| "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 |
"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 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]
- ^ "At the Hop - Danny and the Juniors". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Macmillan. 1998. p. 1384. ISBN 0-333-74134-X.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 145.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - December 23, 1957".
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.