<p>This is the first episode of a 2-part series on the 1950s.  Part 1 focuses on some doo-wop classics by the Chords and the Penguins, while comparing  original recordings by Big Joe Turner, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, and others to popular cover versions by white groups such as the Crew Cuts, Les Baxter, Bill Haley and the Comets, and Elvis Presley. </p>

This is the first episode of a 2-part series on the 1950s. Part 1 focuses on some doo-wop classics by the Chords and the Penguins, while comparing original recordings by Big Joe Turner, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, and others to popular cover versions by white groups such as the Crew Cuts, Les Baxter, Bill Haley and the Comets, and Elvis Presley.

<p>This is the first episode of a 2-part series on the 1950s. &nbsp;Part 1 focuses on some doo-wop classics by the Chords and the Penguins, while comparing &nbsp;original recordings by Big Joe Turner, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, and others to popular cover versions by white groups such as the Crew Cuts, Les Baxter, Bill Haley and the Comets, and Elvis Presley.&nbsp;</p>

1950s Part 1: Doo-wop and Cover Versions

A lively discussion of the historical development and cultural contexts of African American music-making from early plantation songs and spirituals, to the emergence of 20th-century blues, gospel, and other black popular music styles.

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1950s Part 1: Doo-wop and Cover Versions

1950s Part 1: Doo-wop and Cover Versions