GridLeakBias said:
"Roaches" by the Court Jesters was released on Blast Records in 1961. John Kuse & The Excellents (Coney Island Baby) also recorded for this New york Label. Re the sax work, it's not King Curtis; it's one of Blast's in-house musicians.
The early vocal groups of the late 1940s (Ravens, Orioles, Larks) set the pattern for what would be later called "Doo Wop". Streetcorner singing wasn't something that started in the late 1950s. This style was already fully developed in the late 1940s in major urban areas, such as New York. Most of the pioneer groups responsible for the early group harmony sound originated in the streets of NY, Philly, Baltimore, Chicago and L.A. The period of the late forties to the md fifties was the Golden Age for vocal group music. Groups like Philadelphia's Castelles, NY's Mellomoods, Harptones, Solitaires; Chicago's Flamingos, Moroccos, Eldorados; Gary, Indiana's Spaniels and countless other lesser known groups set the standard for what we call "Doo Wop"/vocal group harmony. A lot of the groups mentioned in previous posts fall into the area that many groups in subsequent eras of rock and other forms of popular music tend tofallinto. That would be becoming parodies of the music they perfomed. The nonsense syllables previously referred to mmarked a distinct decline in the singing talents of the group sound, starting around 1958 with the release of the Edsels' "Rama Lama Ding Dong". The harmonies became less involved and the entire style became campy, which is common to other genres of pop music once it becomes commercially and societally acceptable. Try listening to the Vocaleers' "Is It a Dream", or, "Love Is A Vow" by the Melloharps and compare it to anything post 1958. The difference in the quality of the vocals is more than apparent. Peronally, I like listening to Larry Chance & The Earls; but, even their style falls into the cheesy type prevalent during that particular period.
