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Stormy
Weather celebrates reign of Doo-Wop
Chicago Tribune, By: Lynn Van Matre, Tribune
Staff Writer
Mellow
singer-songwriters like John Denver and hard-rock bands like Grand
Funk ruled the pop charts in 1974 the year Stormy Weather
solidified its lineup and hit the Chicago-area concert circuit.
But the young quintet from Northwest Indiana wasn't paying
attention to pop trends. Their hearts belonged to doo-wop, the
a cappella sound most often associated with the 1950s.
In 1997, Stormy
Weather, whose primary audience had been Baby Boomers, targeted a
radically different demographic group with "Doo-Wop &
Lollipops," an album of mostly "50's and "60's
songs aimed at children 4 to 9. "We didn't do the songs any
differently; it was flat-out doo-wop," Henry Farag said,
"A lot of people do children's songs that sound like songs
for children. We did what we usually do and just marketed it to a
different audience." The release was so successful that the
group released a follow-up, "Doo-Wop & Lollipops, Vol.
2," in 1998. Both albums won awards from national parents'
organizations.
Farag, after years of managing,
booking and promoting Stormy Weather himself out of economic
necessity, he now sees the hands-on approach as key to the group's
continued success.
The group has
licensed several songs to outside record labels, such as Rhino and
Ichiban, for inclusion on compilation albums. But they continue to
record for their own label, Street Gold Records. "We probably
could sign with a bigger label, but they wouldn't give the group
the same kind of attention that I do," Farag said.
The group landed
its initial Voice of America appearance after program host and
music director Judy Massa liked several Stormy Weather tapes Farag
sent her. Since then they have been featured in several
broadcasts. "They're a slice of Americana," Massa said.
"Doo-Wop music is part of the roots of rock 'n roll, and
Stormy Weather is carrying on an important tradition by keeping
the music alive."
Stormy Weather -
"Looking For An Echo": Silver Anthology Doo-Wop
Discoveries
Magazine,By: Ron Bally, disc
Reviews
One of the chief
proponent's of today's renewed interest in the acappella doo-wop
sound, the instrument-free vocal harmony format perfected on city
street corners in the late 1950's is the five-piece vocal ensemble
Stormy Weather from the Gary, Indiana area. Stormy Weather
celebrated their 25th anniversary, last year, delivering this
dandy collection of cover hits spanning their career.
Stormy Weather
should be applauded for upholding a vanishing musical idiom with
this commendable compilation honoring classic doo-wop vocal groups
of the '50's.
The Times
Sweet Harmony - Stormy Weather Delivers "Lollipops" with
youngsters in mind, By:
Christopher Sheid
Fans of
area singing group Stormy Weather may be surprised to learn that
their taste for the "doo-wop" group is one shared by many children
all across the country. Now the group has cut a new album, its
seventh, just for them.
Well, "Doo-Wop & Lollipops" isn't just for kids. Adult fans will
probably also enjoy this collection of 1950s and '60s favorites,
songs many of them will recognize from their own youth. Selections
include "The Banana Boat Song," "Alley-Oop," "Somewhere Over The
Rainbow," and "Hush-a-Bye."
Yet these innocent little tunes, because they have become an
ingrained part of American popular culture, should also be
familiar to the many children who will recognize them from movies,
TV shows and other sources.
Hence, Stormy Weather leader Henry Farag believes "Doo-Wop &
Lollipops" will bridge the taste gap that so often exists between
childhood and adult musical tastes.
"This is specifically geared to children," Farag said. "Yet it's
the same thing we do, anyway, and it's also geared to parents and
grandparents who can listen to it with their children.
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