Features

Redux on Doo Wop

By BRAD PATTON   For The Times Leader

The form of vocal-group music that came to be known as doo-wop can trace its roots to the earliest days of rock ’n’ roll, maybe even as far back as The Ink Spots’ 1939 recording of “My Prayer,” which some music scholars point to as the first example of this new musical style.

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The Skyliners rose to national prominence in 1959 with ’Since I Don’t Have You," which made it to No. 12 on the Billboard chart before becoming a million-seller and one of the most enduring songs of its era.

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It reached its creative peak in the late 1950s and early 1960s with groups such as Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, The Moonglows and The Silhouettes and songs such as “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” “Sincerely” and “Get A Job.” Most other groups were named after either birds (The Crows, The Orioles, The Flamingos) or cars (The Edsels, The Cadillacs, Little Anthony & The Imperials).

After falling out of favor with the mainstream music public in 1964 with the arrival of The Beatles, it popped up from time to time during various revivals in the 1970s and 1980s.

Then in 1999, with a little show on PBS called “Doo Wop 50,” everything changed.

“That show brought back so many memories for so many people,” said Nick Pociask of the doo-wop group The Skyliners, which appeared on the program. “They did everything right, targeting the baby boomers.

“After it ran, we got information from PBS telling us it was the biggest money-maker they ever had,” Pociask continued. “One of our good friends called up our lead singer (Jimmy Beaumont) and said, ‘Jimmy, your stock just went up.’ ”

The stock for both The Skyliners and doo-wop music in general has been riding high ever since.

Area music fans can witness the doo-wop resurgence for themselves as “Joe Nardone’s Doo Wop Volume One” comes to the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

In the spotlight will be The Skyliners, The Duprees, The Chiffons, Kenny Vance & The Planotones and Scranton-based group The Paramounts. Hosts for the evening include Nardone, legendary WARM disc jockey Joey Shaver and “The Duke of Doo Wop” Bobby V, who hosts a long-running weekly radio program called “The Doo Wop Sock Hop” (heard Sunday nights on 105 The River).

“My interest came from WVIA-TV running their doo-wop shows and the huge amount of interest we received in our stores for this type of music,” said Nardone, who owns the local Gallery of Sound music chain and is promoting Friday’s concert.

The Skyliners rose to national prominence in 1959 with “Since I Don’t Have You,” which made it to No. 12 on the Billboard chart before becoming a million-seller and one of the most enduring songs of its era. Original lead singer Beaumont (who co-wrote the classic with the group’s manager Joe Rock) is joined these days by Pociask, Dick Muse, Donna Groom and drummer/conductor Mark Groom. Other hits for the Pittsburgh-area based group included “This I Swear” (No. 26 in June 1959) and “Pennies From Heaven” (No. 24 in May 1960).

Bass and baritone singer Pociask, who has been singing with The Skyliners for about 20 years, said the group is working on a CD including the songs of the 1930s and 1940s done Skyliners style. That album will have Pociask singing lead on “Deep Purple,” Beaumont on “Lush Life” and Donna Groom on “Goody-Goody,” among others.

Pociask, who also handles the group’s bookings and answers the e-mails directed to the group’s Web site ( www.theskyliners.com), said The Skyliners travel all over the United States and Canada to perform an average of 35 to 40 dates a year. One recent performance, he proudly noted, was to sing the national anthem at a dinner honoring Vice President Joe Biden.

The Duprees, known for mixing doo-wop with big-band arrangements, are best remembered for “You Belong To Me,” a Top 10 hit from August 1962. The quintet originally from Jersey City, N.J., also hit with “My Own True Love” (No. 13 in October 1962) and “Have You Heard” (No. 18 in November 1963). The current group is now a quartet consisting of Tommy Petillo, Tony Testa, Phil Granito and Jimmy Spinelli.

The Chiffons hit the top of the charts in early 1963 with “He’s So Fine” and followed up with “One Fine Day” (No. 5 in June 1963) and “Sweet Talkin’ Guy” (No. 10 in May 1966). Friday’s show also will include original lead singer Judy Craig.

According to the group’s Web site, The Planotones’ music is inspired by the sounds of the 1950s and 1960s, and they “redefine oldies with vocal authority and freshness.” The group includes Kenny Vance, an original member of Jay and The Americans before he became an actor and music supervisor for such movies as “Animal House” and “Eddie and The Cruisers.”

Rounding out Friday’s bill will be The Paramounts, an oldies band based in Scranton.

Looks as though the doo-wop resurgence begun more than 10 years ago will not be coming to an end any time soon. Says Nardone: a “Volume Two” is already in the works for next year.

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