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
0:00:00 – Lenny Welch – Since I Fell for You
0:03:18 – The Turbans – Let Me Show You
0:06:04 – The Shells – Baby Oh Baby
0:09:26 – The Dubs – Don’t Ask Me to Be Lonely
0:11:25 – Rosie and the Originals – Angel Baby
0:15:45 – The Nutmegs – Story Untold
0:18:04 – The Dells – Why Do You Have to Go?
0:20:40 – The Deltairs – Lullaby of the Bells
0:25:08 – The Five Keys – The Glory of Love
0:28:15 – The Cupids – Brenda
0:31:03 – The 5 Notes – You Are So Beautiful
0:33:44 – The Keytones – Seven Wonders of the World
0:37:43 – The Charts – Deserie
0:40:22 – Kathy Young – A Thousand Stars
0:43:33 – The El Dorados – Baby I Need You
0:46:37 – The Flamingos – Please Come Back Home
0:50:17 – The Schoolboys – Please Say You Want Me
0:52:55 – The Three Friends – Blanche
0:55:49 – Wheels – My Heart’s Desire
1:01:27 – The Turbans – When You Dance
1:04:21 – The Students – I’m So Young
1:06:52 – The Harptones – My Memories of You
1:12:34 – The Velours – I’ll Never Smile Again
1:14:58 – The Spaniels – Heart And Soul
1:18:18 – The Jesters – The Wind
1:21:38 – The Kodaks – Teenager’s Dream
1:24:21 – Mellows – Smoke From Your Cigarette
1:26:52 – The Wrens – C’est la vie
1:30:58 – The Paragons – Wedding Bells
1:33:06 – The Chantels – Look in My Eyes (Alternative Take)
1:35:25 – Danny & the Juniors – A Thousand Miles Away
1:37:45 – The Heartbeats – A Thousand Miles Away
1:42:07 – The Orioles – In the Chapel in the Moonlight
1:45:15 – The Moonglows – Sincerely
1:48:24 – The Ravens – On Chapel Hill
1:51:53 – The Larks – Let’s Say a Prayer
1:54:54 – The Rhythm Aces – I Wonder Why
1:58:14 – The Blue Jays – White Cliffs Of Dover
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