The 1950s also saw increased popularity of hard blues in the style from the earliest part of the century, both in the United States and United Kingdom. The 1950s also saw doo-wop style become popular. Doo-wop had been developed through vocal group harmony with the musical qualities of different vocal parts, nonsense syllables, little or no instrumentation, and simple lyrics. It usually involved ensemble single artists appearing with a backing group. Solo billing was given to lead singers who were more prominent in the musical arrangement. A secularized form of American gospel music called soul also developed in the mid 1950s, with pioneers like Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke leading the wave. Soul and R&B became a major influence on surf, as well as the chart-topping girl groups including The Angels and The Shangri-Las, only some of whom were white. In 1959, Hank Ballard releases a song for the new dance style "The Twist" which became the new dance crave from the early 60's into the 70's.