La La Brooks, Al "Lil Fats" Jackson, Jivin' Gene

Put on a single by the Crystals and it feels like you’re hearing it from the transistor radio in a teenager’s bedroom circa 1962. The first “girl group” to work with madman producer Phil Spector, who’d soon perfect the genre, began recording innocently devoted anthems in ’61 but scored their greatest hits – “Then He Kissed Me” and “Da Doo Ron Ron” – after adding singer Dolores “LaLa” Brooks the next year. At 77, Brooks maintains timeless vocal magic, and her set lists are a history lesson on Sixties teen pop. Opening the Antone’s anniversary proceedings is jaw-dropping Fats Domino mimic Al “Lil Fats” Jackson and recently revived early swamp pop star Jivin’ Gene. – Kevin Curtin