The Ditty Bops were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

band from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

that began with

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, and later self-produced recordings. Noted for their tight vocal

harmonies In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

by Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett, they incorporated a variety of musical styles such as

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, bluegrass,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

and

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

with guitar, ukulele, mandolin and dulcimer. Their live shows were often very interactive, and had different themes and theatrical elements complete with props, costumes, skits, and amusing slide shows.

History

Romantically involved since 1999, DeWald and Barrett met in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and formed the Ditty Bops years later after a hunt for a neighbor's lost cat. When they unwittingly crossed into the backyard of a stranger, they discovered that he was a musician and an avid guitar collector. He encouraged them to form a band and start playing. Their music has been on the ABC show ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', including "There's a Girl," which is featured on the show's soundtrack CD. The band has also appeared on ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

''. The Ditty Bops appeared twice on ''

Prairie Home Companion Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

'' with

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

: May 7, 2005, from

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census making it the List of cities in South Dakota, sixth most populous city in South Dako ...

, and June 18, 2005, from

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in southeastern Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipali ...

. From May 23 through September 2, 2006, the Ditty Bops embarked on a cross-country tour by bicycle to promote the release of their second album, '' Moon Over the Freeway'', while advocating a call-to-action about pollution and energy conservation. They traveled from Los Angeles to New York City, logging 4,502.75 miles.Billboard Going GREEN
/ref> In October 2008, Abby and Amanda announced their marriage in California via an e-mail message to their fans and

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

blog.The Ditty Bops MySpace Blog

Discography

* '' The Ditty Bops'' (CD) –

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

– 2004 * '' Moon Over the Freeway'' (CD) – Warner Bros. Records – 2006 * ''Pack Rat'' (EP) – Ditty Bops Music – 2007 * '' Summer Rains'' (CD) – Ditty Bops Music – 2008 * ''Songs for Steve'' (EP) – Ditty Bops Music – 2009 * ''The Color Album'' (EP) – Ditty Bops Music – 2010 * ''Love Letters'' (CD) – Ditty Bops Music – 2011 * ''Jelly for President - Yes We Jam'' (CD) – Ditty Bops Music – 2011

References

External links

Official Facebook page
- for news and info from the band itself
The Ditty Bops
at The Rock Hard Times, comprehensive discography, music videos, mp3s
The Ditty Bops collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

's live music archive
Interview with music from The Ditty Bops

The Ditty Bops on Last.fm

Interviews

ThoughtWorthy Media Interview with The Ditty Bops (38:04)The Advocate: "Gotta have my Bops""Folkscene", 2005-11-13

KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, which serves Southern California. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio network. KPFK 90.7 FM be ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ditty Bops American folk musical groups American bluegrass music groups American all-female bands Musical groups from Los Angeles LGBTQ-themed musical groups Musical groups established in 2004 Folk music duos Musical duos from California Female musical duos 2004 establishments in California