At the Hop

"At the Hop" is a rock and roll/doo-wop song written by Artie Singer, John Medora, and David White and originally released by Danny & the Juniors.^[2] The song was released in the fall of 1957, and reached number one on the US charts on January 6, 1958, thus becoming one of the top-selling singles of 1958.^[3] "At the Hop" also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers list.^[4] Somewhat more surprisingly, the record reached #3 on the Music Vendor country charts.

The song became more prominent 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 drama American Graffiti. Musically, it's 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.

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", the song was heard by Dick Clark, who suggested they change its name. After performing 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.^[5]

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):

You can rock it you can roll it

Do the stomp and even stroll it

At the hop.

When the record starts spinnin'

You chalypso and you chicken at the hop

Do the dance sensation that is 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,^[6] 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

• Children's entertainer's 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.
• 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 also 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 also covered by German singer Freddy Quinn in 1958.^[7]
• The song was part of Uriah Heep's song "Rock'n'Roll Medley", to be found on Live 1973.
• In 2007, Hallmark Cards released an Easter decoration to the tune of the song, sold exclusively at Hallmark Gold Crown stores.^[8]
• 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.

It was parodied by Dash Rip Rock as "Smokin' Pot" and has gone on to be a staple of morning radio shows as a bumper whenever a current topic has to do with marijuana use.

Soundtrack appearances

• "At the Hop" was performed at Woodstock by Sha-Na-Na in August 1969, and was included on the soundtrack album.
• It was also 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 conservative 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.

See also

• List of Billboard number-one rhythm and blues hits
• List of Billboard number-one singles of 1958
• Billboard year-end top 50 singles of 1958
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1958
• List of CHUM number-one singles of 1957

References