"At the Hop" is a hit rock 'n' roll song written by Arthur Singer

Arthur Singer

Arthur "Artie" Singer was an American songwriter who wrote 1957's "At the Hop" with David White and John Medora. He died on May 2, 2008 at the age of 89.-Sources:*...

, John Medora

John Medora

John Medora , also known as John or Johnny Madara, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer, who teamed up with David White and Arthur Singer to write the 1957 hit song "At the Hop"....

 and David White

David White (musician)

David White toured the country with his parents prior to attending school in their acrobatic/hand-balancing act called Barry and Brenda and Company....

 and originally released by Danny & the Juniors

Danny & the Juniors

Danny & The Juniors were a doo-wop quartet from Philadelphia comprising Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova. Formed in 1955, they are most widely recognized for their hit single "At the Hop", which was released in 1957...

. The song was released in the fall of 1957

1957 in music

-Events:*January 5 – Renato Carosone and his band start their American tour in Cuba.*January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on the The Ed Sullivan Show.*January 16 – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, UK....

, and reached number one on the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 charts on January 6, 1958, thus becoming one of the top-selling singles of 1958. "At the Hop" also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers list.

The song became more prominent after it was performed by rock and roll revival

Rock and roll revival

Rock and Roll Revival was a back-to-basics musical trend of the late 1960s and early 1970s, in a sort-of backlash against the heavier and psychedelic rock sounds then in vogue....

 act Sha Na Na

Sha Na Na

Sha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....

 at the 1969 Woodstock Festival

Woodstock Festival

Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...

 and featured in the 1973 coming-of-age teen drama American Graffiti

American Graffiti

American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...

. Musically, it's notable for combining two of the most popular formulas in 1950s rock'n'roll, the 12 bar blues and the 50s progression

50s progression

The 50s progression is a chord progression and turnaround used in Western popular music. As the name implies, it was common in the 1950s and early 1960s and is particularly associated with doo-wop...

.

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

American Bandstand

American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

, it gained popularity and went to the top of the US charts, remaining at number one for five weeks.

The song describes the scene at a record hop, particularly the dances being performed and the interaction with the disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 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

The Stroll

The Stroll was both a slow Rock 'n' Roll dance and a song that was popular in late 1950s. The dance called the Stroll began in black communities to the song "C. C. Rider" by Chuck Willis prior to the song by the same name....

it

At the hop.

When the record starts spinnin'

You chalypso

Chalypso

The Chalypso was a popular dance from 1957 which combined the sounds and feel of the cha-cha-cha and calypso. It was developed and popularized by dancers on American Bandstand...

and you chicken at the hop

Do the dance sensation that is sweepin' the nation

at the hop

Cover versions

"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

Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids

Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids, now known as Flash Cadillac, are an American retro rock 'n' roll band. They are best known for their portrayal of the group Herbie and the Heartbeats in the film American Graffiti, to which they contributed three songs: cover versions of "At the Hop" and...

 and included on the soundtrack for the 1973 movie American Graffiti

American Graffiti

American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...

. This recording was produced by Kim Fowley

Kim Fowley

Kim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...

.

Scooter performs this song on an episode of The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...

.

Singer Nick Todd, brother of Pat Boone

Pat Boone

Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...

, reached the Billboard Top 100 with his cover.

New Orleans based band Dash Rip Rock

Dash Rip Rock

Dash Rip Rock is a New Orleans based rock band built around the songs of singer-guitarist Bill Davis.The band is a legendary live powerhouse, often being credited with founding the musical genre known as "Country Punk." The New York Times said Dash Rip Rock is "the kind of band that provides a...

 recorded a parody version titled "(Lets Go) Smoke Some Pot".

It was sung by Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 in Bad Nauheim

Bad Nauheim

Bad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. , Bad Nauheim has a population of 30,365. The town is located approximately 35 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a world-famous resort, noted for its salt...

 in 1959, and can be found on the bootleg-album Greetings from Germany.

"At The Hop" was also covered by German singer Freddy Quinn

Freddy Quinn

Freddy Quinn is an Austrian singer and actor whose popularity within the German-speaking world soared in the late 1950s and 1960s. Similar to Hans Albers two generations before him, Quinn adopted the persona of the rootless wanderer who goes to sea but longs for a home, family and friends...

 in 1958.

The song was part of Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep (band)

Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...

's song "Rock'n'Roll Medley", to be found on Live 1973

Live 1973

Live 1973 is a recording by Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels. It was recorded at Sonic Studios in Hempstead, New York on March 13, 1973 during a live radio broadcast from WLIR-FM, a station located in Garden City, New York...

.

Trivia

This song was used in the 1983 horror film Christine.

This song is derived in the Family Guy

Family Guy

Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

episode "Let's Go to the Hop".

It is played frequently in the American radio program The Savage Nation

The Savage Nation

The Savage Nation is an American radio show hosted by conservative commentator Michael Savage on Talk Radio Network. His show is heard by 8-10 million listeners a week and syndicated across the U.S. in over 300 markets, making it the 3rd most listened to radio show in the country...

, hosted by conservative talk show host Michael Savage

Michael Savage

Michael Savage may refer to:* Michael Savage , American radio host, author and conservative political commentator* Michael Joseph Savage , Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1935–1940...

.

The song is used in the videogame Mafia II

Mafia II

Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. It is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and is published by 2K Games...

.