"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]
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):
Do the dance sensations that are sweepin' the nation
at the hop
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.
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]
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
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 song appears on the following compilation albums.
A Million or More Best Sellers, ABC-Paramount, 1958 (ABC 216)
At the Hop, ABC Records, 1978 (AA-1111/2)
Party Time Fifties, JCI, 1985, LP and CD (JCI 3201)
Vintage Music, Volume One, MCA Records, 1986 (MCA-1429), CD (MCA-31198)
A live recording is included on the soundtrack album Let the Good Times Roll, Bell Records, 1973 (Bell 9002), and re-issued on Let the Good Times Roll Again, Arista Records, 1982 (ABM 2004).
