This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And for today a blend of vocal legends mostly from the fifties here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. Well other than the instrumental Rhythm & Blues, the big band backed songs, the jump blues and the shouters, doowop affectionados have kept this music much more alive - music that didn't only *survive* the rock 'n roll craze, it actually managed to blend in and became tremendously popular in the fifties and the early sixties. Well enough stuff to listen to so let me just start with the first one. Here are the Spence sisters with Doo Dob Sha Bam.
01 - Spence Sisters - Doo Dob Sha Bam
02 - Orioles - I Just Got Lucky - Vee-Jay 196 1956
That was probably the most iconic of all vocal groups, the Orioles. Lead singer Sonny Til was a phenomenon on stage and always had a crowd of young women around him. Productive they were too as they recorded over 200 songs for the Jubilee label in 6 years time. Yet the group had two faces, as they sung both white-sounding romantic songs in a crooning way as the more typical R&B-like group harmony. In that latter style, from 1956, when they'd moved over to Vee-Jay, is I just got lucky that you just heard.
Next up the Ravens, with that typical bass voice of Jimmy Ricks singing Looking for my baby and you may love the voice of Jimmy Ricks, but the lyrics tell how he is going to beat up and mistreat the girl he loves for running away from home, I think not without a reason.
03 - Ravens - Looking For My Baby - Mercury 5800 (b) 1952
04 - Prisonaires - Don't Say Tomorrow - Sun 512 (b) 1953
The Prisonaires, with Don't Say Tomorrow. They were formed of five inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville and discovered by radio producer Joe Calloway who brougt them to the attention of Sam Phillips of the legendary Sun Records, who did a lot of real discoveries, most notably Elvis Presley. From the Prisonaires, Don't say tomorrow.
I go on with three songs from the Vee-Jay label - now that was an important label for vocal groups. The story goes that it was the sound of the Spaniels that convinced James and Vivian Carter Bracken to start their own record label that was named after their initials. They opened in May, 1953 in Chicago and the Spaniels were their first act. I'll play Heart and Soul, a relatively late recording from 1958. After that more iconic groups from Vee-Jay: the Dells with Jo Jo and the Impressions, with Jerry Butler on lead, Lovely One.
05 - Spaniels - Heart and Soul - Vee-Jay 301 1958
06 - Dells - Jo Jo - Vee-Jay 1956
07 - Impressions - Lovely One
The impressions with Lovely one, with Jerry Butler on lead who was later replaced by Curis Mayfield who led the group succesfully through all of the soul era.
While most of the vocal groups started as teenagers the du-droppers were men in their late thirties and fourties. They recorded on the groove label, a subsidiary of RCA that tried, with little success, to get their feet in the R&B market that was dominated by the independent labels. This single was numbered as Groove 0001, the very first single of the label, I'll spin the flip of "speed king", Dead Broke and satisfied.
08 - Du Droppers - Dead Broke - Groove 0001 (b) 1954
09 - Revels - Later Later Baby - Sound 129 (b) 1955
That were the Re-Vels with Later Later Baby on the Sound label from 1955 backed up by the band of Sid Bass who actually backed up a lot of vocal groups. Next on the playlist are the Preludes. Listen to ...
10 - Preludes - I Want Your Arms Around Me - Empire 103 1956
11 - Robins - If It's So Baby - Savoy 726 1949
From 1949, the Robins, a pioneer west coast vocal group with Bobby Nunn on lead. This group later became the Coasters, and they were discovered by Johnny Otis, one of his many discoveries. That was If It's So Baby from the Savoy label that Johnny Otis recorded on back then
Next the Radars with You belong to me, the flip of I need you all the time, released on the Abbey label in 1951.
12 - Radars - You Belong To Me - Abbey 3025 1951
13 - Five Echoes - Lonely Mood - Sabre 102 1953
The Five Echoes from Chicago on the Sabre label from 1953. You heard their first single Lonely Mood. This group only existed for two years - it disbanded with when second tenor Tommy Hunt, drafted but AWOL from the service was arrested and their record company folded.
Also from the Windy City were the Flamingos - and Five Echoes tenor Earl Lewis had been in the Flamingoes while Tommy Hunt, after his military service, joined the Flamingoes. Like so many vocal groups they started in church though they joined a Jewish congregation, which considerably impacted their musical style. The Flamingoes were much more succesful, especially after their 1956 hits I'll be home and A kiss from your lips that brought them to Alan Freed and into his movie Rock Rock Rock and on the roster of his racially integrated Rock 'n Roll tour featuring the Platters and Bill Haley.
Here they are with their vocal rendition of the fourties classic Jump Children.
14 - Flamingos - Jump Children - Chance 1162 1954
15 - Sh-Booms - I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire - Vik 295 1957
The Sh-booms with I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire on Vik, that was after their golden days on Cat records when they recorded under the names of the Chords, the Chordcats and the Sh-Booms with their most well-known hit Sh-Boom.
Next - the Pearls with Yum Yummie.
16 - Pearls - Yum Yummy
17 - Five Keys - I'm So High - Alladin 3204 1953
The five Keys with I'm so high - like so many of these groups it started in highschool when they won a contest, then as the Sentimental Four, which brought them to the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Personnel changes due to members of the group being drafted in the army made that they ended up five and changed their name to The Five Keys. It took a while when they were signed to Alladin Records where they had quite some success with the label and later on Capitol.
Next the Capris with Too Poor to love from 1955 on the Gotham label.
18 - Capris - Too Poor To Love - Gotham 306 1955
19 - Four Bars - Grief By Day Grief By Night - Josie 762 1954
And that were the Four Bars with Grief By Day Grief By Night off the Josie label from 1954. Now you got a whole lotta music today - I don't often squeeze 19 numbers in an hour and still do a little talking. Well it were the vocals of the singers of the doowop groups of the fifties that told the story rather than I did and I know you came here for the music so I guess you didn't mind about that.
Vocal groups have remained much more popular with the people that love the golden oldies and a lot of them remember the fifties rather as the era of doowop and rock 'n roll than the era of the Rhythm & Blues stompers that I usually play here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. And I know I'm doing the vocal groups wrong playing so little of them, because you have heard there are some real gems - actually a lot of real gems among them.
So I hope to have made up a little bit with the doowop crowd out there. And so I hope you dug the show and if so, or if not, you can always let me know by dropping me an e-mail at rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com. Or find me on the web, just do a google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and my site will lead the search results and that's pretty much easier that remembering a crappy web address. As for now, byebye, keep on rocking and have a wonderful day. No - have a rocking day. See you next time on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!