Doo Wop Box
The unwritten rules for doo-wop groups were deceptively simple: name your group after a bird (the Wrens, the Flamingos) or a car (the Cadillacs, the El Dorados), practice your two-, three-, or four-part harmonies on a neighborhood street corner or in the back of a candy store, and sing songs about how much you love your baby. It might have seemed like an obvious formula, but getting it just right was never easy. When it worked, that formula created some of the most joyful and unforgettable music of the 20th century. From the Orioles ("It's Too Soon to Know") to Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers ("I Want You to Be My Girl"), this four-CD collection is without a doubtthedefinitive introduction to the rock & roll vocal music of the 1950s and early '60s.--Percy Keegan