Doo wop artists do it for the fans.Byline: Jim Feehan The Register-Guard Sitting in his room at the Eugene Hilton on Saturday, Tony Passalaqua was relieved to discover that his home north of Daytona Beach Daytona Beach (dātō`nə), city (1990 pop. 61,921), Volusia co., NE Fla., on the Atlantic coast and Halifax River (a lagoon); inc. 1876. Center of a rapidly urbanizing area, in a region settled by Spanish Franciscans in the 17th cent. , Fla., had survived Hurricane Charley This article is about the Atlantic hurricane of 2004; for other storms named Hurricane Charley, see Hurricane Charley (disambiguation). Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. . One of the four members of the Legends of Doo Wop, who concluded the 2004 Oregon Festival of American Music's 10-day celebration of "The Fabulous Fifties" series Saturday night at the Cuthbert Amphitheater, Passalaqua was monitoring news broadcasts of Hurricane Charley. He found out his home was blanketed by tree debris from Charley's wrath. Two million Floridians were evacuated Friday as the ferocious hurricane packing winds of 145 mph ripped through the Sunshine State. "The hurricane passed right by my home. But I still don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. about my car, which is parked at the airport in Orlando," he said. Three thousand miles away, Passalaqua, 63, and fellow Legends of Doo Wop member Steve Horn, 57, planned to bicycle along the Willamette River Willamette River River, northwestern Oregon, U.S. It flows north for 300 mi (485 km) into the Columbia River near Portland. Oregon's most populous cities are in its valley. The Fremont Bridge, a steel arch with a main span of 1,225 ft (373 m), crosses the river at Portland. prior to their performance's sound check. Passalaqua, Horn and the other two members of the vocal quartet, Frank Mancuso For other uses, see Frank Mancuso (disambiguation). Frank Octavius Mancuso (May 23, 1918 - August 4, 2007) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played for two teams between 1944 and 1947. Listed at 6' 0", 195 lb., Mancuso batted and threw right handed. and Jimmy Gallagher, each 63, were all raised in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . The four cut their musical teeth singing for a variety of early rhythm and blues-inspired rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. bands. But the term "doo wop" - which may be best described as nonsensical syllables and other vocalizations - didn't exist when the music form was at its zenith in the late 1950s and early '60s. "In 1975, Gus Gossert, a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of disc jockey, coined the phrase based on the constant repetition of 'doo-wop' in so many of the songs," Horn said, in his booming basso profundo voice. The music traces its lineage back to African-American gospel quartets of the 1930s and '40s, as well as to jazz and blues. Otis Redding and Chuck Berry help define the form, Gallagher said. The music captured the imagination of Italian, Puerto Rican and other immigrants in the inner cities along the Atlantic Seaboard, Gallagher said. "You know, I'm the only Irishman in doo wop," the Brooklyn-born tenor said. The New Yorkers would individually move to Florida in the 1970s. They formed the Legends of Doo Wop in 1998. Nearly 50 years after its heyday, the music still resonates with audiences today, Mancuso said. The group's 1999 PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, special, "Doo Wop 50," raised $250 million during a pledge drive for the public TV network. The amount is a fund-raising record, eclipsing a PBS special featuring the Three Tenors, Mancuso said. Touring Europe last year, the quartet was encouraged to find teen-age German boys forming doo wop bands. Performing up to 70 shows a year, Mancuso said he still gets a kick out of performing on stage "I enjoy seeing people's reaction to our singing. It gives me new energy," he said. |
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