Doo-Wop

It would be easy enough for me to give you a simple definition of what Doo-Wop is, like this, and call it a day: 

“Doo Wop is an evolution of jazz and blues, known for its vocal group harmony. It’s characterized by simple syllables, beats, and lyrics. Doo Wop often features both a cappella vocal harmonies and full swing-like beats throughout a song. It is also iconic for using the off-beat to keep time”

While this is a good definition of what the genre is, it does not fully express the depth, historical significance, importance of Doo-Wop. 

Pretty much everybody has heard of Doo-Wop or has at least heard it before and may not have known what it is called. For example, most people have heard the song “Sh-boom”, whether it be the version sung by The Crew Cuts or The Chords. 

It is important to note that there are two versions of the same song that came out close together. This was a more common thing back during the times of segregation in the United States. White artists and bands would make covers of black artists’ songs and sell them to white audiences because black artists could not sell their records at many places. The Crew Cuts, a white Doo-Wop group, made several covers of black groups’ songs in an effort to get these songs to white audiences. Back then, when two versions of the same song were released, both versions were listed on the charts. Because of this, whenever covers of songs written by black artists got popular, the original versions received the recognition that they deserved. Therefore, The Crew Cuts did play an important role in helping black artists rise to popularity and fame at the time, while also helping to desegregate the nation. By getting white people in America to listen to the records produced by black artists, musicians were able weaken the prejudices held by many people at the time. 

I like to think of Doo-Wop as that grey area of music in between the era of genres like jazz, blues, gospel, etc. and genres that are still popular today like rock, soul, pop, and RnB. It combined many of the aspects of the former and helped inspire and shape the latter. It originated at a major turn in history, the mid 1940s. It gained popularity and really picked up in the 1950s and 1960s though. Many people could tell that it was the end of the modern era, and the world, especially the United States, was starting to push toward the post-modern era. While still reeling from the effects of World War II and having to deal with the Cold War and segregation; the American people needed an escape from everything. Doo-Wop was that escape. It is simplistic and pleasing to listen to, so it makes you forget about all your other worries and just relax. Themes of love and dreams were common for Doo-Wop, and this is part of the reason they were so popular. 

One of the best examples of black artists that found fame in Doo-Wop is Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers. Because of their popularity in both black and white audiences, they were one of the first black groups to perform for a live television audience. Frankie was especially popular. He was the first, black teen idol in the United States’ history after the band released “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”. This was an amazing feat at the time because black artists had to work much harder than any white artists to make as big or far as them. But that did not stop Frankie and his band or many of the other Doo-Wop groups that were determined to get their music out there. You can even see in his performance of “Little Bitty Pretty One” on a Saturday night show that the all-white audience seems to be visibly bothered and almost even disgusted by his presence simply because of his skin color. 

Despite this horrible treatment, Frankie was still able to perform with a smile on his face and leave with dignity. It is because of efforts like this, that many prejudiced white people began to accept black people eventually. Art and literature are the two things that pushed the Civil Rights movement forward, and music is a combination of the two. Therefore, without black-influenced genres of music like Doo-Wop being brought to white audiences, the Civil Rights movement might not have gained the traction it needed to make real change in the United States and the world. 

Arguably one of the most influential Doo-Wop groups was The Drifters. This group formed and reformed several times with different members, but the most popular version is the group lead by Ben E. King. Since the different versions of The Drifters has ultimately ended up having a total of 60 musicians associated with the group, it was able to affect a lot. Many of the members that left went on to work with other artists and influenced music across America. My personal favorites of theirs are “Stand By Me” and their cover of “White Christmas” (which is the best version of the song by the way).

There’s no doubt that Doo-Wop went on to influence many other styles of music and even had its own revival a couple of times since the 1950s. There has always been this romanticization of the 1950s which caused people feel nostalgic about the decade and its culture. This is apparent in the recycling of chord progressions in other genres and songs that were influenced by Doo-Wop. Still, it did go on to help create different styles of music like soul, pop, rock, and surf music like The Beach Boys. It also inspired the “boy band” model or the all-male a Capella style of music. Some major examples would be the Jackson 5, the Bee Gees, and even later groups like NYSYC and the Backstreet Boys. That’s what so cool about syncretic music styles created in the United States; genres are constantly being created by the combination of other genres, while also creating something new entirely that isn’t completely derivative of something else. 

Works Cited

“All about Doo Wop.” American Music Theatre, 19 Mar. 2018, https://amtshows.com/all-about-doo-wop/#:~:text=Doo%20Wop%20is%20an%20evolution,off%2Dbeat%20to%20keep%20time.

“Doo-Wop.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doo-wop#Doo-wop_influence_on_punk_and_proto-punk_rockers.

“The Drifters.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Mar. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drifters.

“Music History of the United States.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_history_of_the_United_States#Gospel_and_doo_wop.

Umphred, Neal. “Why Aren't the Crew-Cuts in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?” Medium, Tell It Like It Was, 30 May 2019, https://medium.com/tell-it-like-it-was/why-arent-the-crew-cuts-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-bd7cbc1b6434.