Dancing in the Streets: This Bucks County Borough’s Newest Mural Honors Its Doo-Wop Past

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Image via LevittownNow

First were the dances at the Good Will Hose Company, a fire hall in Bristol where a step called The Stomp became a thing. That step was eventually memorialized in a song, “The Bristol Stomp,” which was a massive hit for The Dovells.

Now, the public arts program of Bristol Borough is celebrating those original teenyboppers and their doo-wop ditty with a mural, writes Tom Sofield for LevittownNow.com

The proposed artwork, 24 by 28 feet, will face Old Route 13 and Grundy Tower and depict stompers on a spinning platter. 

Its creative team has deep Bristol roots. Tony Napoli was a long-term art teacher in the Pennsbury School District. His assistant, John Ennis, is a borough resident and a nationally-known portrait artist. Bristol local AnnieRose Kruzinski — one of Napoli’s star students — will also have a brush in hand. 

William Penn Bank is sponsoring. Its CEO, Ken Stephon, said, “Bristol has been so welcoming to us since we moved our corporate headquarters to the borough and opened a branch here. So, we wanted to give something back.” 

The Dovells’ recording of “The Bristol Stomp” rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Magazine chart in 1961. In its day, it sold more than a million copies. 

The mural’s dedication is expected in April. 

Read more about Bristol at LevittownNow.com here

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