Episode 97: Street Corner Doo Wop #7 – Remembering The Brooklyn Fox

The vocal harmony group tradition, known as Doo Wop, developed in the post-World War II era. It was the most popular form of rhythm and blues music among black teenagers, especially those living in the large urban centers of the eastern coast, in Chicago, and in Detroit. To those of us kids who were color-blind, it was just cool music coming from our transistor radios. That was the beauty of radio. Music wasn’t defined by a color, just by the beat and the mood you felt deep in your soul. Many groups specialized in romantic ballads that appealed to the sexual fantasies of teenagers in the late 1940s and early 1950s. By the mid-1950s, vocal harmony groups had transformed the smooth delivery of ballads into a performance style incorporating the nonsense phrase, “Doo Wop-Doo Wop” as vocalized by the bass singers, who provided rhythmic movement for an a cappella song style.
In this episode you’ll hear:
1) Morse Code of Love by The Capris
2) Nobody But Me by The Isley Brothers
3) So Tough by bThe Kuf-Linx
4) Hearts Of Stone by The Charms
5) Lover's Island by The Blue Jays
6) Runaround Sue by Dion (with The Del-Satins)
7) Oh, What A Night by The Dells
8) Everytime by The Aquatones
9) Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind by The Five Keys (with Rudy West, lead)
10) Saturday Night At The Movies by The Drifters (with Johnny Moore, lead)
11) Tonight's The Night by The Shirelles
12) Stormy Weather by The Spaniels
13) Poor Rock 'n Roll by The Nobles
14) Our Anniversary by Shep & The Limelights
15) Twilight Time by The Platters
16) Life Is But A Dream by The Earls
17) (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover by The Robins
18) Hurt So Bad by Little Anthony & The Imperials
19) I Hear Trumpets Blow by The Tokens
20) Happy, Happy Birthday Baby by The Tune Weavers
21) What Is Love by The Fi Dells
22) To Know Him, Is To Love Him by The Teddy Bears
23) Don't Be a Fool by The Regents
24) Been So Long by The Pastels
25) Spring Fever by The Velvets (with Virgil Johnson)
26) Streets Of The Bronx by Cool Change