When I was a tadpole, growing up in the Santa Clara Valley (California), there were three kinds of music on the AM radio:
- Old Country
- Middle of the Road (for Mom & Dad), and
- Rhythm & Blues
Rock and roll did not exist. Most of the time, I listened to KEWB, which broadcast from Oakland, California and played non-stop R&B, and, in the process, got me hooked on the Blues. Thanks to my parents, I also grew up with a deep appreciation of Big Band music... Glen Miller, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Cab Calloway and others.
Then along came 1954, my Freshman year in high school, and rock and roll, thanks primarily to Bill Haley & the Comets - and - a bit later in 1956, Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel."
More importantly, by 1952, Doo Wop had arrived on the West Coast, along with sock hops and junior high school proms. I gotta tell you that there was no greater confluence of sheer hormonal chaos that that caused by puberty, Doo Wop and school dances...Doo Wop provided a marvelous opportunity to actually get up close and personal with a member of the opposite sex, and that's why I've always loved it, and always referred to it as Stand Up Necking Music, some of which I share with you here.
Doo Wop was, and is, insipid, innocent and naive music, reflective of the Ozzie & Harriet atmosphere of the age. As I grew older, I began to appreciate that feature almost as much as the stand up necking. World War II was over, and teens didn't much think about the Korean War...it was a time of innocence in our California valley enclave.
My Mother & I, 1956 (The block letter was for swimming)
...and now for the doo wop:
Driving in a parade - Santa Clara, California, 1958
Here's Earth Angel, from 1954:
In closing, one of the most famous and enduring doo wop songs of all time:
 | Then came graduation...and the reality of the Draft. I joined the Marine Corps' PLC Program and the era of doo wop was over. |
