Doo Wop

The Crests were a New York R&B and  doo wop group, who were popular in the 1950s and early 1960s. Their most successful song was “16 Candles,” which charted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 and remains an  all-time classic doo wop song. It sold over one million copies, earning an RIAA Gold Record. Their next hit single, which was “The Angels Listened In,” made its debut in August of 1959 and peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The recording is considered by aficionados to be one of hottest from The Crests, thanks to Johnny Maestro’s great lead vocal. Group members on this song are Johnny Maestro (Mastrangelo), J.T. Carter, Talmadge “Tommy” Gough, and Harold Torres.

Over the years, there were numerous personnel changes (it’s a fluid business) as people left and were replaced. Just to name a few of the changes are the following iterations. At one point early in their history, Patricia Van Dross, sister of R&B legend Luther Vandross, was a member. Maestro went on to a solo career in 1961 and then joined the Del Satins. They merged with The Rhythm Method and became Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge.

Here are the lyrics to “The Angels Listened In” by The Crests:

The angels listened in, when they heard me praying
The angels listened in, when they heard me saying
“Please send me someone to love
Send the one I’m thinking of.”
My darling, the angels sent you

The angels listened in, when they heard me crying
The angels listened in, there’s no denying
They sent one with lovely charms
One who really thrills my arms,
My darling, the angels sent you.

I searched everywhere
Just to find someone who cares
They came down to interrupt
Just as I had given up.

The angels listened in and brought you near me
The angels listened in, I love them dearly.
They gave me the whole wide world
Wrapped up in one little girl,
My darling, the angels sent you.

To read about the story of The Crests: “A Conversation with The Crests’s JT Carter.” For more songs by The Crests: “The Angels Listened In,” “Trouble in Paradise,” and “Sixteen Candles.”
For More Golden Oldies Music                

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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