Nights At The Roundtable with Doo-Wop practitioners The Pentagons and their 1961 bubbling-under-the-hot-100 single "I Wonder".
September 26, 2011

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The Pentagons - Doo-Wop twilight before the dawn of Soul.


Something of a guilty pleasure tonight, and maybe this week. The Pentagons were probably one of the less known of the Doo-Wop avalanche that took place in pop music from the early 1950's to the early 1960's. But they did manage to get two chart singles under their collective belts before calling it a day. Tonight's track was a minor hit and their second, coming out in 1961, just as the pendulum was swinging in the direction of Soul. I Wonder (If your love will ever belong to me) has one characteristic of a later Soul trademark; strings. And for that, this track represents something of a bridge between a fading genre and an as-yet unexplored and exciting new one.

At any rate, it's something different for The Roundtable tonight. I haven't actually played anything representing the Doo-Wop period in a very long time and this track has been something of an overlooked little gem.

It may not change your life but it might be worth a listen. Can't hurt - two minutes and it's over. A trip to the Dentist takes longer.

Just sayin'.

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