LEHMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS presents
The Third Annual Best of DOO WOP!
ROCK & ROLL IS HERE TO STAY!
Featuring Charlie Thomas’ Drifters, The Platters, Shirley Alston Reeves,
Chiffons, The Coasters and Good Vibrations
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts presents the third annual return of New York’s best DOO WOP concert ROCK & ROLL IS HERE TO STAY for another night of oldies and fun featuring this timeless music’s leading singers and legendary musical groups on Saturday, January 23rd, 2016 at 8pm. The all-star evening of finger-snappin’, foot-tappin’, sing-along classic hits will include CHARLIE THOMAS’ DRIFTERS (“Under the Boardwalk”), THE PLATTERS (“My Prayer”), former lead singer of the Shirelles SHIRLEY ALSTON REEVES (“Soldier Boy”), CHIFFONS (“One Fine Day”), THE COASTERS (“Charley Brown”), and the Beach Boys Tribute Band GOOD VIBRATIONS (“I Get Around” and “Surfin USA”). Hosted by Sal Abbatiello of Fever Records and radio personality Johnny Z. DJ Conchi who will be playing the classics throughout the night. Produced by Lehman Center and Sal Abbatiello.
DOO WOP emerged from the streets of New York City and Philadelphia and rose as a unique African-American vocal style in the mid-1950’s. Doo Wop’s smooth harmonies spread to singing groups of other ethnicities, such as the Capris and The Belmonts. The term “doo wop” was taken from the ad-lib syllables sung in harmony in these songs such as the plaintive “doo-wop” refrain featured in the bridge of The 5 Satins’ “In the Still of the Night”. “Doo Wop” and a range of “oldies” music are celebrated by musicians and audiences worldwide as distinctive American sounds.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for the ROCK & ROLL IS HERE TO STAY CONCERT on Saturday, January 23rd, 2016 at 8pm are $55, $50, and $45and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Friday, 10am–5pm and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through 24-hour online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking is available for $5.
CHARLIE THOMAS’ DRIFTERS features original Drifters member Charlie Thomas, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000. The Drifters’ sound evolved from a rockin’ R&B style to the smooth-as-silk vocal approach Charlie Thomas has used to mesmerize audiences world-wide since the group formed in 1958. The Drifters have had over fifteen Top 40 hits, beginning with “There Goes My Baby” followed by “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “Up on the Roof,” “On Broadway” and “Under the Boardwalk.”
THE PLATTERS formed in L.A. in 1953 and have had numerous Top 10 hits including “My Own True Love,” “With This Ring/My Prayer,” “The Magic Touch,” “Twilight Time,” “Harbor Lights,” “To Each His Own” and “If I Didn’t Care.” They have recorded nearly 400 songs, selling over 89 million records and have performed in over 90 countries. Having appeared in 27 movies, their three songs on the American Graffiti soundtrack “Only You,” “The Great Pretender” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” helped fuel the early 1973’s oldies revival. In 1990, the Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
SHIRLEY ALSTON REEVES is the former lead singer of The Shirelles, the vocal group credited as the originators of the “Girl Group Sound.” Hailing from Passaic, New Jersey, the group rose to fame with their 1960 single “Tonight’s the Night”. Their next recording, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, went on to become the first Billboard #1 hit by a girl group. Many more hit singles quickly followed including their cover of “Dedicated to the One I Love”, “Mama Said”, “Baby It’s You” and the incredible classic “Soldier Boy”. The Shirelles were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
The CHIFFONS, one of the fabulous Sixties girl-groups, formed in 1960 when the girls were high school classmates in the Bronx. Their first hit, early 1963’s “He’s So Fine”, with the now famous nonsensical “doo lang, doo lang doo lang” opening, reached #1 on both the R&B and Pop charts. That same year, they released three more hit songs: “One Fine Day”, “A Love So Fine” and “I Have a Boyfriend”. Known for their tight harmonies, “Tonight I Met an Angel” and “What Am I Gonna Do With You” soon followed. Their last big hit was 1966’s “Sweet Talkin’ Guy”.
THE COASTERS, an R&B group originally formed in 1955 in Los Angeles, California, occupy a special niche in the music world. With ten Top 40 hits like “Young Blood,” “Along Came Jones,” “Poison Ivy,” “Charley Brown” and “Yakety Yak,” they were called “the clown princes of rock and roll” and were the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. The Coasters’ current line-up were all hand-picked by the group’s original lead singer Carl Gardner before his death in 2011 and are managed by Veta Gardner, Carl’s wife. In November 2015, The Coasters relsead their latest album: Christmas with the Coasters.
GOOD VIBRATIONS, formed five years ago of industry veteran vocalists, is considered the top Beach Boys Tribute Band and performs all the favorite Beach Boys hits like “I Get Around,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Fun Fun Fun” and “Help Me Rhonda.”
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2015-2016 season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through corporations, foundations and private donations.
