Update: Spencer Leigh's Could This Be Magic? has now been been published as an e-book and is available worldwide from UK amazon here and US amazon here.
This is to let readers know that the DJ and author Spencer Leigh has written a book about doo wop which will be published this Friday, 17th April.
The current crisis means that it will be issued initially in e-book form, although it's hoped a hard copy will be available later. I recently read an advance copy of the book, which is entitled Could It Be Magic?, and chatted to Spencer Leigh about it.
The book had been a passion project of his for some years but it had proven hard to get publishers interested. Studies of individual artists are arranged A-Z in the music section of bookshops and easy for prospective buyer to find; miscellaneous music books tend to be lumped together so are a less enticing proposition when it comes to being commissioned.
When the bookshops open again, as one day they must, music fans ought to seek this book out, and holler if they can't find it. Could It Be Magic? (named after a song by the Dubs) works on two levels. It's an engaging introduction to the genre for those who are "doo wop-curious" - wishing to find out more about the music but with no idea where to begin when faced with the bewildering array of recordings only a few clicks away. Such readers will find that Spencer wears his considerable knowledge lightly, and his enthusiasm will sweep them along.
But there's also a great deal here for those who know their Penguins from their Paragons. Spencer has been presenting a programme called On the Beat on BBC Radio Merseyside for 35 years, over which time he has conducted numerous interviews with singers and musicians, and this treasure trove of firsthand reminiscence has been freely drawn upon for the book. Little Anthony, for example, recalls first hearing the Flamingos' Golden Teardrops "and it was like they were from another planet". And others may have outlined kiddie doo wop star Frankie Lymon's rise and fall but who else has spoken to skiffler Chas McDevitt, who toured Britain with Frankie? There is a freshness and vividness about much of the detail here.
Spencer is not averse to slipping in the odd joke but is clearly writing with passion. He is especially proud of a chapter which examines doo wop in Britain, a subject which hasn't been covered elsewhere. "In those golden years from 1955 to 1962," he writes, "very few British acts could sing it with conviction, but there are striking exceptions and even more from later years." One notable example is Emile Ford and the Checkmates, "the UK’s first successful multi-racial band", whose revival of the old song What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me for? actually includes the words "doo wop" in the opening ("Doo-wop be dooby dooby ..."), and Spencer traces the two American singles which inspired the arrangement on the record.
The book is arranged in three sections, with that discussion of British doo wop at the end. First of all, however, there's an account of doo wop from its earliest origins right up to the present day. Spencer doesn't stop at the convenient cut-off point of 1963 and the Beatles but instead looks at how the style was carried on into Motown, influenced the Fabs themselves, and remains part of music today. This
is followed by four in-depth studies of influential performers: Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Dion and the Belmonts, the Coasters and the Prisonaires. More knowledgeable readers may raise an eyebrow at the last named as the Prisonaires are more associated with an older style of singing - but, as Spencer says, "Their story is so damned amazing and says so much about life for the American black population in the South, I just had to tell it."
Spencer is very clear in the book's introduction about what the book isn't. It's not a discography or a history of all the groups. Instead "it is a history of doo-wop told roughly chronologically so we can
follow the music as it progresses and see its highs and lows."
It's also good to see that he gives due weight to the importance of standards in doo wop groups' repertoire. An earlier book referred to doo wop as "The Forgotten Third of Rock'n'Roll", the other two components being country and blues. Spencer disagrees: "It is more like the forgotten quarter as the popular music of the day also played its part. After all, Elvis Presley's favourite singers were Dean Martin and Mario Lanza. Note too how the pre-war standards were revived by many of the new acts, especially the doo-woppers."
When a reviewer mentions that he read a book in a single sitting I am never sure whether that's an unqualified endorsement (couldn't tear myself away) or whether there might be an implied criticism (too short). Could It Be Magic? is a substantial book, so I don't think the average reader is likely to finish it in a single sitting. But if you're anything like me, you won't want to. I kept stopping in order to listen to forgotten or unfamiliar records online, and I know I'll return to the book later for more. As in his radio programme Spencer Leigh is an enthusiast who is able to transmit that enthusiasm, and a safe pair of hands.
At the end of our conversation I asked Spencer why he thought that doo wop has stayed around for so long. His answer was simple. It's direct music, so it hasn't dated in the way that some other genres have. And it's not reliant on sophisticated recording techniques, as evidenced by an all-time classic of the genre, the Five Satins' In the Still of the Nite, recorded in a chuch basement in Connecticut: "The drums came out as a dull thud and the sound was muffled and distorted but the result was doo-wop heaven." Now that really is magic.
Spencer Leigh's e-book Could This Be Magic? can be bought from UK amazon here and US amazon here.
The cost is $5 for US readers and £4.02 in the UK.
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