Customer Reviews

American Singing Groups: A History, From 1940 to Today

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Ever wonder what tracks were on the A side of 'The Clovers' records in 1961? Well now you can find out! Jay Warner has amassed biographical and musical information for hundreds of singing groups from the 1940s to today. Some pretty detailed histories. These are pop/harmonizing groups, hence fewer entries for later decades. Warner has them categorized by decade for easy reference. There are pictures at the start of each chapter, and a listing of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame inductees. And remember - these are AMERICAN singing groups. Just when I was freaking out that ABBA wasn't included, I remembered. So enjoy!

As previous reviews have stated, "This book is excellent!" For the price you cannot beat it. Bear in mind that all the groups are American and consist of 3 or more in a group so you won't find English, or other countries, or individual singers such as Ricky Nelson, etc., but it's fantastic for the groups defined. It's almost like reading a history book on those years and the groups/individuals involved. I would have never believed how much some singers migrated from one group to another or how many times they changed their names and other amusing historical facts. If you're like me, I never knew that the "Four Lovers" became the "Four Seasons." You'll laugh and smile when with some of the stories, such as "The Prisonaires." This group was harmonizing in prison and the warden encouraged them to make a record. He permitted, under guard, to go out and cut a record that became popular. Then they even then played at different night clubs (under guard supervision) some evenings. Does it have every American group that cut a record? Probably not, but this book has more than I ever heard of. This is a must book and I'm amazed the price of this book is so reasonable. You cannot go wrong. If you want to have some fun, select a few songs listed in the book you've never heard of and check them out on YouTube. The odds are you'll find some of them . . . I even found one by the Prisonaires . . . Just Walking In The Rain - 1953.

Do you remember Sonny Til and the Orioles? They were the founding fathers of rhythm and blues.

Well, what about the El Dorados (named after Cadillac's hottest car)?

The Soul Stirrers? They were largely responsible for the development of modern soul music.

To summarize the above questions, you can't imagine how many groups are profiled. The book is organized into decades: 40's, 50's, 60's, etc. Obviously the book can't contain all the groups there ever were, far too many groups form, do little except some local gigs and fade away. But it certainly does include a bunch. So many, with so much information about each one, that you have to wonder how all this information was collected. Certainly Mr. Warner couldn't have known all these people. Or could he?

Note that this book is on American Singing Groups. You won't find the Beatles here.

If you're into Vocal Groups......This Book is a Must.....It is one of the most visual and comprehensively well written books of its kind.

LES LEVINE

Very good coverage of American Singing Groups and price is very reasonable. A welcome addition to books on popular music.