20 days ago

127

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:

00:00:00 – The Flamingos – That’s My Desire
00:03:20 – The Moonglows – When I’m With You
00:06:12 – The Larks – My Reverie
00:09:26 – The Five Keys – Story of Love
00:13:12 – The Ravens – I’m So Crazy For Love
00:17:20 – The Harptones – Loving A Girl Like You
00:20:52 – The Swallows – Dearest
00:24:44 – The Billy Dawn Quartet – This Is The Real Thing Now
00:29:12 – The Five Willows – Love Bells
00:33:36 – Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers – Please Be Mine
00:37:53 – The Heartbeats – Tormented
00:43:08 – The Pelicans – Aurelia
00:45:55 – The Robins – How Would You Know
00:51:48 – The Cherokees – Please Tell Me So
00:55:00 – The Checkers – My Prayer Tonight
00:57:52 – The Four Kings – You Never Knew
01:00:08 – [unknown interlude]
01:02:54 – The Spaniels – Do-Wah
01:07:15 – The Clovers – Yes Sir That’s My Baby
01:10:03 – The Dominoes, Billy Ward – Do Something for Me
01:15:20 – The Dells – Someone to Call Me Darling
01:18:00 – The Five Chances – Gloria
01:20:45 – The Whispers – Are You Sorry
01:24:27 – The Orioles – It’s Too Soon To Know
01:29:08 – The Four Buddies – I Will Wait
01:31:26 – The Marylanders – Please Love Me
01:33:59 – The Ambassadors – Darling I’m Sorry
01:38:10 – The Solitaires – Wonder Why
01:42:20 – Lee Andrews & The Hearts – Maybe You’ll Be There
01:45:18 – The Castelles – Over A Cup Of Coffee
01:47:46 – The Starlings – Music Maestro Please
01:53:54 – The Mello-Moods – (Where Are You) Now That I Need You)
01:57:18 – The Dandeliers – May God Be With You