Search - Various Artists :: Street Corner Serenade: Greatest Doo Wop

Excellent Sampler of Fifties Doo Wop

Susan Nunes | Reno, NV United States | 02/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are like me, a fan of the great harmonies of the 1950s doo wop groups, but don't have the money for the big boxed sets, I heartily recommend this CD. It is an excellent introduction to that great sound and some of the tunes popular on oldies radio are included in this set, such as "Teenager in Love," "Little Star," "Hushabye," and that timeless classic, "In the Still of the Nite." Since there were so many great songs from that era, Rhino could not include every great doo wop song ever made. One major omission is "At the Hop," by Danny and the Juniors. Still, these recordings are an obvious testament to the superiority of the music forty to fifty years ago, when people could actually sing and when listeners could actually make out a melody. We may never have that era back, but thank goodness we have these recordings for posterity."

The Kinder, Gentler Urban Sound

Andy Agree | Omaha, NE | 12/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My first exposure to pop music was the Beatles and Motown, and anytime the radio played any doo-wop, I changed the station, sneering "Ewww, oldies!" Times sure have changed, and this is very, very special music to me now. Doo-wop was truly born on America's urban street corners in the 1950s, invented and perfected by teenagers without any serious help from the adult world. The music wears its teenage heart on its sleeve, with a purity and innocence that only a child or teen could conceive. The instrumentation is bare - scarcely noticeable, while vocals provide the bass, the percussion, the counterpoint and the harmony as well as the melodious leads. Propelling the music are the most creative baby-talk syllables ever invented, such as sha-la-la, dip-dip-dip, mum-mum-mum, bom-bada-bom, ding-a-dong-ding, wop-wop-wop, rata-tata-too and many, many more. As with many American musical inventions, blacks took the lead, but were quickly followed by white and interracial groups from adjacent urban neighborhoods, and all made major, innovative contributions to the "genre". Valuable detail on many of these groups is provided in the CD cover notes. They exemplify vocal teamwork as well as any church choir, all the way from falsetto to bass, and that is what makes them so much fun to listen and sing along to. Unlike other musical styles prevalent in the fifties and early sixties, doo-wop evolved virtually in isolation, having little in common with blues, jump, jazz, swing or rock `n roll, and its influence on the subsequent evolution of rock or pop was limited. Still, you can hear the influence of barbershop quartets in doo-wop, and echoes of doo-wop in the harmonies of the early Beatles or Temptations. Doo-wop is like one of those evolutionary anomalies, such as the Koala - cute, cuddly, funny-looking, well-loved, but nothing like a dog, or a cat, or a horse. And yet, doo-wop was a critical part of the soundtrack of the decade 1954-1963 (roughly from "Earth Angel" to "So in Love"), and was actually close to being dominant from 1958-1961. Doo-wop exudes joy and yearning, both in the songs themselves, and in their performance, and you can be sure that these studio creations, although masterful enough to draw tears from your eyes, fall far short of the magic of the actual street corner serenade. And so, this CD is only the tip of the iceberg - but what a treasure. And to make an obvious comparison to what is today marketed as the "urban sound", this was from a far kinder, gentler, more inclusive urban culture."

Street Corner Serenade

Jimmy C. Stokes | Madison, GA United States | 05/31/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fantastic CD for anyone that loves harmony and 50's and 60's music. The quaility is superb and the selection of tunes is very appealing. It a most entertaining collection of music."