I was a preteen in the 50s, and as I’ve posted before, my musical influences centered around the music my mom and dad listened to. There was a LOT of great music back then. Among my favorite types of music back then, and still today, were the male vocal groups. The blends of voices, the harmonies, and the sound all appealed to me.
Three male vocal groups of the period stand out, and I still treasure their sounds. They were The Ames Brothers, The Four Aces and The Four Lads. Each of them had a sound that was unique, yet it was part of something that would lead to greater things as time passed. It was these groups, their harmonies and presentations, that led to the later “doo-wop” movement which, in turn, led to rock ‘n’ roll.
As a matter of fact, some of the material originally performed by these three groups was later recorded by rock ‘n’ roll artists, and made popular all over again. For example, the song “For Your Precious Love,” by The Ames Brothers, was re-popularized not once, but twice, by Jerry Butler in the 60′s and again in the 70′s. “Tell Me Why” by The Four Aces was a hit later on by Dion & The Belmonts, and “Mister Sandman” was later re-done by The Chordettes.
I have put up a jukebox page featuring full-length tracks of 20+ songs by these three vocal groups – The Ames Brothers, The Four Aces and The Four Lads. All of the songs on that player are among my all-time favorites, and I hope you’ll enjoy listening to them.
Maybe you’ll re-discover some favorites of your own.
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