The
doo wop
era of the '50s wasn't the beginning of secular male African-American
vocal
groups; in the '30s,
the Mills Brothers
and
the Ink Spots
brought the
gospel
energy of the black church to secular lyrics. But as big as those groups were in the '30s and '40s, it was during the
era that non-
black
groups became truly ubiquitous.
United Records
wasn't a major-league player in '50s
, but the small independent label did fairly well with
the Moroccos
' 1955 version of
Harold Arlen
's
"Over the Rainbow."
United
output (including
"Over the Rainbow"
) is the focus of
Bang Goes My Heart
, which
Delmark
released under
' name but is actually a various-artists compilation that focuses on five different vocal groups -- not only
but also
the Sheppards
,
the Answers
the Pastels
(not to be confused with either the East Coast group that gave listeners
"So Far Away"
or the Scottish
alterna-rockers
who emerged in the '80s), and an unknown mystery group. None of these groups were as big as
the Platters
the Five Satins
, or
the Flamingos
, but the material (which spans 1954-1957) is generally likable -- and that includes songs that
actually released in the '50s as well as recordings that went unreleased until
(which owns the
catalog) assembled this compilation in 2002. In fact, about half of the tracks didn't see the light of day before the release of
. Those who have a casual interest in
would probably be better off starting out with an all-star compilation that contains smashes like
'
"In the Still of the Night"
the Penguins
"Earth Angel,"
although serious
collectors will find this 67-minute CD to be interesting and enjoyable. ~ Alex Henderson