Long before rap and hip hop, before grunge, even before rock and roll, the music that teenagers in the 1950s and early 1960s called their own came from the street corners and building stoops in neighborhoods like the Bronx, Harlem, Philadelphia, and Passaic, New Jersey. The distinctive sound of doo wop, founded in three and four part harmony and, for the most part, sweetly sentimental, has left an indelible imprint on American pop culture.

In addition to the nine CDs containing 147 songs, the box set also includes the DVD "Doo Wop Legends Live", which features more than an hour of classic performances from artists such as The Platters, Gene Chandler, The Dell-Vikings, Johnny Maestro and Brooklyn Bridge, and The Penguins, performing such well known tunes as "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)," "16 Candles," "Duke of Earl," and "Come Go With Me."

As Billy Vera says in the liner notes, the year 1955 was the year when the great American melting pot came to fruition. Doo wop was a style unhampered by racial or gender bias. There were Harlem-based bands such as The Drifters and the Cadillacs, comprised of teenaged boys who figured that the sweet harmonics of their band would help them attract girls, along with girl groups such as the Shirelles and the Chiffons who were on the charts as well. As doo wop's appeal expanded to reach a wider audience, groups such as Jay and the Americans, the 4 Seasons and Dion and the Belmonts emerged to carry the torch. As the fifties morphed into the sixties, the sound of doo wop also morphed into the sort of R&B and soul that would propel Motown artists such as The Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and The Temptations to the top of the charts.

Product Description:

From street corners and front porches come some of the most influential music of all time! Doo Wop set the stage for rock 'n' roll, R&B, and pop music traditions that continue today. Now, here's a wonderfully nostalgic collector's set of doo-wop music from the 50's and 60's featuring 146 memorable hits. Plus, it comes with a bonus DVD with 21 live performances.

Track Listing:

Disc 1: (CD)

1. On Broadway - 2:59 (Drifters [US])
2. Blue Moon - 2:16 (Marcels [Doo Wop])
3. 16 Candles - 2:54 (Crests)
4. You Belong To Me - 2:45 (Duprees)
5. Book of Love - 2:21 (Monotones)
6. Why Do Fools Fall In Love - 2:20 (Lymon, Frankie & the Teenagers)
7. So Fine - 2:20 (Fiestas)
8. Daddy's Home - 2:54 (Shep & the Limelites)
9. I Do - 2:27 (Marvelows)
10. Let Me In - 3:07 (Sensations [3])
11. There's A Moon Out Tonight - 2:14 (Capris [New York City])
12. What's Your Name - 2:15 (Don & Juan)
13. Get a Job - 2:46 (Silhouettes [1])
14. Ten Commandments of Love - 4:00 (Harvey & the Moonglows)
15. Have You Heard - 2:28 (Duprees)

Disc 2: (CD)

1. Come Go With Me - 2:42 (Del Vikings)
2. Little Darlin' - 2:09 (Diamonds [Canada])
3. Denise - 1:59 (Randy & the Rainbows)
4. Sincerely - 3:10 (Moonglows [US])
5. I Wonder Why - 2:19 (Dion & the Belmonts [1])
6. In the Still of the Nite - 3:04 (Five Satins)
7. Little Star - 2:42 (Elegants)
8. Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) - 2:56 (Penguins)
9. Stay - 1:37 (Williams, Maurice & the Zodiacs [1])
10. One Summer Night - 2:15 (Danleers)
11. Remember Then - 2:07 (Earls [The Bronx])
12. Try the Impossible - 3:06 (Andrews, Lee & the Hearts)
13. Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home) - 2:31 (Impalas [1])
14. Island of Love - 2:23 (Sheppards)
15. Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite - 2:40 (Spaniels)

Disc 3: (CD)

1. Goin' Out Of My Head - 2:30 (Little Anthony & the Imperials [1])
2. Stormy Weather - 2:32 (Spaniels)
3. Since I Don't Have You - 2:41 (Skyliners [1])
4. Heart and Soul - 1:53 (Cleftones)
5. Ruby Baby - 2:24 (Drifters [US])
6. The ABC's Of Love - 1:57 (Lymon, Frankie & the Teenagers)
7. Once In a While - 2:30 (Chimes [1])
8. Mr. Lee - 2:15 (Bobbettes)
9. I'm On the Outside (Looking In) - 3:08 (Little Anthony & the Imperials [1])
10. Every Day of the Week - 2:34 (Students [1])
11. Life is But a Dream - 2:42 (Harptones)
12. Church Bells May Ring - 2:28 (Willows [1])
13. Gloria - 2:56 (Cadillacs [1])
14. Tonite, Tonite - 2:34 (Mello-Kings)
15. Looking For an Echo - 3:29 (Vance, Kenny & the Planotones)
16. Long Lonely Nights - 2:53 (Andrews, Lee & the Hearts)

Disc 4: (CD)

1. Up On the Roof - 2:38 (Drifters [US])
2. Gypsy Woman - 2:21 (Impressions)
3. Sh-Boom - 2:26 (Chords [1])
4. Little Girl of Mine - 3:10 (Cleftones)
5. Treasure of Love - 2:10 (McPhatter, Clyde)
6. Tears on My Pillow - 2:18 (Little Anthony & the Imperials [1])
7. I Promise To Remember - 2:48 (Lymon, Frankie & the Teenagers)
8. Till Then - 2:16 (Classics [1])
9. A Sunday Kind of Love - 3:00 (Harptones)
10. Trickle, Trickle - 2:03 (Videos)
11. I Sold My Heart To the Junkman - 2:01 (Blue-Belles)
12. Tear Drops - 2:24 (Andrews, Lee & the Hearts)
13. This I Swear - 2:38 (Skyliners [1])
14. Two People In the World - 2:37 (Little Anthony & the Imperials [1])
15. Unchaines Melody - 2:01 (Vito & the Salutations)
16. Diamonds and Pearls - 2:17 (Paradons)

Disc 5: (CD)

1. Big Girls Don't Cry - 2:26 (Four Seasons [1])
2. Come Softly To Me - 2:22 (Fleetwoods)
3. A Lover's Question - 2:35 (McPhatter, Clyde)
4. I Only Have Eyes For You - 3:23 (Flamingos [Doo Wop])
5. Where Did Our Love Go - 2:32 (Supremes [1])
6. This Magic Moment - 2:30 (Drifters [US])
7. For Your Precious Love - 2:46 (Butler, Jerry & the Impressions [1])
8. Pretty Little Angel Eyes - 2:44 (Lee, Curtis)
9. Oh, What a Night - 2:55 (Dells)
10. Dedicated To the One I Love - 2:01 (Shirelles)
11. Crying in the Chapel - 3:05 (Orioles)
12. Speedoo - 2:20 (Cadillacs [1])
13. Don't Asky Me (To Be Lonely) - 2:20 (Dubs [1])
14. At My Front Door - 2:37 (El Dorados)
15. That's My Desire - 2:32 (Channels [1])
16. Maybe - 2:52 (Chantels)
17. Every Beat of My Heart - 2:02 (Knight, Gladys & the Pips)

Disc 6: (CD)

1. Stand By Me - 3:01 (King, Ben E. [1])
2. Will You Love Me Tomorrow - 2:42 (Shirelles)
3. Rag Doll - 2:59 (Four Seasons [1])
4. Barbara-Ann - 2:19 (Regents [1])
5. A Thousand Miles Away - 2:26 (Heartbeats [1])
6. Lonely Teardrops - 2:32 (Wilson, Jackie [1])
7. I Count the Tears - 2:13 (Drifters [US])
8. Over the Mountain, Across the Sea - 2:15 (Johnnie & Joe)
9. Deserie - 2:43 (Charts [1])
10. The Million To One - 2:33 (Charles, Jimmy)
11. Gee - 2:14 (Crows [1])
12. I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent - 2:45 (Lymon, Frankie & the Teenagers)
13. Could This Be Magic - 2:20 (Dubs [1])
14. When We Get Married - 2:29 (Dreamlovers)
15. Soldier Boy - 2:41 (Shirelles)
16. Bad Girl - 2:47 (Miracles [1])
17. The Closer You Are - 2:59 (Channels [1])

Disc 7: (CD)

1. A Teenager in Love - 2:33 (Dion & the Belmonts [1])
2. One Fine Day - 2:08 (Chiffons [1])
3. Hushabye - 2:34 (Mystics [1])
4. When You're Young and In Love - 2:37 (Marvelettes)
5. Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow - 2:23 (Rivingtons)
6. The Great Pretender - 2:39 (Platters)
7. My Girl - 2:45 (Temptations [R&B])
8. Ruby Baby - 2:39 (Dion [1])
9. Tra La La - 2:06 (Majors [1])
10. She Cried - 2:38 (Jay & the Americans)
11. I'm a Happy Man - 2:38 (Jive Five)
12. When You Dance - 2:58 (Turbans [Philadelphia])
13. You Cheated - 2:28 (Shields [1])
14. You Were Mine - 1:57 (Fireflies)
15. Honest I Do - 1:57 (Innocents [1])
16. Where or When - 2:39 (Dion & the Belmonts [1])
17. The Glory of Love - 3:07 (Five Keys)

Disc 8: (CD)

1. The Wanderer - 2:49 (Dion [1])
2. Tonight (Could Be the Night) - 2:06 (Velvets)
3. You're So Fine - 2:29 (Falcons [1])
4. He's So Fine - 1:53 (Chiffons [1])
5. Love Potion No. 9 - 1:53 (Clovers)
6. That's My Desire - 2:33 (Dion & the Belmonts [1])
7. Step By Step - 2:31 (Crests)
8. My Prayer - 2:49 (Platters)
9. Runaround Sue - 2:52 (Dion [1])
10. Eddie My Love - 3:14 (Teen Queens)
11. Just To Be With You - 2:24 (Passions [US])
12. Cara, Mia - 2:35 (Jay & the Americans)
13. Please Say You Want Me - 2:38 (Schoolboys)
14. What Time Is It? - 2:49 (Jive Five)
15. Why Don't You Write Me? - 2:50 (Jacks [1])
16. Ling Ting Tong - 2:07 (Five Keys)
17. We Belong Together - 2:47 (Robert & Johnny)

Disc 9: (CD)

1. Yakety Ysk - 1:53 (Coasters)
2. Whispering Bells - 2:28 (Del Vikings)
3. I Want You To Be My Girl - 2:59 (Lymon, Frankie & the Teenagers)
4. Stay In My Corner - 6:11 (Dells)
5. Devil or Angel - 2:27 (Clovers)
6. There Goes By Baby - 2:12 (Drifters [US])
7. Lovers Never Say Goodbye - 2:54 (Flamingos [Doo Wop])
8. Buzz-Buzz-Buzz - 2:16 (Hollywood Flames [Doo Wop])
9. Florence - 2:44 (Paragons [Brooklyn])
10. Searchin' - 2:40 (Coasters)
11. Sister Sookey - 2:40 (Turbans [Philadelphia])
12. Story Untold - 2:20 (Nutmegs)
13. Blue Velvet - 2:39 (Clovers)
14. Come Back My Love - 2:23 (Wrens [1])
15. Sixty-Minute Man - 2:29 (Dominoes [1])
16. The Wind - 3:21 (Jesters [1])

Disc 10: (DVD)

1. Only You (And You Alone) [Live] (Platters)
2. The Great Pretender [Live] (Platters)
3. Come Go With Me [Live] (Del Vikings)
4. This I Swear [Live] (Beaumont, Jimmy & The Skyliners)
5. Since I Don't Have You [Live] (Beaumont, Jimmy & The Skyliners)
6. Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) [Live] (Penguins)
7. Duke of Earl [Live] (Chandler, Gene)
8. 16 Candles [Live] (Maestro, Johnny & the Brooklyn Bridge)
9. Worst That Could Happen [Live] (Maestro, Johnny & the Brooklyn Bridge)
10. Long Lonely Nights [Live] (Andrews, Lee & the Hearts)
11. Little Girl of Mine [Live] (Cleftones)
12. Heart and Soul [Live] (Cleftones)
13. There's a Moon Out Tonight [Live] (Capris [New York City])
14. Blue Moon [Live] (Marcels [Doo Wop])
15. My True Story [Live] (Jive Five)
16. What Time Is It? [Live] (Jive Five)
17. Just To Be With You [Live] (Legends of Doo Wop)
18. Oh Rosemarie [Live] (Legends of Doo Wop)
19. Guardian Angel [Live] (Legends of Doo Wop)
20. That's My Desire [Live] (Lewis, Earl & the Channels)
21. The Closer You Are [Live] (Lewis, Earl & the Channels)

Editorial Review

Time was when doo wop collections flooded the market -- baby boomers looking to relive their childhoods scarfed up millions of them and record companies were happy to oblige, as the material was relatively inexpensive to license. Today, those who fondly remember the '50s and early '60s are largely in their fifties and early sixties, and while they might still harbor a soft spot for the oldies, they most likely own their favorites on CD by now or at least know of a satellite radio station that plays the stuff. Time Life is the master at aggressive marketing to that demographic, though, and also the master at finding just the right tracks for these types of compilations. Label execs must have done their homework if they decided at this late date to release nine CDs' and a DVD's worth of vocal harmony music (the term preferred by hardcore doo woppers) -- someone figured there was a still a strong market for this music and set out to do it right. They succeeded wildly. It All Started with Doo Wop may just be the single most definitive collection of this music compiled into one box set. It's not that these songs can't all be found elsewhere -- this isn't about rarities (plenty of other comps will get you those). It's about the best of the best. The four actual two-CD sets falling under the banner of It All Started with Doo Wop miss few of the all-time classics. From the ballads like "Could This Be Magic" by the Dubs, "Gloria" by the Cadillacs, "Just to Be with You" by the Passions, and "Lovers Never Say Goodbye" by the Flamingos to the classic uptempo rockers like Curtis Lee's "Pretty Little Angel Eyes," "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters, "Church Bells May Ring" by the Willows, and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "I Promise to Remember," this is as solid a set of doo wop as any out there. Some may argue whether groups like the Four Seasons and Jay & the Americans or individuals such as Jackie Wilson and solo Dion actually qualify as doo wop, but their records sound just fine in the context of the set, hardly something to complain about. The ninth/tenth discs, titled Street Corner Symphonies, aren't really anything different than the others, adding in still more classics like "Remember Then" by the Earls, "Get a Job" by the Silhouettes, "Come Go with Me" by the Del Vikings, "Book of Love" by the Monotones, and more than two dozen others. The DVD is a fun little bonus, but can get depressing, featuring live performances of recent vintage by acts (some containing at most one or two original members) such as the Cleftones, the Penguins, the Jive Five, and others. It aired as a PBS fundraiser and is reprised here courtesy of Rhino Home Video. While some of the performances are stirring, others only serve as a reminder that this music has now been around for a very, very long time -- as have those who made it happen.