Italo-doo-wop

Aside from blacks, the ethnic group for whom music was most important in their up bringing, through the church, were Italians. In 1958 the first significant wave of white doo wop groups emerged. This style is named Italo-doo-wop in recognition of that fact. Soon other ethnic groups joined in. Members of these groups grew up in tough urban neighborhoods. Their sound differed from the black groups that preceded them only slightly. Ital-doo-wop is distinguished by even tighter group harmonies and rough edged tenors singing at the top of their ranges to produce a "sweet" sound. The prominence in Italo-doo-wop bass singers renditions presaged the neo-doo-wop style which arose around 1960

Prominent Examples