When jazz changed from being dance to listening music, many musicians and vocalists had to find new ways to express their talents. Thus came hybrids of styles which eventually led to Rhythm and Blues, Doo Wop and something called Rock and Roll. These sets of various sizes, all essential, give an in depth look at how the pulse of jazz, the swing of jazz and the melody of jazz took a few turns to still end up in the ears of a new generation of listeners and dancers
The five disc Super-Rare Doo Wop Box is a great place to start, with vocal groups galore melding harmonies to introduce a new generation to The Great American Songbook as well as fun blues and novelties. For the former, The Flamingos croon out “September Song”, The Dominoes deliver “These Foolish Things” and the Del Vikings give a street corner symphony of “A Sunday Kind Of Love”. There’s plenty of wonderfully maudlin love songs like The Vocaltones’ “Darling (You Know I Love You” and Little Jimmy and The Tops producing “Puppy Love”, and the gorgeously 
gooey “Ten Commandments of Love” by The Five Diamonds. Fun vocal treats are in abundance, begging you to join in on “Little Darlin’” by The Willows, and “Good Googa Mooga” from The Magic Tones. By far, this was the last period of purely happy music. You might not be familiar with a lot of these tunes, as many are fairly obscure, making them all the more enjoyable, like a lost treasure found in your attic. Are you singing along yet?
If it’s the hits that you want, you won’t go wrong with the two disc Best Of, which is an extremely satisfying overview of what made doo wop so enjoyable. Thus you get all of the “bird” groups, like The Swallows (“I Only Have Eyes For You”), The Orioles (“Crying In The Chapel”), The Larks (“My Reverie”) and The Flamingos (“Golden Teardrops”) for starters, as well as other animals such as The Penguins with “Earth Angel” and The Spaniels on “Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight”. Of course, the Platters and Drifters are here and tons of other songs that will get you singing in the shower. A true guilty and not guilty pleasure. Can a cd be worn out?
The two cd Hesitatin’ Fool focuses on a handful of R&B bands that bridged doo wop and rock and roll. Best known were The Midnighters, with the soul-stirring lead vocals of Hank Ballard, who actually invented the dance craze The Twist before Chubby Checker with his “Work With Me Annie”. Also featured here is the hip “Hesitatin’ Fool” by The Striders, and a rich “Linda” by The Empires. A bluesy “Evening” by The Rainbows and “Gloria” by The Five Thrills” are harmonic gems, while The Three Riffs get hep to the jive on ”Jumping Jack”. Juke joint gems.
Did you have to be Italian or black to be in a Doo Wop group? You’d think so after taking in the 24 tunes on the single disc of Let’s Have A Ball. The influence of The Mills Brothers and Four Freshmen are evidenced here, as on The Wheels’ “Let’s Have A Ball” and “My Heart’s Desire”. There are a couple absolute classics like the irresistible “At My Front Door” by the El Dorados and the serenade “Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite” By the Spaniels. Don’t expect lyrics by Johnny Mercer, as the rhymes are pretty basic and to the point. Booze and Broads are still dominant in themes here, as on The Crickets’ “Milk and Gin” and the jumping “Fine as Wine”. Romantic and innocent crooning prevail in the era, as well with “Lay Your Head On My Shoulder” by The 5 Willows” and “Dear One” by The Scarlets reflecting a time somehow lost in this present age of over sexualizing.
Last, but definitely not least, is the massive 16disc and 350 page book boxed set/anthology R&B in DC. This absolutely essential set displays the evolution of swing/styled jazz into R&B, blues and vocals in a way unrivaled by any other package. Count Basie styled boogie woogie, deep blues, raucous saxes, gorgeous harmonies, and crooning gents and babes busting out the blues are all collected here chronologically.
Thus, things like the velvet deep baritone of Billy Eckstine belts out “Lonesome Lover Blues” and “Last Night” while Rena Collins fills songs like “Low Gravy” with double entendres. Gorgeous harmonies are produced by The Progressive Four on Ink Spotsy versions of “I Want A Little Girl” and “I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance”. Hard swinging instrumentals are delivered by Frank Motely and His Orchestra on “Dual Trumpet Blues” and “Herbert’s Jump”, with some fun vocals by TNT Tribble joining in on “I Get My Kicks In The Country”. Fun vocals blendings are produced by The Clovers on “One Mint Julep”, while Jimmy McPhail steps out in front on “ No Greater Love”.
There is even some Sunday Morning gospel, with The Young Gospel Singers passing the plate on “The Day Will Surely Come” and “I Am Sending My Timber To Heaven” with secular humor in abundance as on “Big Leg Mama” and “Open The Door Richard” swinging hard from Van Walls and the Rockets, with some Ellingtonia produced by the band on “Caravan”.
Classic vocal singalongs include “Such A Fool” by The Eagles and “Idaho” from the Clovers, but by the latter end of the 1950s, the wake of rock and roll was being felt, and more rhythmic beats were being recorded. The boogie of piano and roaring sax still had their place, and you get rock progenitors like Lloyd Price on “To Love And Be Loved” and for groups you get The Capitols on “Three O’Clock Rock”. The collection focuses on bands from the Washington DC area, so there are bands like The Senators, rocking out on “Wedding Bells”. Overall, you’ll be taking in an evolution of American music that is unfortunately mostly forgotten and deserves to be re-heard, re-evaluated and re-appreciated. You would not do yourself any harm by taking this in as your one accomplishment for the year, and eschewing anything synthetically produced in these days of Auto Tune. These artists produced REAL tune.