[Ads-l] Further Antedating of "Doo Wop"

[Ben Zimmer]

Thanks for tracking that one down, Fred. Wilson Gray shared that citation
back in 2010, as it appeared in Anthony J. Gribin and Matthew M. Schiff's
1992 book _Doo-Wop_:

https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-February/097101.html

It's not available on ProQuest, but I'm glad Newspapers.com has it. It's
from Chuck Davis Jr.'s "Platters" column in the Defender's "Younger Set"
section, which appeared in the weekend edition. (ProQuest apparently only
has the weekday edition of the Defender from that era.) Here's the clipping:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-defender-a-real-doo-wop/187008485/

--bgz


On Wed, Dec 17, 2025 at 5:17 PM Shapiro, Fred <
00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> doo wop (OED 1969)
>
> 1961 Chicago Defender 18-24 Mar. 25/1 (Newspapers.com)
>
> A real doo-wop like those of many years ago, is making the scene but big
> in Chi-town and the Calumet area.  "BLUE MOON" by the Marsels is a wild jam
> that will be a stone hit.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>

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