Artist: Various
Album: Music City Vocal Groups: Greasy Love Songs Of Teenage Romance, Regret, Hope And Despair
Genre: Doo Wop, Vocal
Released: 2014
During and just after World War II, Northern California’s San Francisco Bay Area boomed with military bases and naval yards, attracting thousands of black workers and servicemen. Cities dotting the East Bay–Berkeley, Oakland, and Richmond– developed thriving neighbourhoods with busy nightclubs. Small record companies sprang up to supply jukeboxes with local blues and jazz talent. One of them, Music City, opened around 1950 but didn’t record in earnest until 1954. Over the next two decades, owner Ray Dobard amassed 1,500 reels of recording tape that captured every form of popular black American music.
Now that Ace owns that archive, we hope to release Music City recordings for many years to come. We began in 2011 with “The Music City Story”, a 3CD set spanning 1953-1975, and followed with “Going Wild! Music City Rock’n’Roll”. Now, with “Music City Vocal Groups”, we present what originally made the label a favourite of 45rpm collectors all over the world: funky, sweaty, raw, sometimes dissonant but always sincere doo wop. By 1963, Ray Dobard was finished with doo wop groups. He moved into soul music, gospel, and the occasional novelty; his final release, in 1975, was ‘Go Down Moses’ by the Golden West Singers. He died in 2004, leaving behind a hoard of recordings that we are still sorting out.
By Jim Dawson
Tracklist
CD 1
01 Lucille - The Pagans
02 Without Love (second version) - The Corvettes
03 Cheating On Me - The Midnights
04 This Is The End Of Love - The Klixs
05 Morrine - The 5 Campbells
06 Whole Lot Of Love - The Rovers
07 Angel In My Heart - The Holidays
08 Sherry - Jimmy Cicero with the Five Crystels
09 Lil Dream Girl - The Gaylarks
10 My Greatest Sin - The Gaylarks
11 What Will The Outcome Be - Al Lewis & Modernistics
12 Down By The River - The Gayteens
13 Down To The Sea (a cappella) - The 5 Rovers
14 I'll Wait For You - The Dialtones
15 Sunday - Joe Blackwell & The Individuals
16 No Other Way Around - The Midnights
17 Heaven's Own Choir - The Five Crystels
18 Your True Love Is Standing By aka Dry Your Eyes - Wanda Burt & Crescendos
19 I'm Traveling Light - The 5 Lyrics
20 Church On The Hill - The Gaylarks with the John Heartsman Band
21 Station L-O-V-E - The Holidays
22 I'm Coming Over To You - The Girls
23 So Hard To Please (a cappella) - The Marcels
24 Forever And A Day (a cappella) - The Idols
25 All The Days Of My Life - The Chantels
CD 2
01 Church On The Hill (Take 1) - Bob & Jessie
02 Church On The Hill (Take 2) - Bob & Jessie
03 There's A Girl - The Italics
04 Elaine - The Klixs
05 Our Love Is Here To Stay - The Klixs
06 The Trial - The Pagans
07 Down To The Sea - The 5 Rovers
08 Path Of Broken Hearts - The Five Crystels
09 Lonely One - The Derbys
10 Sugar Plum - The Treniers
11 So Hard To Please - The Marcels
12 Last Date - The Crescendos
13 Why-Ohh - The Rovers
14 You Gave Me Peace Of Mind - The Creations
15 Happy Happy Birthday Baby (a cappella) - The Derbys
16 That's Why I Love You So (a cappella) - Curtis Payne & Group
17 Ten Commandments Of Love (a cappella) - The Five Crystels
18 Salute To Johnny Ace - The Rovers
19 Warm Love - The Midnights
20 Teenage Prayer - The Crescendos
21 PS My Darling - The Holidays
22 Your Eyes - The Echotones
23 I Feel So Blue aka So Blue - The Italics
24 Wait For Me (a cappella) - The Marcels
25 Desiree - Unk Vocal Group
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