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By: Danny and the Juniors, formed in 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova.
"At the Hop" was their biggest hit, though they also had a Top 20 hit with their follow-up "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay". Danny And The Juniors eventually split in 1963.
Chart position: #1 (US), #3 (UK).
It was #1 in the US for 7 weeks in January and February 1958.
It was the #1 Best Seller in Stores for 5 weeks and #1 Most Played by Jockeys for 3 weeks in January and February 1958. It sold over two million copies worldwide.
It was preceded at #1 in the US by "April Love" (Pat Boone) and succeeded by "Get a Job" (The Silhouettes.)
The Top Ten Songs: February 3, 1958 (US Billboard Top 100).
- "At the Hop" (Danny and the Juniors)
- "Sugartime" (McGuire Sisters)
- "April Love" (Pat Boone)
- "Raunchy" (Bill Justis)
- "Get a Job" (Silhouettes)
- "Peggy Sue" (Buddy Holly)
- "The Stroll" (Diamonds)
- "Sail Along Silvery Moon" (Billy Vaughn)
- "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" (Jimmie Rodgers)
- "All the Way" (Frank Sinatra)
Written by: Arthur Singer, John L. Medora, and Dave White.
Medora discovered White and his group, the Juvenaires (who later changed their name to Danny And The Juniors), singing on a street corner.
Their songwriting collaboration also produced "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay", "1-2-3" (Len Barry, #2 US, #3 UK) and "You Don't Own Me" (Lesley Gore, #2 US).
Medora and White had written and recorded a demo called "Do The Bop", which was sent to local DJs. One of those DJs was Dick Clark (who had just gone national with his show American Bandstand.)
Clark suggested that the term "bop" was out of fashion. The song was changed, and the group re-recorded the song. After 13 takes to get it right, "At The Hop" was sent to Clark, who loved it, but didn't have any immediate openings for them to perform it.
However, Little Anthony and the Imperials canceled their appearance, and Clark asked Danny and the Juniors to be their replacements, causing the record to take off, selling 7,000 copies in week in Philadelphia alone.
Also by: Sha Na Na, which was co-founded by Lenny Baker, who played saxophone with Danny And The Juniors.
Sha Na Na was a relatively unknown doo-wop cover group until they performed "At The Hop" at the Woodstock Music festival in 1969, launching their career and leading to thzeir own TV show.
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