Harmony is a family affair for the Sha La Das, a vocal quartet whose music is steeped in R&B and doo wop tradition while also adding elements of '60s soul, rock & roll, and psychedelic pop to create a sound that is moody but lush and soulful. Featuring a veteran harmony vocalist and his three sons, two members of the Sha La Das have worked with retro-soul artist Charles Bradley before a producer was knocked out by their close family harmonies and convinced them to record as headliners. They made their debut with a 2016 single before moving on to a full-length album two years later. The Sha La Das story begins with William Schalda, Sr., who hailed from Brooklyn, New York and grew up with a love of music. Schalda was a gifted singer and developed a passion for vocal harmonies, and in the early '60s, teenaged Schalda was a member of the Montereys, a popular local doo wop group. While Schalda cut a pair of singles with the combo, neither made an impression on the national sales charts, and in 1968 the Montereys split up. In time, Schalda gave up his career as a vocalist to raise a family, but music was always a presence in the Schalda household, and he taught his sons the fine art of harmonizing as he sang on the stoop of their Staten Island home and the kids joined in. The Schalda brothers would follow their father's example and try their hands at making music for a living. Paul Schalda played in a variety of rock bands, including Three Steps Up, Awek, Pablo, and Paul & the Tall Trees, before landing a gig playing keyboards with Charles Bradley & the Extraordinaires, fronted by the veteran soul singer Bradley, who was enjoying a late-in-life career revival thanks to a series of acclaimed albums cut for Daptone Records. Guitarist and singer William Schalda, Jr. also played with Bradley & the Extraordinaires and Paul & the Tall Trees, as well as the Budos Band, Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band, and Brendan Benson, in addition to recording solo material as Swivs. And Carmine Schalda recorded on his own and was invited by his brothers to help them add backing vocals for Charles Bradley's 2013 album Victim of Love. Thomas Brenneck, who was producing Victim of Love, heard something special in the harmonies of the Schalda brothers, and persuaded the siblings to join him in creating a project that would focus on their vocal abilities. When Paul William, Jr. and Carmine began working up material with Brenneck, they brought in their father, who added not only a fine voice but first-hand experience of the Golden Age of New York vocal sounds. In 2016, the group, dubbed the Sha La Das, released their debut single, "Those Years Are Over" b/w "Open My Eyes," on the Daptone-distributed Dunham Records label. In 2018, the Sha La Das returned with their first full-length effort, the 11-song Love in the Wind. ~ Mark Deming