The President of Dante Productions’, Ms. Kristen Smith requested the assistance of Mr. Free Spirit in the research and niche development of a music mecca in Central Florida. During a conference call the terms retirement and Silver citizens were used frequently. Mr. Free Spirit zeroed in on those words and determined catering to that demographic was important. Additionally, the discussion centered around the loss of entertainment for people in Central Florida in many retirement communities. Hence came a study of the Doo-Wop era. Some of you don’t know what Doo-Wop is, so let’s start from there:

Doo-wop is a genre of rhythm and blues music that was developed in African-American communities in the East Coast of the United States in the 1940s, achieving mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. Built upon vocal harmony, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented styles of the time. Singer Bill Kenny is often called the “Godfather of Doo-wop” for his introducing the “top and bottom” format which featured a high tenor singing the lead and a singer reciting the lyrics in the middle of the song. Doo-wop features vocal group harmony, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little or no instrumentation, and simple music and lyrics.

The first hit record to use the syllables “doo-wop” was probably “When You Dance” by The Turbans in 1955.^[2] The term “doo-wop” first appeared in print in 1961. During the late 1950s many Italian-American groups contributed a significant part in the doo-wop scene. The peak of doo-wop was in 1961. Doo-wop’s influence continued in soul, pop, and rock groups of the 1960s. At various times in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the genre has seen revivals. Doo-wop was a precursor to many of the African-American musical styles seen today. Evolved from pop, jazz and blues, doo-wop also influenced many of the major rock and roll groups that defined the later decades of the 20th century. Doo-wop is iconic for its swing-like beats and using the off-beat to keep time. Doo-wop laid the foundation for many musical innovations.

Mr. Free Spirit developed a marketing plan based on the demographic’s currently residing in central FL. this plan used the average retirement age to base the genre of music to be addressed.  After some months of development, a stair-step plan was implemented to develop a test bed for success.

Below is the first step in the move: