Cadillacs bring doo-wop to SCERA stage

OREM — Doo-wop meets jazz when The Cadillacs A Cappella step on the stage.

Their tight 1950s-style harmonies are the result of nearly two decades of singing together (although the latest member joined the group only eight years ago).

The vocal quintette has won the prestigious Contemporary A Cappella Recording Association Award as the top group of its kind in the country.

Denise Palfreyman of Orem and Marty Worwood of South Jordan started the group in 1989 as a quartette who sang at LDS roadshows. Founding members included Jackie Forest (who died last year) and Jerry Allman of Bountiful.

"We all knew each other from (BYU's) The Sounds of Freedom," Palfreyman said.

"We never thought in a million years we would be doing this 18 years later," Worwood said.

The most common change over the years has been the bass singer who is Wade Lindstrom today. He has sung bass for the past 10 years. He was singing in the barbershop quartette "Salt City Transfer" when Worwood invited him to audition for the Cadillacs. He's the doo-wop guy.

"I literally get to be the foundation," Lindstrom said. "I don't sing many words. We make fun of that."

"We're grounded in the '50s. (That genre) works so well with a cappella," Worwood said.

Todd C. Russell has spent more than 38 years performing. He appeared in the a cappella musical "Forever Plaid" five times and has played the trumpet for 22 years.

Occasionally the group throws in a few recordings minus the vocals for variety.

Susan Crump of American Fork was already a professional singer when she joined the group. She had performed with her family, the Jordan Family Singers, since 4. As a young adult she sang with her sisters, including recording artist Jenny Jordan Frogley, but she'd retired to be a mom.

"It's challenging. I'd never sung without music before," she said. "This is a perfect scenario for me. I'm home with my kids when they need me."

"The tight harmonies come from the kind of music we do," said Palfreyman. "We do lots of harmonies and lots of melodies. We use old time jazz chords with '50s songs."

The group's repertoire includes a popular Beatles medley from the 1960s arranged by Sam Cardon. Other hits include "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," "Killing Me Softly," "Bandstand Boogie" and tunes from The Mamas and Papas and The Beach Boys.