There are very few original members of the old Doo-Wop groups from the late '50s and early '60s still performing, and that's kind of why I wanted to go. I suspected Samuel and Ethan would be the youngest people there. (They were. I think Jo and I were second youngest.)
In order of appearance:
The Harptones. They didn't have any big hits in the '50s; their claim to fame is that they have one surviving original member, who is probably 90, and he still sings!
Willie Rogers from the Soul Stirrers. They were a Gospel/Doo-Wop group. Their claim to fame was that Sam Cooke was a member in the early '50s before he went solo. Not sure how old Willie is, but his voice is still great--he sang an old Sam Cooke song, "A Change is Gonna Come." A+.
The Spaniels sang "Goodnight, Sweetheart," but there are no original members in the group, so it was more like a tribute band.
Shades of Blue sang "Oh How Happy," their sole hit from the '60s. Like The Spaniels, they had no original members.
The Marvelettes sang "Mr. Postman." They had one original member, who walked slowly with a cane and had to be helped on and offstage by the others. Not much left of her voice, but she got a loud round of applause.
The Tokens sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with their original lead singer, Jay Siegel. He was great--they were great. This was the highlight of the show. A+
Joey Dee sang "Peppermint Twist." It was entertaining--he even showed some dance moves--but I don't consider him Doo-Wop.
The Coasters sang "Poison Ivy" and "Charlie Brown," but with no original members.
Finally, Lou Christie sang "Lightning Strikes." He can still hit the high notes, but, like Joey Dee, it would be a stretch to call him Doo-Wop!
Ethan hated it. Samuel tolerated it. Jo was smiling and clapping the whole show, even doing the hand motions along with the dancers. She definitely gets the "Good Sport" prize.
I doubt if we'll be back next year, but I'm glad we went.
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