25 days ago

Frank Zappa often complained by the Eighties that he found it difficult to find musicians who were familiar with the Doo-Wop and R&B records of the Fifties.
So his love of that music could not be featured in his later concerts as much as he would like.
Frank would occasionally mention that he had a sizable collection of 45s from the Fifties.
I now encounter young people who never even heard of this music, not even from their parents.
When I lived in New York City between 1993 and 2008, I would listen to WFUV, broadcasting from Fordham University in the Bronx, almost every Saturday night between midnight and 2am, and record Dan Romanello’s “GROUP HARMONY REVIEW”.
Romanello was one of the most knowledgeable DJs of the music from the Fifties and early Sixties in the world.
We have now made 45 of his shows available – that’s approximately 90 hours of this incredible music!!!
His commentary throughout the shows is exemplary for its scholarship, including interviews with many of the musicians, who performed in those years on the street corners, since so many of them were still living in the New York City area.
This collection may not interest all Zappa enthusiasts but we are making it available to those who already enjoy this music as well as those who have never experienced it before. Frank showed me this collection occasionally and we would often listen to a few records.

Bob Dobbs

Tracks in episode:

0:01 – The Wanderers – For Your Love
4:04 – The Turbans – Please Let Me Show You (Around My Heart)
7:16 – The Colts – Adorable
10:01 – The Drifters – Adorable
12:41 – Little Caesar & The Romans – Adorable
19:30 – The Black Hawks – Beatrice My Darling
27:15 – The Jets – Heaven Above Me
29:53 – The “5” Royales – Too Much Lovin’
35:00 – The Striders – Hesitating Fool
37:56 – The Vibes – What’s Her Name
40:15 – The Young Lions – How Wrong You Are
43:15 – The Crickets – Be Faithful
49:07 – The Crickets – I’m Not The One You Love
53:03 – The Deep River Boys – Sleepy Little Cowboy
56:21 – Alan Freed And His Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – Right Now, Right Now
59:30 – The Charmers – My Love
1:02:08 – The Winners – Can This Be Love
1:09:40 – The Sundials – Whether To Resist
1:12:16 – The Sequins – Don’t Fall in Love
1:15:18 – The Verdicts – My Life’s Desire
1:19:46 – The Soldier Boys – I’m Your Soldier Boy
1:22:24 – The Euniques – Cry, Cry, Cry
1:24:23 – The Wilsones – Let Me Help You
1:29:19 – Tommy Frontera – After Tonight
1:31:36 – The Dreamtones – Love In The Afternoon
1:33:55 – Earl & Jimmy – We Have It Made
1:37:53 – The Townsmen – That’s All I’ll Ever Need
1:39:59 – The Kents – I Love You So
1:42:08 – The Gay Tunes – Don’t Go
1:46:05 – The Denotations – Lone Stranger
1:48:41 – The Marathons – Don’t Know Why
1:50:53 – The Leaping Flames – It’s Been So Long
1:54:24 – The Parakeets Quintet – My Heart Tells Me