Malt Shop Memories

In a simpler time, long before musicians stole bass lines and choruses from Sting to create hooks, there was doo-wop. The vocal style was popular in the '50s and '60s and was characterized by its signature harmonies—sometimes including the syllables "doo-wop." Pull up The Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night" and you can hear the trademark refrain in the bridge. Although scarcely heard since the British Invasion knocked the style out of the charts in the mid-'60s, doo-wop has had a lasting influence on popular music, particularly R&B. (And Huey Lewis and the News songs, but we'll ignore that.) It may not be the hippest genre around, but it's chock full of harmony, vocal skill and soul. The Ultimate Doo-Wop Show showcases all that and more, with appearances by doo-wop heavyweights Gene Chandler (of "Duke of Earl" fame), The Contours featuring Sylvester Potts, The Crystals, Little Caesar and The Romans and more. Also showing off their vocal stylings will be "Pennies From Heaven" singers Jimmy Beaumont and The Skyliners, as well as The Diamonds, The Olympics, Daddy G and The Church Street Five, Kathy Young and Dale Hawkins. Start snapping your fingers, grease back your hair and enjoy the sounds of a past era 8 p.m. Saturday at the Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie, 1001 Performance Place. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com.
Sat., Jan. 26, 8 p.m., 2008