Southwest Florida Theatre transports audiences back to the 1950s with “Sh-Boom! Life Could Be A Dream.”
“It's very similar to ‘Forever Plaid’ or the show that we did a couple of years back called ‘Route 66,’” noted Music Director Julie Beardon Carver.
It follows a fledgling doo-wop quartet hoping to win a national radio contest and launch their careers. As the group navigates harmony onstage and conflict offstage, they face romantic entanglements, personal setbacks and the pressures of ambition.
“Fans of doo-wop, this is a show that they'll really appreciate,” added Carver. “Truly. It's a lot of fun music, a lot of familiar music, and the harmonies are spectacular. Roger Bean writes harmonically really well, and there is a storyline so that it's not just a review of music.”
In addition to the title song, “Life Could Be a Dream (Sh-Boom)”, the show features such renowned doo-wop standards as “Unchained Melody,” “Duke of Earl” (Gene Chandler), “I Only Have Eyes for You” (The Flamingos), “Tears on My Pillow” (Little Anthony and The Imperials) and “Runaround Sue” (Dion).
The musical is at the Music & Arts Community Center in Fort Myers March 18 through April 4.
MORE INFORMATION:
Doo-wop originated in the 1940s, becoming one of the Black community’s greatest artistic exports, especially in cities like New York, Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. It evolved from rhythm and blues, swing and the vocal tradition of barbershop music (another genre thought of as "white" that has Black American roots).
Doo-wop redefined the concept of vocal harmony, turning a capella singing into a pop chart mainstay. The songs are melodramatic, filled with nonsense syllables and lyrics about love, both unrequited and long-lasting.
Doo-wop had a profound influence on rock ‘n’ roll, Motown, soul, and even proto-punk (Lou Reed, Jonathan Richman) and punk (the Ramones) artists.
Doo-wop reached its commercial apex between 1957 and 1963, taking songs from the ‘30s such as “Blue Moon” and “Heart and Soul,” and transforming them into bubblegum hits that retained much of their Tin Pan Alley origins.
The Ink Spots are credited with pioneering doo-wop. With songs like “I Didn’t Care” and “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire,” they slowed the pace of swing time with easy-going production and instrumentation.
Thanks to groups like the Orioles and the Spaniels, doo-wop music surged in popularity in Chicago and Detroit in the ‘50s. Acts including the Penguins, the Cadillacs and the Flamingos later helped shoulder the genre into the auspices of popular culture.
Some of the top groups and songs from the genre include:
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” helped make the Platters the greatest doo-wop group of all time. Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach wrote the song for a 1930s musical (“Roberta”). When the Platters sang it in 1958 for Mercury Records, the pop world changed. It was a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 and was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. No group bridged the gap between Tin Pan Alley and rock ‘n’ roll like the Platters, whose other hits included “The Great Pretender,” “Only You (And You Alone)” and “My Prayer."
“Life Could Be a Dream (Sh-Boom)” is sometimes considered the first doo-wop or rock ‘n’ roll record to reach the top 10 on the pop charts (as opposed to the R&B charts), as it was a top-10 hit that year for both the Chords (who first recorded the song) and the Crew-Cuts. In 2004, it was ranked No. 215 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".
“Maybe” was released by The Chantels in December 1957. It was the first time a girl group charted a big hit. It reached No. 2 on the R&B chart in ‘58. It was made even more famous when Janis Joplin covered it on her 1969 album “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!” Other Chantels’ hits include “Lookin My Eyes” and “He’s Gone.”
“Love Potion No. 9” by The Clovers reached No. 23 on the U.S. charts. It’s been remade over the years, by the Searchers, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and the Coasters.
“Why Do Fools Fall in Love” was the debut single from Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. The track went to No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 6 on the pop singles chart, turning the Teenagers into an overnight sensation. The Teenagers were notably popular because they were one of the few active groups whose choreography rivaled their harmonies.
Some other notable hits from the doo-wop musical canon include:
- “16 Candles,” by Johnny Maestro & the Crests;
- “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” by The Tokens;
- “Teenager in Love,” by Dion & The Belmonts;
- “Pretty Little Angel Eyes,” by Curtis Lee; and
- “This Magic Moment,” by The Drifters.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
