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Doo-wop
| Doo-wop | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1940s–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] - Encyclopedia.com
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
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