A Retro Moment on the Upper East Side: A Return to Pure Expression

As the world turns, will we be seeing more examples of a move back to the future? Handwritten postings along Second Avenue in the East 70s on the upper east side. Is it someone trying to form a group in one of the most basic and human song forms, Doo Wop, for the fun of it? Or to explore the unique rhythms of this "simplest and most complex musical style." In hard times, where chaos abounds, a return to love, sentiment, and pure forms of expression, musical and otherwise, seem to offer a cozy haven for frazzled lovers everywhere.


From Rhino Records: 50 Years of Doo Wop

Doo Wop is both the simplest and most complex musical style, mixing lyrical nonsense and intricate harmony. And while it may be lost amidst the millennial hoopla, this year marks its 50th birthday.

In 1949 the "Race Records" chart was rechristened "Rhythm & Blues" and the first black vocal group, The Orioles, conquered the new chart, placing all six of their Jubilee singles into the Top 20. Unlike records by The Ink Spots or The Mills Brothers, this was harmony-based music designed for a young black audience. The flock of followers, from Flamingos to Penguins, neatly set the stage for the rock 'n' roll explosion of the mid-1950s, when black musical styles were embraced en masse by a white teen audience.

Of course, you didn't have to be African-American to sing doo-wop, as paisanos Dion DiMucci or Johnny Maestro would be quick to remind. You didn't have to live in a big city, though it sure helped; urban streetcorners were doo-wop's most fertile breeding ground. You didn't have to play an instrument -- that was actually the point. All you had be able to do was blend your voice with three or four others (bass, baritone, tenor, and lead was the customary lineup) in angelic harmony.http://www.rhino.com/RZine/StoryKeeper.lasso?StoryID=68<

Classic sample: The Flamingoes perform the Harry Warren classic, "I Only have Eyes for you." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oeG0j3niG8