With various artists, including The Fleetwoods
From the folks who brought you the highly-successful Doo Wop 50 and Doo Wop 51 reunion shows comes Rock, Rhythm And Doo Wop. This latest blast from the past made its nationwide PBS premiere on Wednesday, October 24, 2001. In addition, Rhino has released Rock, Rhythm And Doo Wop, a 3-CD boxed set with selections from the TV special.
Coproduced by Rhino Entertainment and WQED-TV, this once-in-a-lifetime concert event was taped this past May at the Benedum Center in the “Oldies Capital of the World,” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hosted by music legends Frankie Valli (of The 4 Seasons), Jerry Butler (of The Impressions), and Lloyd Price (of “Lawdy Miss Clawdy fame), Rock, Rhythm And Doo Wop also features performances by Little Anthony & The Imperials, Lou Christie, The Five Satins, and the Georgia Peach himself, Little Richard.
“You’re never going to see a line-up like this again,” notes T.J. Lubinsky, the program’s mastermind (and grandson of Savoy Records founder Herman Lubinsky). “These are the original performers, singing their biggest hits. This is as close as you can get to one of the great Alan Freed rock and roll shows.”
Many of these original performers had dropped out of music and make a rare return to the stage on Rock, Rhythm And Doo Wop. Fred Parris came out of retirement after a decade to join The Five Satins in a performance of “In The Still Of The Night” (the number one oldies single of all time). The Duprees reunite with original member Mike Arnone after more than a decade. Hal Miller joins The Rays after 40 years of retirement to sing “Silhouettes,” and Kathy Young is reunited with The Innocents to sing “A Thousand Stars” for the first time since they recorded that hit - when Young was just 14 years old.
Other highlights of the program include Pittsburgh native Lou Christie applying his trademark falsetto to his smash “Lightning Strikes,” Ed Townsend performing his 1958 hit “For Your Love,” and superstars Little Anthony & The Imperials singing their classics “Tears On My Pillow,” “Going Out Of My Head,” “Hurt So Bad,” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop.” Also featured in a touching reunion with his group The Earls, Larry Chance sings “I Believe” and “Remember Then” after successfully battling throat cancer.
“We’re preserving a personal time capsule of memories,” says Lubinsky. “This show gives the performers the credit, honor, and respect they deserve. And for the audience, well...it’s as close as they’re ever going to get to that piece of their past, to what they experienced in the ‘50s and ‘60s.” Indeed, the frequent cheering and standing ovations throughout Rock, Rhythm And Doo Wop are testaments to that.
The show itself is a testament to the enduring popularity of “oldies” music, made during an era when dreamy group harmonies and boisterous rock ‘n’ roll mixed freely on the radio. Public television viewers certainly have responded to this musical time-travel; the Doo Wop 50 and 51 broadcasts raised more than $30 million dollars, setting pledge drive records.
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