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.
https://wfuv.org/content/thank-you-dan
https://wfuv.org/users/dan-romanello
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
0:02:22 – Bob-Chords – When I Woke Up This Morning *
0:05:08 – Nobles – Poor Rock ‘n Roll
0:06:58 – The Rainbows – Shirley
0:09:38 – The Channels – Bye Bye Baby
0:17:45 – The Danleers – One Summer Night *
0:19:55 – Royal Teens – Believe Me *
0:22:22 – The Dreamkings – M.T.Y.L.T.T.
0:25:18 – The Valentines – Don’t Say Goodnight
0:32:44 – Carl Hogan – I Love You So
0:35:08 – The Vocaleers – Angel Face
0:37:55 – The Vocaleers – Oh! Where
0:39:10 – The Tads – Your Reason
0:41:47 – The Colts – The Sheik of Araby
0:46:50 – The Castelles – Over a Cup of Coffee
0:48:14 – The Castelles – My Girl Awaits Me
0:55:10 – The Sparrows – I Swear By All the Stars Above
0:59:26 – The Larktones – The Letter
1:01:44 – ?
1:04:09 – The Robins – Since I First Met You
1:11:57 – The Tune Weavers – Come Back To Me
1:14:43 – The Tune Weavers – Happy, Happy Birthday Baby
1:17:20 – The Tune Weavers – I’ve Tried
1:25:40 – The Diamonds – Romance in the Dark
1:28:15 – The Diamonds – I’ll Live Again
1:31:12 – Clyde McPhatter – Bip Bam
1:34:35 – Clyde McPhatter – Warm Your Heart
1:37:50 – The Clovers – Blue Velvet
1:47:55 – Carlton Beck & Group – The Girl I Left Behind
1:50:33 – Freddie and the Quantrills – If I Give My Heart to You
1:55:10 – Jay and the Americans – This Magic Moment
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