Doo Wop
Steve Propes has been a longtime supporter of the NAMM Oral History program and sat down with us to discuss his views on the development of R&B, doo wop and rock and roll. As a long time radio personality in Southern California and author, Steve has become a music historian with a focus on...
Rick Vito not only grew up in a home filled with music, but with his parents owning a night club he also had a built in venue as a young musician! He started playing guitar for local doo-wop and rock bands in and around his home state of Pennsylvania. Admiring the blues and learning the slide...
Fred Parris grew up close to the Apollo Theater in New York where he was able to see many of the top acts in music. These experiences sparked a passion which led to his singing in several of the popular rhythm and blues groups of the 1950s (Fred prefers the term R&B Groups vs the term Doo-Wop...
Jerry Greenberg began his long and successful musical career in 1957 when his band Jerry Green and the Passengers began recording. Within a few years he had established Seaboard Distributions to provide a way to promote recordings to radio stations and record stores. While working in the recording...
Jerry Blavat was a DJ and radio broadcaster with a lot of energy! Also known as “The Geator with the Heater” and “The Big Boss with the Hot Sauce,” Jerry started his career on the original American Bandstand TV Show in the 1950s. He became the road manager for Danny and the Juniors, allowing him to...
Bobby Brooks Wilson is the son of famed soul singer, Jackie Wilson, but he didn’t always know that. Bobby grew up loving music and only found out who his biological father was after so many people told him that he looked and sounded just like him! After serving in the US Navy, Bobby started his...
Charles Wright had a desire to form a solid soul band that would take the drive of R&B and push it to the limits. With an amazing cast of musicians, Charles formed the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, which recorded a string of hit songs including the classic “Express Yourself.” Charles took...
William Bell began singing in doo-wop groups before signing for Stax Records in Memphis, which is where his first hit was recorded. In fact that song, "You Don't Miss Your Water" was also the first big hit for the newly formed record label that would go on to redefine soul music. William wrote...
Jocko Marcellino and eleven college friends formed a doo wop group in the late 1960s called Sha Na Na. Their hope was to keep the doo wop sounds of the 1950s alive and well in the ever changing rock era. They performed at Woodstock in 1969, which led to recording contracts, a television series (...
Misty Browning loved to watch the smile on the faces of those in her church as a child when they began to sing. She noticed their mannerisms and expressions completely changed once the music started. She knew then that hers would be a life in music! She toured and recorded and taught, and all...