If you like vocal harmonizing - mighty marvellows

[sunshineonacloudyday]

For me the "out of tune and off key" style is precisely the charm and appeal of this early Doo-Wop to Soul era. The lesser-known artists and groups were real people from down the street, unaffected by stardom, and free of slick production gadgetry to make them sound better. I suppose Soul Sister is right--you had to "be there" at the time and hear the groups grow and evolve. Check out this early tune from The Intruders. [[brace yourself for the ending Kamasu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p9DdT0foTI

Compare that song to "I Wanna Know Your Name" from a decade later.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cFh-nkRxzos

Much more sophisticated production-wise, yet Little Sonny still threatens to go off key at any moment, lol. He even flubs the lyrics, "...I'll drop you at the hou...the doorstep" [[I LOVE that Gamble & Huff had the wisdom not to 'fix' it). By the end of the 70s, the "Quiet Storm" era ushered in synthesizers and superstars like Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross to a broader audience [[and market). The voices and production were perfect. Too perfect for me.

[roger]

For me the "out of tune and off key" style is precisely the charm and appeal of this early Doo-Wop to Soul era. The lesser-known artists and groups were real people from down the street, unaffected by stardom, and free of slick production gadgetry to make them sound better.

Totally agree there sunshineonacloudyday .. I love a lot of those "big-production" records but sometimes nothing can beat simplicity .. check out this one from the early '70s ..



Strangely it was written and produced by J.R. Bailey and Ken Williams who did their fair share of "Big" productions for the likes of THE MAIN INGREDIENT around the same time ..

Roger