Sweet sounds of doo-wop coming to The Palace Theatre stage

There was something magical about those vocal harmony groups of the 1950s and ’60s.

Before the days of Auto-Tune and other recording studio wizardry, what they sang into the microphone was what came out on the record — and what they re-created in concert.

Maybe that sheer artistry and talent accounts for the continued interest in — and nostalgia for — those oldies but goodies.

An evening of musical magic in the form of classic doo-wop, soul and rhythm and blues comes to The Palace Theatre in Greensburg on March 15, with legendary groups Little Anthony and The Imperials, The Crystals and The Marcels.

“When we recorded ‘Blue Moon,’ it was three tracks — the band, the background and the lead singer,” says Walt Maddox, 82, a former member and now manager of The Marcels. “The technology moves so fast nowadays and it’s all about the visuals, but back in those days, you really had to sing.”

Loving and hugging

But there was something else that made the time period and the music it produced so special, he says.

“There will never be another time when the audience was so loyal to their favorites,” he says. “Come to our shows now, and everybody is still in the lobby loving and hugging on each other. It’s all about the memories. When you got to the ’70s, everybody was too stoned out to pay attention.”

“Blue Moon” was written in 1934 by musical theater composers Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, but it was The Marcels’ version that took the song to No. 1 on the Billboard 100 chart in 1961. It remains the Pittsburgh- based group’s signature hit.

The Marcels have performed many times over the years with the other two groups on the bill at The Palace, Maddox says.

“It’s probably been about a year since we saw Little Anthony,” he says.

Fronted by Jerome Anthony “Little Anthony” Gourdine, The Imperials’ string of hits includes songs like “Tears on My Pillow,” “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop,” “Goin’ Out of My Head” and “Hurt So Bad,” which has been covered by artists including Alicia Keys, Linda Ronstadt, The Lettermen, Nancy Wilson, Ramsey Lewis and many others.

The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

Coming out of New York City in the early ’60s, The Crystals were a Phil Spector-produced “girl group” with hits like “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Then He Kissed Me” and the chart-topping “He’s a Rebel.”

The key to life

All three groups have undergone personnel changes over the years.

Maddox retired from performing with The Marcels in 1999 and says he doesn’t miss it, “not a bit. I told my wife, the key to life is to know when.” But he’ll travel to Greensburg with present members Jules Hopson, Richard Harris, Kenny Mitchell and Ted Smith for the March 15 concert.

Growing up in Manchester on Pittsburgh’s North Side, Maddox was playing local venues with The Blenders when he went in search of a record deal at the company that was recording The Marcels.

“They said, ‘Do one record with us, and we’ll give you a record deal,’” he says. “And here I am (more than) 50 years later.

“I’ve been very blessed. I’ve sung with some of the greatest performers in the world and I’ve been to five countries,” he says. “If it hadn’t been for the music, I probably wouldn’t have made it farther than Cleveland.”