the radio. These groups would then practice and form together quite literally anywhere in public. These were singing groups where they were known by the area they claimed to practice. Due to the high street performance in these urban areas and these communities being forced to stay in these conditions, it kept the blacks from being in the mainstream white society.
This group is actually a more popular group of teenagers. They were known as The Teenagers. Why Do Fools Fall In Love is a prime example of how young these singers and artist start with creating these vocal groups. Frankie Lymon was 13 when this song was written and produced. It was a large hit for the young group. It reached number six on the billboard charts for pop single and topped the billboard charts for R&B singles for five weeks. They were also known by two group names: Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers and The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon.
At the beginning of this genre, it was often only men vocalist. By the end of the 50's, there were many more female vocal groups that had recorded and produced songs as doo-wop groups. The first all-female groups to have a hit record was The Chantels. Most women groups practices in private rather than in public. The women of these groups were very aware of the men singing around them and would often go around and listen to them sing in talent shows or just on the street. These female groups would then incorporate some of the same harmonies the men were performing with their own feminine style. The Chantels and The Bobbettes were very influential to women groups during the 60's.
Doo-wop is commonly defined as "folk art." This is not a well known term and arthur Lawrence Pitillli tried to define it as "art made for the common people by the common people." He states in chapter six of his book Doo-Wop Acappella: A Story of Street Corners, Echoes, and Three-Part Harmonies about how "folk art is of the visual and decorative nature, that is, paintings, sculptures, pottery and so forth... Folk art includes art produced by ethnic minorities in developed societies." Often times the singing groups were African Americans or Italian Americans. Many groups such as Dion and the Belmonts, The Capris, and Randy and the Rainbows were Puerto Rican or Italian American groups that were very popular during this era of music.
Dion and the Belmonts where the most popular group in the late 50's into the 60's. Their first song I Wonder Why published in early 1958 hit the billboard top 100 at number 22. They were a hit on national television. In 1959, their next single A Teenager In Love hit number five on the billboard hot top 100 chart. This is a very popular song and is very recognizable. It is often stated as one of the greatest songs in rock and roll history. This group was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 2012.
Most of the background music is acapella. They had to find ways to fill the silence while singing. Not many groups had instruments that were accessible to them. Some of the lower to middle class groups could not afford instruments so they often used their voices to mimic instrument sounds. Which is why most of the time the background singers are often just repeating the lead singer with changing pitches or just singing "ooooh" or "whhaaaa" while changing pitches. More of the higher class and highly known groups had instruments. It was normally normal jazz instruments like piano, drums, trumpet, and saxophone. These phrases that are used by the background vocalist is where doo-wop gets its name.
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