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Doo-wop

For other uses, see Doo Wop (disambiguation).

Doo-wop
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins1940s–1950s, African American communities across some major cities on the East Coast
Derivative forms
Regional scenes
Other topics
50s chord progression

Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s,[2] mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.[3][4] It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables (such as "doo-wop") is a common characteristic of these songs.[5] Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until the early 1960s and continued to influence performers in other genres.

  1. ^ [1] - Encyclopedia.com
  2. ^ Philip Gentry (2011). "Doo-Wop". In Emmett G. Price III; Tammy Lynn Kernodle; Horace Joseph Maxile (eds.). Encyclopedia of African American Music. ABC-CLIO. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-313-34199-1.
  3. ^ Stuart L. Goosman (17 July 2013). Group Harmony: The Black Urban Roots of Rhythm and Blues. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. x. ISBN 978-0-8122-0204-5.
  4. ^ Lawrence Pitilli (2 August 2016). Doo-Wop Acappella: A Story of Street Corners, Echoes, and Three-Part Harmonies. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4422-4430-6.
  5. ^ David Goldblatt (2013). "Nonsense in Public Places: Songs of Black Vocal Rhythm and Blues or Doo-Wop". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 71 (1). Wiley: 105. ISSN 0021-8529. JSTOR 23597540. Doo-wop is characterized by simple lyrics, usually about the trials and ecstasies of young love, sung by a lead vocal against a background of repeated nonsense syllables.