How to Use doo-wop in a Sentence

doo-wop

noun
  • Then my shoulders kicked in as the back-up singers handled the doo-wop of misery.
    — New Atlas, 16 Dec. 2025
  • Horses has never lost any of its fire over the years because her poetic voice was always rooted in the beats of doo-wop and R&B.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2025
  • Where the story diverges is the way New Edition combined hip-hop, R&B, and old-school doo-wop to create new jack swing.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The chorus leaves the beach for the boardwalk, its cocky doo-wop inflections presenting loneliness less as an inner weakness and more as a loyalty test.
    — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 16 Mar. 2026
  • Rae’s vocal delivery of her love of the city is repetitively mantric, until the song splits apart into its final 30 seconds of doo-wop meets drum and bass.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
  • Dangerous Woman was almost called Moonlight, after the doo-wop inspired ballad that opens the album.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2026
  • The pair eventually recruited their children to take part in the act, specializing in doo-wop and other '50s music.
    — Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026
  • The doo-wop legend Dion recorded the definitive version, but it was covered by artists from Marvin Gaye to Whitney Houston.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Over the last 50 years, Clinton has evolved with the times, riding the waves of doo-wop, Motown, rock ’n roll, psychedelic rock, experimental jazz, hip-hop and everything in between.
    — Kyle Eustice, VIBE.com, 2 July 2026
  • These songs are built around classic R&B and doo-wop elements, including samples of Hollywood oddities the Lewis Sisters.
    — Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Though Book of Love took their band name from the Monotones’ 1957 doo-wop hit, their electronic take on the sound was more reminiscent of Motown’s Holland-Dozier-Holland.
    — Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 26 Apr. 2026
  • Takemura Sears, who shares the role of King Idomeneo with Roland Hawkins, delivered an astonishing performance in the Twin Cities opener, mastering both Mozart’s demanding passages and the doo-wop repertoire.
    — Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 22 Aug. 2025
  • But Neil Sedaka, whose hit singles span four decades and whose career began as a teen-aged songwriter for such R&B and doo-wop stars as Dinah Washington, the Clovers and LaVern Baker, doesn’t like to do things in a routine way.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Born June 8, 1942 as Charles Negron II to a Puerto Rican nightclub performer, he was raised in the Bronx, New York and spent his childhood playing basketball and singing in doo-wop groups.
    — Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 2 Feb. 2026
  • While its work was written, produced and performed largely by young Blacks from Detroit’s inner city, Gordy and Motown were intent on creating music for everyone, taking the earthy sounds of post-doo-wop R&B, giving them a melodic, commercial-friendly sheen and marketing them to the masses.
    — Brian McCollum, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'doo-wop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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