The Bosstones were an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 musical group in the 1950s who performed in the instrumentally

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

-sparse, a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

-based harmonic

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

 style known as Philadelphia doo-wop

Doo-wop

The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...

.

The best-known song by The Bosstones is "Mope-Itty Mope" which was released as a 45 rpm single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in 1959. In describing one of the many compilation CDs on which this song appears, Allmusic writes:

"It's a treat to have access to songs by...the Bosstones [and other groups] that received regional attention but never achieved the national success initially hoped for."

The B-side of "Mope-ity" was a song called "Wings of an Angel". In 1962 The Dovells

The Dovells

The Dovells were an American music group, formed at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1957, under the name 'The Brooktones'. The members were Arnie Silver, Mark Gordesky, Len Borisoff , Jerry Gross, Mike Freda and Jim Mealey...

 remade "Mope-itty Mope" as "The Mope-itty Mope Stomp".

After their existence was called to the attention of the Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

-based ska-core band formed in 1983 and also called The Bosstones, the latter group changed its name to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. Since the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer Ben Carr have remained constant members...

. As this earlier use of the name is not well known, contemporary references to "The Bosstones" generally refer to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones rather than The Bosstones discussed in this article.

In the mid-1980s, there was also an a capella group of local Boston college students who called themselves "The Bosstones". They mainly performed covers at coffee houses and local shows.