It's with groups like the Velvet Angels that doo wop music gets really interesting, as well as frustrating. The very fact that they left behind at least 19 first-rate songs puts them in the front ranks of early-'60s singing groups. On the other hand, the reality that they never charted a record nationally, coupled with the fact that nobody seems to know precisely what finally happened to them, indicates just how ephemeral even the best doo wop music could be, outside of the ranks of the most fanatical hardcore collectors.
The Velvet Angels -- Robert Calhoun, Willie Hunter, J...