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Curator's tour: Doo-Wop in D.C.

Beverly Lindsay-Johnson, curator and Executive Director of the African American Music Association, will walk visitors through the summer exhibit Doo-Wop in D.C.: from the Street Corner to the Stage.

Did you know that, during the 'boom years' of the 1940s and 1950s, there were many pop vocal group emerging from Washington’s segregated high schools? The late Lawrence Berry, a vocal group coach, promoter, and mentor, once noted that there were hundreds of groups singing in Washington by the late 1950s. From D.C.'s early vocal group tradition starting in the 1800s, through the 'boom years' of the 1940s and 1950s and beyond, come learn more about the evolution of Doo-Wop Music, and view memorabila from iconic and beloved doo-wop groups across the decades. The Cap-Tans, The Clovers, the Rainbows, and The Velons are just a few of the well-known examples from the District who entertained generations of fans.

Beverly Lindsay-Johnson, curator and Executive Director of the African American Music Association, will walk visitors through the summer exhibit Doo-Wop in D.C.: from the Street Corner to the Stage, on view in the MLK Library's Great Hall through July 23. Please join us to learn about the history of this important musical form, and visit the exhibit website to learn more. 

The tour meets near the exhibit (MLK Library, Great Hall, East) at noon. Registration is suggested.

About the Exhibit

In a powerful tribute to the original pioneers of early Rhythm and Blues of the late 1940s through the early 1960s, The African American Music Association in partnership with the Atlanta Doo-Wop Association presents Doo-Wop in D.C.: From the Street Corner to the Stage. The exhibit features photographs and memorabilia from Doo-Wop music vocal groups, solo artists, and gospel harmony groups whose harmonies ushered in the sounds of early Rhythm and Blues during the late 1940s into the early 1960s, in celebration of the many Doo-Wop groups out of Washington, D.C. whose footprints are part of the architecture of Doo-Wop music.

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