Hobart and William Smith Colleges

18 July 2008 Discovering Doo Wop

Hobart alumnus Rich Maloof 88 traces music back to its beginnings in the recently released coffee table book, Doo Wop: The Music, the Times, the Era. The book traces the music, popular culture and politics of the transformative 50s, revealing the roots of the explosive 60s. Illustrated with photographs, posters, album and magazine covers, lyrics, and more, Doo Wop reveals the musical and cultural history behind an era that transformed American culture. Each chapter concentrates on one year and explores the events of the times, covering everyone from The Drifters and Marlon Brando to Bridgette Bardot and Marilyn Monroe. When it comes to doo wop, Morrow leaves no stone unturned as he traces the music back to its roots, wrote Publishers Weekly in a review of the book. While the music history is the driving force behind this coffee-table tome, its the cultural asides on topics as diverse as the eras people, places, sports, politics, kitsch and entertainment that will take readers back to Americas golden age. Maloof graduated from Hobart with a B.A. in English. He has worked at Cherry Lane Music Company and as editor for Guitar Magazine. Currently, living in New York City, he is guitarist for the band Still Trust and is an independent editor. In 2002, Maloof co-authored The Blues-Rock Masters Backbeat Books. Doo Wop: The Music, the Times, the Era is now available at the College Store.