Big Blog! No.1: Doo wop music
How did Doo Wop get started?
Doo wop music was created in the 1930's and 1940's but it didn't become mainstream until after World War II when they appeared on records in the 1950's and the 1960's. It started along the east coast in black communities in big cities like Philadelphia and New York, but then soon spread to Chicago and Detroit, then to the west coast. It is a sub-genre of jazz which originated from the blues. Doo wop also takes musical elements from gospel music such as the harmonized group singing and rock and roll like the energetic vocal deliverance, making it a very syncretic type of music! For some people at the time, this is rock & roll. It was very easy for young enthusiasts of the music to make their own songs or sing existing ones since doo-wop is mainly vocal harmony, requiring little to no instrumental accompaniment. The term doo wop actually comes from the rhythmic vocables used to keep the beat and tempo of the music! That term vocables seems familiar doesn’t it? Anyways, Historians sometimes refer to it as 'Street corner music' because doo-wop groups would meet on street corners or school hallways to sing. They could also even be found under bridges. Why? It’s so the echo are able catch the vocal harmonies. Fortunately for record companies, doo wop music was really easy to record and rerecord and mass produce. Unfortunately for doo wop groups, they often struggled financially since most of the money went to record companies. Often times, Doo Wop groups would have to pay out of their own expenses if they wanted a tour. Even more unfortunately for black doo wop groups, record companies would white wash their music by having a white group make a cover of the songs and market the cover instead of the original singers. I know it was in the 1950's which was notorious for segregation but still, it sucks. A good example of this is the song 'Sh-boom' which many might know from the Disney movie 'Cars'. It was originally sung by The Chords but then covered by The Crew Cuts. Just listen to the two covers and try to pick out the similarities and differences. Which one do you prefer, and be honest! I think both are good.
- Well for starters, Doo Wop music relies very heavily on vocal harmonies and simple melodies. Normally groups would have the a range from a baritone to a high tenor, maybe even a falsetto, with the lead singer being a tenor. Obviously, this range is going to be a lot higher for female groups where the baritone might be replaced by a soprano to make the range more fitting for the vocal types.
- Simple beats are commonly found in doo wop music. Instruments aren't really used much and play a very little role in the overall genre. It's not as if there are no instruments whatsoever. Many songs have a bass, a piano, and/or a guitar. It's just not as important to the overall genre since it originally started as an acapella music, using their own bodies as instruments with harmonies and clapping, snapping, stomping, and/or whistling. It's crazy how many sounds the human body can make right?
- If listening to Doo Wop music, you will hear that the lyrics are simple and repetitive. That is why it is so easy to learn the songs. Most of the time, the songs are slower and romantic but that's not true for all of them.
- And of course, we can't forget about the nonsensible syllables. From du-du-du-du to doo-wop-shoo-be-doo, they are just sounds that keep the rhythm and melody. They don't mean anything, but they are fun to sing. One amazing example is 'Rubber Biscuit' by The Chips. It has all sorts of vocables in one song and by golly, it's fun!
https://www.npr.org/2012/09/06/160670863/harmony-teenagers-and-the-complete-story-of-doo-wop
AWESOME BLOG. I loved the way that you set it up, and how you presented Doo-Wop music! When I watched the first two videos, the one that spoke to me more was played by "The Chords." I think the reason I like their version more is because of the way they sing, it is very melodic and catchy. The beat, the voices, the harmony, it is all so beautiful. What I found interesting was the song, "Mr. Sandman" because I have listened to this so many times, without knowing that it was Doo-Wop music. I listen to many versions of this song, and one version that I suggest listening to is by "SYML." It is just a suggestion, but I really do enjoy all version of "Mr. Sandman." One more thing, I was interested in the fact that Doo-Wop is more vocal than instrumental and that it was not sung by just men, but women too. I feel like I have learned a great deal from your blog!
ReplyDeleteamazing blog, as I keep reading through everyones I can so clearly see the hard work that went into the research in them! you had soooooo much information, with that said, I love how you set up the bulleted list on the second point you had, I wish you would've done that with some of the other sections, especially the bigger ones, or but them into paragraphs, it would've made it a little easier to follow, but all the information was incredible and really on point! I enjoyed learning about this musical history :)
ReplyDeleteGirl you really put you're "foot" in this blog. It is set very nicely and makes it less overwhelming to read. The information you provided is very thorough and quite interesting. I knew that Doo wop was a sub-genre of jazz, but I didn't know that it also involved gospel music and rock n roll, that's pretty cool. I also took a close listen to the different versions of the song "sh boom" they both are very good, But I actually like the original better. Their version has a deeper tone to it, and it's not sung lightly if you know what I mean. I just really enjoy the Timbre of the original one. Lovely Blog Sierra! you killed it girly.
ReplyDeleteHello, your blog was amazing! I consider myself an old soul so I love listen to these types of music. But I never knew the histroy of Doo Wop muisc. I really enjoyed how you provided a lot of great infromationt I never knew about. One of the section that caught my eye is the characteristics of Doo Wop. You mention how Doo Wop is a sub-genre of jazz. And they focus more on the vocal harmonies rather than in the instrumentals. Over all, I really enjoyed your vlog and the how you put the original singers in your blog!
ReplyDeleteWow! I really enjoyed reading your blog. I've always loved doo-wop music and I like that you included a reference to something that we all would remember (the Cars movie). Doo-wop music has always fascinated me because it is so simple yet so catchy!
ReplyDeleteHey! I really really enjoyed your blog. I loved all of your videos they went very well with your information. Also your information was very interesting, I always knew this type of music and I know a couple songs but I never knew that it was called Doo Wop music, which makes me love this music even more.
ReplyDeleteHello Sierra. You did amazing on this blog. I really love how you put every detail you could into this. I would have never known about Doo-Wop music until now. When I first heard " Doo Wop", First thing that came to my mind was like grease or hairspray.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I've always loved the vibe of this kind of music but I had no clue what kind of music it was! This blog was very interesting and informative, especially because I really enjoy this kind of upbeat music. It makes so much sense that it would be called Doo Wop music!
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