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silkcitydoowop silk city jon rich warren tesoro wayne santiago shelly buchansky les levine ugha keepin it real acappella dowop doo wops silkcitydoowop
SILK CITY is one of Manhattan's finest acappella vocal groups specializing in the group harmony sound of the 50's and early 60's. This dynamic doo-wop group has performed throughout the metropolitan area at a variety of nightclubs, restaurants, oldies shows, and every type of private, public, and corporate function. Not only have the New York Times, New York Newsday, the Bergen Record, the Star-Ledger, and the Hartford Courant written about this exciting group, but SILK CITY has also been the subject of a television news segment on WABC-TV. Of special note, this group has had the distinct honor of being the first acappella doo-wop group to perform in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. And back some twenty-plus years ago, when the group was first establishing itself in the group harmony scene, SILK CITY also had the honor of being presented with the Gus Gossert Memorial Award after being voted the best new vocal group by the members of the United in Group Harmony Association (U.G.H.A.), the largest organization of doo-wop music enthusiasts in the country.
Starting out as a loose collection of friends who all worked in midtown Manhattan and who shared a love for the group harmony sound, SILK CITY emerged as its members began to meet regularly during their lunch hours to sing their favorite tunes at a subway entrance on the corner of West 50th Street and Broadway. Their unique singing style—a style that integrated a raw, spontaneous, "streetcorner" feeling with rich, powerful, harmony and professional polish—developed quickly and caused quite a stir with the midtown crowds that gathered to listen. As a result of this rather informal public exposure, they soon found themselves repeatedly called upon to perform professionally around the tri-state area, and as they did so, they embellished their soulful vocal style with an exhilarating and highly entertaining stage presentation. Their popularity continued to grow, and during the 80’s and 90’s, they performed regularly in concerts and oldies shows alongside every major oldies act in the country, including such groups as the Drifters, the Platters, the Five Satins, the Coasters, the Cadillacs, and Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Currently, the group has evolved as an active ensemble of both original members as well as some of the most experienced and versatile doo-wop singers around. SILK CITY always performs as a five-man group in the classic streetcorner harmony configuration, but it draws upon a larger membership pool of doo-wop veterans who have or have had affiliations with such classic groups as the Del Vikings, Vito and the Salutations, the Five Discs, the Dubs, Kenny Vance and the Planotones, Norman Fox and the Robroys, and even the legendary Persuasions. It’s often said that SILK CITY is the only doo-wop group that has the caliber of talent to attract into its fold some of the finest vocal group harmony professionals in the industry today, bringing them back to their acappella streetcorner roots.
However, in addition to being a showcase of superior vocal talent, SILK CITY is also an exceedingly entertaining act, uniting spontaneous fun and off-the-cuff humor with reverential renderings of the great songs of the era in a way that only mature performance artists can do. It’s not surprising that in more recent years, SILK CITY has found a large audience base performing in cabaret settings, supper clubs, and other venues where interactive skills with a wide range of audience members are so important. No one leaves a SILK CITY performance without hearing and being moved by exceptionally powerful singing, feeling part of a large and friendly family gathering, and having a hell of a lot of fun in the process. But don’t just take anyone’s word for it—ask people like Madonna and Demi Moore. They’ve been swept away by the SILK CITY experience, too!
This SILK CITY website provides a lot of useful information about the group. It includes press reviews, photos, videos, and a few studio recordings from Silk City—Keepin’ It Real: Soulful Acappella Doo Wop, the highly-acclaimed new SILK CITY CD on the Clifton Music label. SILK CITY can be reached directly by calling lead singer Jon Rich at (212) 586-3873 or by e-mailing him at silkcitydoowop@aol.com. He will gladly provide information, press kits, and demos, as well as arrange bookings for any musical venue. Accompanying DJ services are also available as part of a larger entertainment package.
