Earl Carroll, LaVerne Drake, and Robert Phillips were already singing together in the early '50s as the Carnations, whose lineup also included "Cub" Gaining. Carroll and Phillips were nearly as close as brothers, Carroll having been taken in by Phillips' family after the death of his own mother. The group -- based in New York's Harlem in the... [+] Read More

Yes No

One of the very first girl groups, the Chantels are best-known for their 1957 hit "Maybe." Between 1957 and 1963, the trio racked up a number of hit singles, but none of them was ever as popular as "Maybe," which came to be regarded as one of the definitive singles of the genre.

All five members of the Chantels -- Arlene Smith, Lois... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Clovers occupy an exalted place in the history of R&B, if not in the minds of many listeners, other than hard-core devotees of the music's history -- the Drifters tend to eclipse them, by virtue of their longer history and the string of hits that the later incarnation of that group had during the 1960s. The truth is that the Clovers not only... [+] Read More

Yes No

Although the Fleetwoods' sound was smooth, without many of the rougher edges of doo wop groups, they were one of the few white vocal groups of the late '50s and early '60s to enjoy success not only on the pop charts, but also the R&B charts. The Fleetwoods' forte was ballads -- beginning with their 1959 debut single, "Come Softly to Me," the... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Ink Spots played a large role in pioneering the black vocal group-harmony genre, helping to pave the way for the doo wop explosion of the '50s. The quavering high tenor of Bill Kenny presaged hundreds of street-corner leads to come, and the sweet harmonies of Charlie Fuqua, Deek Watson, and bass Hoppy Jones (who died in 1944) backed him... [+] Read More

Yes No

Scoring over 40 hits on the R&B Top 40 charts, the Miracles started out as the Five Chimes in the mid-'50s while the members were still in high school. The Detroit vocal group consisted of William "Smokey" Robinson, Warren "Pete" Moore, Clarence "Humble" Dawson, Donald Wicker, and James "Rat" Grice. Not too long after the group formed, Wicker... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Moonglows were among the most important R&B groups of the 1950s, despite the fact that they only had a handful of hits among fewer than 50 recorded songs, in a history that lasted just six years, in sharp contrast to such acts as the Orioles and the Drifters, who were together across decades and recorded huge bodies of work.
[+] Read More

Yes No

Best known for their hit single "Earth Angel," the doo wop quartet the Penguins were never able to replicate the success of their only Top 40 hit, but the song became a rock & roll classic. The Penguins formed in 1954, when the members -- Cleveland Duncan (lead vocal), Curtis Williams (tenor vocal), Dexter Tisby (baritone vocal), and Bruce Tate... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Pentagons are remembered for two 1961 hits, "To Be Loved (Forever)" -- which peaked at number 48 nationally -- and "I Wonder." The original lineup featured Joe Jones, Carl McGinnis, Bill James, Otis Munson, and brothers Kenneth Goodloe (lead) and Ted Goodloe and formed in 1958 in San Bernardino, CA, northeast of Los Angeles. Sometime during... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Odessa, TX-based Velvets are best remembered for their violin-enriched 1961 Top 40 hit "Tonight (Could Be the Night)," during which the group chanted "doo-wop" behind lead singer Virgil Johnson. It was one of the first uses of the phrase in a song (the Turbans' use of the phrase on the 1955 "When You Dance" predates it by a few years).... [+] Read More

Yes No