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"Singing Through Barriers: Doo-Wop and the Sound of Social Change in 1950s New York"
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Benmergui, Leandro D.
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Spring 2025
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2025
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9853_Sam_Saltzman.pdf
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The project explores the emergence of doo-wop music in postwar New York City with a focus on the Bronx as a youth cultural expression developed during racial segregation and economic inequality. During the 1950s, young people from different racial backgrounds and social classes formed vocal harmony groups at schools and churches along with other local institutions. Through oral histories alongside televised performances and academic research, as well as archival materials, this study demonstrates that doo-wop music reflected transformative urban social dynamics beyond being a form of entertainment. The research examines important development sites of this music genre found at Morris High School and St. Anthony of Padua School. This section examines how integrated music groups such as Norman Fox and the Rob-Roys operated together with Black and Italian American musical interactions and assesses the impact of Black female groups, including The Chantels and The Shirelles. This research builds upon Matthew Pessar Joseph's studies of interracial male groups by adding a focus on gender dynamics and the impact of local institutions within specific spaces. This research examines how radio broadcasts, television programs, and independent recording companies enabled neighborhood music to enter mainstream culture while demonstrating its ability to question and reshape social divisions in New York during the 1950s.
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