Charlie Thomas’s Drifters, a perennially popular doo-wop, R&B, and soul group will close the concert series on August 20.

There may be a few Dorchester old-timers who remember who Dorothy Curran was and why she got a concert series named after her, but there are many, many more around who simply look forward to being part of the largely gray- and white- haired crowd swaying, dancing, and singing along on hot summer Wednesday nights at City Hall Plaza. Over the decades the series has given older crowds just what they wanted with its line-up of oldies, disco/funk, big band, and military jazz artists.

Former Mayor Thomas Menino figured it was safe to re-brand the venerable series with his own name, but this year Mayor Martin Walsh has done the right thing by reverting to tradition, re-naming it the Dorothy Curran Wednesday Night Concert Series (DCWNCS).

Now celebrating 42 years as Boston’s longest-running outdoor concert series, this year’s four-show DCWNCS caters once again to the nostalgic. The concert dates are a little irregularly spaced. Sponsors include Bank of America, the Boston Herald, and the Michael Francis Cahill Fund/ City of Boston.

The series opens on July 16 with Tavares. In the ’70s this R&B group charted with hits like “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel,” “It Only Takes a Minute,” and “She’s Gone.” The five Cape Verdean brothers from Rhode Island started out recording as Chubby and the Turnpikes.

A week later, on July 23, it’s Beatlejuice. This New England-based Beatles tribute band has the distinction of faithfully reproducing the Fab Four’s music note-for-note, from early Beatles to the late solo careers, without costumes or stage gimmicks.

On Aug. 6, yet another crowd-favorite, Stardust, returns with its Decades of Dance Party, blasting out boogie-worthy tunes from the 60’s through today.

Wrapping the festivities all too soon on August 20 will be Charlie Thomas’s Drifters, a perennially popular doo-wop, R&B, and soul group. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and his back-up group bring back memories with “This Magic Moment” and “Under the Boardwalk.”

Back in 2007 the 34th Dorothy Curran Wednesday series also featured Charlie Thomas and the Drifters along with bigger names like Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals, the Fifth Dimension, Ann Hampton Callaway, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and the US Air Force Band of Liberty.

And for those who know nothing about Ms. Curran: In its annual report for the year 1992, Boston’s Parks and Recreation Department lauded her after her death in December of that year as a great leader and its most exemplary employee: “Dorothy rose from an entry-level bookkeeper, hired under Mayor James Michael Curley, to assistant commissioner during her 43-year career as a public servant for the city of Boston. She pioneered recreational programs for women, special needs children, and the elderly, and chaired the Department’s Light A Life campaign, which raised funds for local hospices through the sale of $1 holiday buttons.” Curran also has a playground named after her in Southie’s Columbus Park.

For more information about DCWNCS, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 617-635-4505, visit facebook.com/bostonparksdepartment, or go to cityofboston.gov/parks.