The Third Annual Philadelphia Doo Wop Festival took place on
August 9, 2008 at Penn’s Landing. It was another enjoyable show blessed
with majestic weather. The show was once again held to benefit the
Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service & Educational Center. Charlie and I
arrived a little late but we heard that the Street Corner Five opened the
show with a great medley of The Dubs’ “Don’t Laugh at Me’ and “No One”.
Some of the acts were more “Oldies” oriented and not exactly
Doo Wop. Ed Marra sang a Buddy Holly tribute. Billy Harner, a Philly
institution, sang a long but energetic set. He did all his Philly favorites
including “She’s Almost You” and “Sally Sayin’ Somethin’.” Frankie Lafaro,
a veteran of many doo wop groups, sang a great solo medley of Sinatra
songs. Billy Carlucci from Billy and the Essentials sang with a back-up
track. He sounded fabulous. He did his renowned version of “Maybe You’ll
Be There” and closed with “The Dance is Over”.
Many doo wop groups returned from previous years. John Jones
and the Norristones were back this year for another great performance. Now
and Then (with Brian Utain from The Temptones) were also back and sounding
first class. Reunion from the Jersey Shore and always superb was back for a
third year. Cornerstone with Golden Voice Harry did a lengthy set of
diverse material, including a Motown medley. I especially liked their
version of The Cornelius Brothers’ “It’s Too Late To Turn Back Now”. They
looked and sounded great in peach colored vested suits and white shoes.
The
Continentals strikingly dressed in red jackets with white pants and shoes,
now contain a former member of the Shells. They opened up with “Picture of
Love” and moved on to “Baby Oh Baby”, singing all their big songs except
“Dear Lord.” It seems they ran out of time. "Baby Oh Baby," a
Shells' tune was appropriate since Continentals' Richard Green had been an
original member of the Shells. The Continentals' bass-led, show-stopping
song, “If You Didn’t Mean It,” was sung by Bill Carey. He had previously
been with the Four Fellows (Triboro label), Victorians (Selma
label) and more recently with The Danleers. Harold Gill of the group
had previously been with the Jive Five. Lead, Danny Hicks and the
entire group were happy to take photos with us.
The headliners of the show were The Skyliners from
Pittsburgh. They’ve had along career and this year marks their 50th
anniversary. Jimmy Beaumont talked about how he sang on The Alan Freed
stage shows. They opened their set with the standard “Pennies From
Heaven”. Donna Groom did the lead on “I Can Dream Can’t I.” After an
enjoyable performance, they ended with “Since I don’t Have You”.
Hosting the show were Lou Costello of 92.1 WVLT and King
Arthur of WNJC (1360 AM) in Camden, NJ and
www.destinationdoowop.com . Philadelphia
radio personality Harvey Holiday also made a guest appearance on stage.
All in all it was fabulous day attending the concert, seeing
old cars and getting together with old friends.
Click on Photos to Enlarge! Then click Back Arrow to return to the
Gallery.
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2008 Philly Doo Wop Festival
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The Skyliners
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Pam & Skyliners' lead Jimmy Beaumony
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Skyliners' Jimmy Beaumont & Charlie
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Danny Hicks & Continentals
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L->R: Continentals' Bill Carey, Harold Gill, Richard Green, Pam, Danny Hicks
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Continentals' Danny Hicks & Charlie
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Charlie & Pam Horner
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Golden Voice Harry (right) and Cornerstone
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Cornerstones' Golden Voice Harry & Charlie
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Pam & Golden Voice Harry
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John Jones & the Norristones
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Frankie Lafaro
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Pam & Frankie Lafaro
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Charlie & Frankie Lafaro
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Billy Carlucci of Billy & the Essentials
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Charlie, Street Corner 5's Jim Bakay & Bill Hyde of Frankie & the Fashions
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Pam, Jim Bakay & Bill Hyde
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Reunion
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Billy Harner
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Eddie Natale and Charlie
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Pam & Vintage Cars
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Charlie, Pam & Smitty of Quiet Storm
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To see a review and photos of the First Annual Philly Doo
Wop Festival in 2006, click
Here.
Copyright © 2008, Classic Urban Harmony LLC. All
Rights Reserved.
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