Editing Doo-wop (section)

===Baltimore===

Like other urban centers in the US during the late 1940s and early 1950s, Baltimore developed its own vocal group tradition. The city produced rhythm and blues innovators such as [[the Cardinals]], [[the Orioles]], and [[the Swallows]].<ref name="Sasfy1984">{{cite news |author1=Joe Sasfy |title=Doo-Wop Harmony |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/11/21/doo-wop-harmony/86cf2110-2ee6-401a-b440-cf91e93b5c6b |access-date=17 November 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=21 November 1984}}</ref> The [[Royal Theatre (Baltimore)|Royal Theatre]] in Baltimore and the [[Howard Theatre|Howard]] in Washington, D.C. were among the most prestigious venues for black performers on the so-called "[[Chitlin Circuit]]",<ref name="NYT1985">{{cite news |author1=Staff |title=Comeback On 'Chitlin Circuit' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/12/us/comeback-on-chitlin-circuit.html |access-date=17 November 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=12 June 1985}}</ref> which served as a school of the [[performing arts]] for blacks who had [[Great Migration (African American)|migrated]] from the [[deep South]], and even more so for their offspring. In the late 1940s, the Orioles rose from the streets and made a profound impression on young chitlin' circuit audiences in Baltimore. The group, formed in 1947, sang simple ballads in rhythm and blues harmony, with the standard arrangement of a high tenor singing over the chords of the blended mid-range voices and a strong bass voice. Their lead singer, [[Sonny Til]], had a soft, high-pitched tenor, and like the rest of the group, was still a teenager at the time. His style reflected the optimism of young black Americans in the postmigration era. The sound they helped develop, later called '"doo-wop", eventually became a "sonic bridge" to reach a white teen audience.<ref name="Runowicz201038">{{cite book|author=John Michael Runowicz|title=Forever Doo-wop: Race, Nostalgia, and Vocal Harmony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqzcQgAACAAJ|year=2010|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|isbn=978-1-55849-824-2|pages=38–41}}</ref>

In 1948, [[Jubilee Records]] signed the Orioles to a contract, following which they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's ''Talent Scout'' radio show. The song they performed, "It's Too Soon to Know", often cited as the first doo-wop song,<ref name="BogdanovWoodstra2002">{{cite book|author1=Vladimir Bogdanov|author2=Chris Woodstra|author3=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC&pg=PA1306|year=2002|publisher=Backbeat Books|isbn=978-0-87930-653-3|page=1306}}</ref> went to number 1 on ''Billboard'''s "Race Records" chart, and number 13 on the pop charts, a crossover first for a black group.<ref name="Olesker2013">{{cite book|author=Michael Olesker|title=Front Stoops in the Fifties: Baltimore Legends Come of Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UesEAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT39|date=1 November 2013|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-1-4214-1161-3|pages=39–40}}</ref><ref name="Larkin2011">{{cite book|author=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC&pg=RA31-PA1998|date=27 May 2011|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8|page=31}}</ref> This was followed in 1953 by "Crying in the Chapel", their biggest hit, which went to number 1 on the R&B chart and number 11 on the pop chart.<ref name="Zak201289">{{cite book|author=Albin Zak|title=I Don't Sound Like Nobody: Remaking Music in 1950s America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DEc_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|date=4 October 2012|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-03512-0|pages=89–90}}</ref> The Orioles were perhaps the first of the many doo-wop groups who named themselves after birds.<ref name="Simmons2018" />

The sexual innuendo in the Orioles' songs was less disguised than in the vocal group music of the [[Swing music|swing]] era. Their stage choreography was also more sexually explicit, and their songs were simpler and more emotionally direct. This new approach to sex in their performances did not target the white teen audience at first—when the Orioles took the stage, they were appealing directly to a young black audience,<ref name="Sullivan2013379">{{cite book|author=Steve Sullivan|title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QWBPAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA379|date=4 October 2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-8296-6|page=379}}</ref> with Sonny Til using his entire body to convey the emotion in the lyrics of their songs. He became a teen sex symbol for black girls, who reacted by screaming and throwing pieces of clothing onto the stage when he sang. Other young male vocalists of the era took note and adjusted their own acts accordingly.<ref name="Runowicz201038"/> The Orioles were soon displaced by newer groups who imitated these pioneers as a model for success.<ref name="MancusoLampe1996">{{cite book|author1=Chuck Mancuso|author2=David Lampe|title=Popular Music and the Underground: Foundations of Jazz, Blues, Country, and Rock, 1900-1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ws0iAQAAIAAJ&q=%22key%20component%22|year=1996|publisher=Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-8403-9088-2|page=440}}</ref><ref name="Pitilli201624">{{cite book|author=Lawrence Pitilli|title=Doo-Wop Acappella: A Story of Street Corners, Echoes, and Three-Part Harmonies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTO5DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|date=2 August 2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-4430-6|pages=24–25}}</ref>

The Swallows began in the late 1940s as a group of Baltimore teenagers calling themselves the Oakaleers. One of the members lived across the street from Sonny Til, who went on to lead the Orioles, and their success inspired the Oakaleers to rename themselves the Swallows.<ref name="Simmons2018">{{cite book|author=Rick Simmons|title=Carolina Beach Music Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BE1nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT267|date=8 August 2018|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-6767-6|pages=259–260}}</ref> Their song "Will You Be Mine", released in 1951, reached number 9 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart.<ref name="Warner2006303">{{cite book|author=Jay Warner|title=American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mTM_9JTeoMIC&pg=PA303|year=2006|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0-634-09978-6|page=303}}</ref> In 1952, the Swallows released "Beside You", their second national hit, which peaked at number 10 on the R&B chart.<ref name="Warner2006303"/>

Some Baltimore doo-wop groups were connected with street gangs, and a few members were active in both scenes, such as Johnny Page of [[the Marylanders]].<ref name="Goosman2010">{{cite book|author=Stuart L. Goosman|title=Group Harmony: The Black Urban Roots of Rhythm and Blues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ccDAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA47|date=9 March 2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-2108-4|page=47}}</ref> As in all the major urban centers of the US, many of the teen gangs had their own street corner vocal groups in which they took great pride and which they supported fiercely. Competitive music and dance was a part of African American street culture, and with the success of some local groups, competition increased, leading to territorial rivalries among performers. Pennsylvania Avenue served as a boundary between East and West Baltimore, with the East producing the Swallows and [[the Cardinals]] and [[the Blentones]], while the West was home to the Orioles and [[the Four Buddies]].<ref name="Ward1998">{{cite book|title=Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race|first=Brian|last=Ward|year=1998|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-21298-3|url=https://archive.org/details/justmysoulrespo000ward/page/62/mode/2up|pages=62–63}}</ref>

Baltimore vocal groups gathered at neighborhood record stores, where they practiced the latest hits in hopes that the store owners' connections with record companies and distributors might land them an audition. A [[King Records (United States)|King Records]] talent scout discovered the Swallows as they were rehearsing in Goldstick's record store. Sam Azrael's Super Music Store and Shaw's shoeshine parlor were also favored hangouts for Baltimore vocal groups; [[Jerry Wexler]] and [[Ahmet Ertegun]] auditioned the Cardinals at Azrael's. Some groups cut [[Demo (music)|demos]] at local studios and played them for recording [[Executive producer#Music|producers]], with the aim of getting signed to a record deal.<ref name="Ward1998" />