"At the Hop" is a 1950s pop song written by Artie Singer, John Medora, and David White and originally released by Danny & the Juniors.[1] The song was released in the fall of 1957 and reached number one on the US charts on January 6, 1958, becoming one of the top-selling singles of 1958.[2] "At the Hop" also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers list.[3] Somewhat more surprisingly, the record reached #3 on the Music Vendor country charts. It was also a big hit elsewhere, which included number 1 for 3 weeks in Canada and a number 3 placing on the UK charts.[4]
| "At the Hop" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Danny & the Juniors | |
| B-side | "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)" |
| Released | Fall 1957 |
| Genre | Rock and roll |
| Length | 2:39 |
| Label | ABC |
| Songwriter(s) | Artie Singer, John Medora, and David White |
| Producer(s) | Kim Fowley |
The song returned to prominence after it was performed by rock and roll revival act Sha Na Na at the 1969 Woodstock Festival and featured in the 1973 coming-of-age teen comedy American Graffiti. Musically, it is notable for combining several of the most popular formulas in 1950s rock'n'roll, the twelve-bar blues, boogie-woogie piano, and the '50s progression.
The original version by Danny & the Juniors was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[5]
Background
The song was written by White, Medora, and Singer in 1957, when Danny & the Juniors were still called The Juvenairs. Initially called "Do the Bop",[6] the song was heard by Dick Clark, who expressed concern that the dance fad of doing The Bop was on its way out, so he suggested they change the band name to the Juniors and the chorus from "Let's all do the Bop" to "Let's go to the Hop".[7][8] After they performed the song on Clark's show American Bandstand, it gained popularity and went to the top of the US charts, remaining at number one for five weeks.[2]
The song describes the scene at a record hop, particularly the dances being performed and the interaction with the disc jockey host.
A sample of the song's lyrics (contemporary popular dances in italics):
Payola involvement
On the 2008 nationally televised PBS documentary Wages of Spin: Dick Clark, American Bandstand and the Payola Scandals,[9] Singer claimed that Dick Clark would not play "At the Hop" without receiving half of the publishing proceeds. Singer agreed to make the payments and called the situation "bittersweet" because although he didn't like having to give the money, he credited his success in the music industry to Clark and therefore was grateful to him. Payola was not illegal at the time and Clark sold the song prior to the 1960 payola hearings.
Cover versions
- Frankie Avalon, Chubby Checker, and Len Barry have recorded the song
- Children's entertainers Sharon, Lois & Bram covered the song on their 1995 album titled Let's Dance!.
- Singer Nick Todd, brother of Pat Boone, reached the Billboard Top 100 with his cover, which peaked at #21.
- New Orleans–based band Dash Rip Rock recorded a parody version titled "(Lets Go) Smoke Some Pot".
- It was sung by Elvis Presley in Bad Nauheim in 1959, and can be found on the bootleg album Greetings from Germany.
- The song was covered and recorded between October 1984 and January 1985 by The Beach Boys for their 1985 self-titled album, though it never made the final cut.
- "At The Hop" was covered by Austrian singer Freddy Quinn in 1958.[10]
- The song was part of Uriah Heep's song "Rock'n'Roll Medley", to be found on 1973's Uriah Heep Live.
- The 1988 film Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw featured a variation on the song called "At the Pound". A music video of the song promoting the film was included on various Family Home Entertainment video cassettes.
- American retro rock-and-roll band Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids covered the song as part of the sound track for the 1973 film American Graffiti. In the film, the band portrayed a fictional band named Herby and the Heartbeats. The cover was released as a single in 1973.
- Les Forbans recorded a cover in 1983 under the title "Leve ton ful de là".
- In 1973 a Danish version, Rend og hop, was recorded by the local band Bamses Venner.
Soundtrack appearances
- The song appeared in the 1958 jukebox musical film Let's Rock, or Keep It Cool in the UK, performed by Danny and the Juniors
- "At the Hop" was performed at Woodstock by Sha-Na-Na in August 1969, and was included on the soundtrack album.
- Danny and the Juniors performed the song in the 1973 Columbia Pictures 1950s-themed nostalgia film Let the Good Times Roll
- It was performed by Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids and included on the soundtrack for the 1973 movie American Graffiti. This recording was produced by Kim Fowley.
- The Kidsongs franchise covered this song in their 1997 home video, "I Can Dance".
- Scooter performs this song on the Teresa Brewer episode of The Muppet Show. Some frogs joined him, and, upon reaching the chorus, began jumping around. Although Scooter tried to tell them to finish the song, they didn't, and, like multiple songs on the show, the song ended abruptly.
- The Family Guy episode "Let's Go to the Hop" is named after the song's chorus.
- It is played frequently in the American radio program The Savage Nation, hosted by talk show host Michael Savage.
- The song is used in the video game Mafia II.
- The song is sampled in the 1989 song "Swing the Mood" by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers.
- The song is used in the Netflix animated series Kid Cosmic.
See also
References
External Links
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