Philip Groia They All Sang On The Corner

I came across this book while searching Amazon. Groia's book looks at New York's R&B groups and is well worth picking up because it contains interviews with artists and a fine collection of photos.

The book opens on Halloween 1954 explaining the roots of R&B and the birth of groups such as The Ravens, Orioles, Five Keys and The Moonglows. The book moves on to the influence of gospel music on the development of the harmony groups such as Dominoes etc. Groia also looks at feamle groups of the period which have ben overlooked in the past such the Opals, Heartbeats etc. One of the most interesting chapters is on the groups that emanated from 115th Street in Harlem such as the Wanderers, Charts etc

If you want to read more about 50's R&B groups then I highly recommend Nikki Gustafson and Jim Dunn's Harmony Train which is a fascinating resource. Nikki and Jim also have 2 pages of book reviews providing information on 50's R&B.