Along with its four part harmonies, the most distinctive feature of doo wop during its prime was the use of nonsense syllables, usually in the backing vocals which took the place of the rhythm section (since most of these groups were formed by kids who couldn’t afford instruments). These nonsense sounds often provided a novel hook for the song, but they also served to establish the music as music for teens, far too silly and incomprehensible in the eyes of adults. It was a more gentle rebellion than the aggressiveness of rock & roll, yet no less powerful in its influence.

A young group from Ohio, The Edsels, put their own spin on the genre.

Formed in Youngstown in 1957, The Edsels (so named for the infamous and doomed automobile that was much hyped around that time as being the next big thing — which it was not) comprised five youngsters who met in high school and eventually managed to score a deal with the tiny Dub Records label in Arkansas. The group quickly recorded their debut single, “Rama Lama Ding Dong,” which took the nonsense sounds of their milieu and moved them front and center, into the main lyric. Released in 1958, Dub accidentally mistitled the song as “Lama Rama Ding Dong.”

It didn’t matter. Few saw the record, let alone bought it.

99% of the time, on a small label with an unknown group, that would be the end of the song, and maybe the group. But something strange happened a few years later. In 1961, a New York DJ began preceding rising hit “Blue Moon” by The Marcels with the largely unknown “Rama Lama Ding Dong.” The medley proved very popular: “Blue Moon” rose to #1 on the US pop chart and helped pull “Rama Lama Ding Dong” up to #21, rescued from oblivion after languishing in obscurity for three years. The song would be referenced by other acts for decades to come.

So Rama Lama, or Lama Rama… with The Edsels.