Zappa's Early Influences: R&B & Doo-Wop Vol. 5

Duration: 1:59:36

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.

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

Tracks in episode:

00:00:00 – The Staple Singers – Let’s Do It Again
00:05:05 – The Five Keys – Too Late
00:09:51 – The Serenaders – I’ll Cry Tomorrow
00:12:52 – The Hawks – Ever Since You’ve Been Gone
00:15:22 – Connie McGill and the Visions – I Want to Be Free
00:19:21 – Willis Sanders & The Fabulous Embers – Loveable You
00:22:00 – The “5” Royales – With All Your Heart
00:25:05 – The Shadows – No Use
00:27:36 – The Trumpeteers – Milky White Way
00:31:49 – The Fantastic Four – As Long As I Live (I Live For You)
00:34:38 – The Bossmen – You’re the Girl for Me
00:37:46 – The Montclairs – Fools Fall in Love
00:41:11 – Artist Unknown – Of All Things
00:43:19 – The Temptations – Somewhere
00:49:25 – The Five Emeralds – Your Baby’s Back
00:52:37 – The Southern Tones – Just A Closer Walk With Thee
00:55:49 – The Flairs – My Darling, My Sweet
00:58:12 – Longing – Sonny Til and the Orioles
01:03:14 – The Hornets – Lonesome Baby
01:05:16 – The Sedates – I Found
01:07:02 – The Ink Spots – I’ll Get By
01:10:06 – The silver airs – let the light from the lighthouse shine on me
01:13:45 – The Spinners – Til the End of Time
01:16:43 – The Cadillacs – I’ll Never Let You Go
01:18:35 – The Charioteers – Sleepy Time Gal
01:21:15 – The Harmonizing Four – All Things Are Possible
01:25:30 – The Five Bars – To Make A Long Story Shorter
01:27:38 – The Four Blues – I’m Gone
01:30:06 – The Harptones – Devil in Velvet
01:32:46 – The Visions – I Could Never Love Another
01:34:43 – The Orioles – There’s No One But You
01:39:17 – Herb Lance & Vocal Quartet – That Lucky Old Sun
01:41:53 – Pauline Rogers – I’ve Been Pretending (Everything’s Alright)
01:44:27 – Delta Rhythm Boys – Ain’t Gonna Worry About A Soul
01:46:53 – The Dandeliers – My Love
01:50:49 – The Charioteers – I’m in the Mood for Love
01:54:02 – The Flamingoes- I’m in the Mood for Love
01:57:01 – Mills Brothers – Till Then

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