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Why do we love nonsense syllables in pop music? I’ve included a lot of what is known as “Doo Wop” songs in this playlist, but there are more electronic and african songs that use this technique also. Doo Wop is an African American art form that emerged in the 1940s. If you couldn’t afford a band back then, the backing singers could provide both harmonies and rhythm by repeating these syllables. Maybe surprisingly, it’s often the nonsense syllables that become the hook... the most memorable part of the song. It’s often the sha-la’s, and bop-shoo-bops that we sing along to. It’s incredibly catchy, and of course it spread well beyond the African American community… even back to Africa and Cuba (check out vocal group Los Zafiros!- The Sapphires).
-DB
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