Show time at the Projects

Before there was hip hop rap there was the projects do-wop. I remember my uncle and all of the teenagers gathering outside the building as soon as it turned dark out side. They would harmonize and try to sing like the Four Tops, Little Anthony, The Tempts and other popular male groups of the day. Sometimes they would sing their own songs. In away it was show time at the Apollo. There were several singing groups and they would each have a try. This all took place at the entrance of the building mind you, during the spring summer and fall sometimes winter if they were drunk enough to withstand the cold.

If a group would sound good people would yell out the window for some more popular song request. If they were lousy they got booed people would yell out of the window to tell them to shut up. It was funny! Some of the groups would get angry and tell people to go to hell and continue singing until people would throw things out of the window at them.