By Billy Florio
New York has had many genres of music come out of it. In the ’70s, Punk rose in the Lower East Side and CBGBs, Rap started to gain prominence in Queens and the Bronx, and most recently, indie bands have flourished in small clubs all over the city. But one of the first genres to be prominent in New York was doo-wop. New York, along with Philadelphia, was one of the major cities where doo-wop started in the early ’50s, flourishing well into the ’60s, spawning groups like The Drifters, Dion and the Belmonts, and the Cadillacs.
Two of the most prominent doo-wop groups from New York were the Jesters and the Paragons. These two groups helped create what was known as the New York Doo-wop sound. In 1959, Jay-Gee Records compiled an album of songs from both groups, called The Paragons Meet The Jesters.
Doo-wop isn’t exactly a very popular genre among teenagers and college students today, so this next statement might not hold as much weight as it should: This album is the most important album in doo-wop. It’s the album that defines what the genre was about. Anyone interested in doo-wop must start here to understand the New York sound, if not the whole genre.
Of course, there will be people who will criticize this album. It’s “safe music,” the lyrics are horrible, every song is about love or love lost. And it’s true; some of the most cliché and overused lyrics are here. On the song “The Vows Of Love” by the Paragons, there is a line goes: “I’m your loving man / let me take your hand.” It sounds like something that *Nsync would sing. But remember, this is a genre where five different groups can all do the same song and make it sound completely different. Lyrics are secondary to harmonies, melodies and vocals. Doo-wop is about the outcome of everything working together, not each individual part.
There are traces of jazz, blues, soul, Caribbean music and rock and roll all over The Paragons Meet The Jesters. Each song sounds different because of this, but to a non-fan it’ll probably all sound the same. If you don’t like doo-wop, this album will never get you to like it, but if you do, you’ll love this album.