NJPAC to Present Richard Nader's 27th Annual Summer Doo Wop Concert This June

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) located at 1 Center Street in Newark, New Jersey is proud to present for the first time Richard Nader's 27th Annual Summer Doo Wop Concert.

The Doo Wop stellar line up includes Charlie Thomas' DRIFTERS "Save the Last Dance for Me" "Under the Boardwalk", THE DUPREES "You Belong To Me" "Have You Heard", Lou christie "Lightnin' Strikes" "Two Faces Have", Shirley Alston Reeves, The original lead of THE SHIRELLES "Soldier Boy" "Mama Said", Jay Siegel's TOKENS"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" "Portrait of My Love", Tommy Mara and THE CRESTS "16 Candles" "The Angels Listened In" and special Guest LADD VANCE son of KENNY VANCE.

This will be an afternoon of classic Doo Wop and 1950s rock 'n' roll at it's very best on Sunday, June 5th, 2016 at 3PM. Be sure to reserve your tickets on Friday, October 30, 2015 at 10:00am at NJPAC.org or 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).

Charlie Thomas' DRIFTERS ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER (1988) Charlie Thomas was a member of a group known as the Five Crowns in 1958 along with Ben Earl Nelson (later known as Ben E. King), who were being managed by Lover Patterson.

While the Five Crowns met with little commercial success, they enjoyed local popularity and that is why they were on the bill at the Apollo Theater in New York City in 1958 when George Treadwell fired his famous group, The Drifters. It was Charlie Thomas' voice that Treadwell heard and hastily recruited the Crowns to become the new Drifters.

Lover Patterson once said that Charlie Thomas' voice was one that the world would enjoy forever, and he was right!

The new Drifters first release in 1959 was a song called "There Goes My Baby". This was the beginning of what is generally acknowledged as the Golden Years of the Drifters.

In 1988, Charlie Thomas, along with other original members, Doc Green, Ben E. King and Elsbery Hobbs were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

The Duprees are known the world over for their romantic interpretations of the most beautiful love songs ever written. They have made a career out of giving new life to old hits. Starting out in the early sixties, in Jersey City, New Jersey, The Duprees were discovered by George Paxton of Coed Records and former big band leader. Impressed with their smooth vocal quality, he had them record Jo Stafford's 1950's ballad "You Belong To Me" with Big Band arrangements. It was an instant national hit and the group's first Million Seller. The unmistakable sound was born and the hits kept coming: 1962 You Belong To Me · 1962 My Own True Love · 1963 Gone With The Wind · 1963 Take Me As I Am · 1963 Why Don't You Believe Me · 1963 Have You Heard · 1963 Love Eyes · 1963 It's No Sin · 1963 The Sand And The Sea · 1964 It Isn't Fair · 1966 Let Them Talk · 1966 Exodus.

About Lou christie - Lou christie's chart topping, multi-million selling career as a songwriter, recording artist, and performer started in a two-track studio in Glenwillard Pennsylvania, his rural hometown near Pittsburgh. Lou's first million selling song, THE GYPSY CRIED, transformed a local choirboy, Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco, into Lou christie - national teen idol, while still a teenager himself.

Over the decade of the 1960's Lou followed success with greater success. TWO FACES HAVE I was his next big hit featuring his stratospheric falsetto. LOU forever embedded himself and his uniquely talented voice into America's consciousness with his number 1 multi-million selling success LIGHTNING STRIKES. LOU'S chart topping success continued with two more million selling hits, RHAPSODY IN THE RAIN and I'M GONNA MAKE YOU MINE. RHAPSODY'S success was fueled by the fact that it was the first song banned on the radio due to its suggestive lyrics.

LOU was more than just your average teen idol. He was one of the decade's first singer-songwriters. Together with his eccentric collaborator, Twyla Herbert, LOU co-wrote nearly all of his songs. Twyla, nearly 30 years LOU'S senior, was a classically trained musician. It was the perfect partnership since LOU had no formal musical training.

Shirley Alston Reeves (The Shirelles) - All time Shirelle favorites include "Tonight's The Night," "Baby It's You," the soulful "This Is Dedicated To The One I Love," "Foolish Little Girl," and the group's 5 million-album selling hit "Soldier Boy."

Jay Siegel and the Tokens Young men singing Doo Wop in high school bathrooms and on street corners across New York City was hardly extraordinary in the late 50s and early 60s. What is extraordinary, though, is the incredible feat that one of those groups from Brooklyn has accomplished.

First breaking onto the pop charts in 1961, THE TOKENS got back on the charts in the 1990s and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in 2004.

THE TOKENS continue to distinguish themselves with the second-longest chart span in the history of Rock & Roll. More than 30 years after the debut of their first big hit, "TONIGHT I FELL IN LOVE", they re-emerged on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in August, 1994, following the re-release of their chart-topping single, "THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT." Making the statistic even more impressive, the South African folk song "Wimoweh," which inspired THE TOKENS' song that went to #1 worldwide, first charted 42 years earlier. No other song title can claim that longevity.

About Tommy Mara - Some people are just born to sing and it sure didn't take Tommy Mara long to find his voice.
As a boy, he sang classic hits such as "More" while his grandmother played piano. He'd sing whatever his grandmother wanted him to sing, and even wore a fedora.

But Mara didn't limit himself to his grandmother's favorite Frank Sinatra songs, as he quickly moved on to rock, playing drums and singing in a high school rock band. Music flowed naturally for Mara, as it went from being a hobby to a serious career. The Italian singer from Brooklyn easily made the transition from Battle of the Bands to wedding bands, and then being in all kinds of rock groups, including southern rock. But it was doo-wop that "rang like a bell" for Mara and because of his dynamic vocals, he became known as "The Pavarotti of Doo Wop."
Mara left Brooklyn to move to Florida and in the 1990s; he joined the Saints and changed the name to "Tommy and the Saints."

And in 2000, Mara joined The Crests, which was formerly led by the late Johnny Maestro, who later sang lead for The Brooklyn Bridge. Mara called the act, "The Crests, featuring the Voice of Tommy Mara" because he didn't want anyone to think he was portraying Johnny Maestro.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is among the largest performing arts centers in the United States and is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey - where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state's and the world's best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted more than 9 million visitors (including over 1.5 million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. Visit njpac.org or call 1-888-GO-NJPAC for more information.

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