Hey, Scrump: While the Marcels' version of Blue Moon is almost a joke, it may well be the definitive version. I have a wonderful recording of it by Matt Dennis that is a favorite of mine, in a more rational style but I don't know if I will ever be able to hear that song without that Bass introduction. I've become friends with a five man a capella doo wop group (I even lead a workshop: Church And Street Corner Harmonies) with the group and my gospel quartet) at NOMAD this year that was great fun.) Fans of doo wop would boo you off stage if you did any other arrangement of Blue Moon besides the Marcels'. That's a major difference in Oldies and old folk music.
People do feel a particular version of a song by a doo wop group is not only definitive, but that you HAVE to do it that way. I've been invited to play guitar with the group (goodbye a capella if it works out) and I will need to play in a style that supports the original recordings. For that kind of music, I could do it. My gospel quartet does several songs that in style could just as easily be doo wop, as black doo wop grew out of the black churches, and many of the groups recorded gospel, too.

I'm drifting off topic here for a minute.

But hey, It's my thread and I'll drift if I want to. :-)

Jerry