It's the 50's and Du-Wop groups are HOT! Especially hot in
Chicago. Chess, Checker, Chance, Vee-Jay, United States, Parrot
and Savoy 51 were the names of some of the small independent
labels in town. The 4 Buddies, The Calvaes, The Clouds, The
Debonaires, The Eldorados, The Five Thrills, The Flamingos,
The Gems, Jerry Butler and the Impressions. The Five Chances,
The Moroccos, The Pastels, The Orchids, The Magnificents,
The Shepards, The Kool Gents, and The Spaniels were some of
the groups.
Using the technology available to them at the time, these Du-Wop
Groups created the Rock & Roll that's being heard today. You can
hear it being used as background music for many of the movies both
on TV, or the movies seen on the silver screen and some of the
commercials shown in prime time. All of the Rock & Roll that's
being called Rock & Roll today was created yesterday by the
Du-Wop singer. Most of the material available is researched and
presented by a second or third party. This book was written by a
former Du-Wop singer, who, for over 2 decades lived Du-Wop history.
The author was lead singer of the Magnificents, who recorded on
the Vee-Jay Label in the early 50's. After traveling on the road
playing one-niters in the midwest for several months until their
record of "Up on the Mountain" became a substantial hit, selling
in excess of a half-million records. Then the group toured the
country working the "Chittlin Circuit" (the Apollo Theatre in
New York, Howard Theatre in Washington D.C., the Royal
Theatre in Baltimore, the Circle theatre in Cleveland, Ohio;
the Regal Theatre in Chicago, and in Philadelphia, the Uptown
Theatre) Appearing with groups like The Drifters, The Clovers,
Otis Williams and the Charms, Frankie Lymon and the
Teenagers, The Cadets, The Dubs, and many others.
All of the Du-Wop groups had one thing in common. We started
singing on the street corners, in the hallways and vestibules,
in the boy's bathrooms at school, and at the far end of the elevated
platforms. Making music was very basic. The one who knew
the words to the song was the lead singer. The remaining
three or four singers imitated the sounds that the horns made
in the background, in harmony. The bass singer started the songs,
setting the tempo and giving the pitch. We voiced the chords,
created and perfected the arrangements. When we signed the
recording contracts, these same arrangements were used in
the record sessions and the finished product was marketed,
sold and in a lot of casses covered by white artists on major
labels. We, the original artists were forgotten, and original
recordings "no longer available."
In order for the Du-Wop groups to be seen and heard by people
all over the country we had to do it the "old fashioned way," by
traveling to each city and performing in person. We hit the
highways in station wagons, that had the group name printed
on the side. Sometimes we didn't get paid after the performances.
More than a few times we were presented with royalty statements
that always had the group owing the record company more than
they owed us. But for every horror story told about a group being
stranded on the highway because the station wagon broke down
on the way to a gig, or being shortsheeted at royalty time, there
are twice as many that shown the positive side of Du-Wop
show business and it's contribution to American music.
In this book, there are a few of those stories.
From The Book Back Cover:
Johnny Keyes' involvement with the music business spans three
decades. He was the lead singer for The Magnificents vocal group
on Vee-Jay records, sang in the background on "Little Bitty Pretty
One" By Thurston Harris, and did studio backup work at Chess
Records (behind BoDiddley in the fifties). He was also a member
of The Packers instrumental group in the early sixties. From the
mid-sixties through the early seventies, he lived and worked
in Memphis producing records and writing songs. One of
these songs, "Too Weak to Fight," was recorded by Clarence
Carter on Atlantic Records. Keyes was also stage manager
for Isaac Hayes for three years.
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