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Danny & The Juniors

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Danny & The Juniors · Danny & the Juniors was an American doo-wop and rock and roll group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The four members were Danny Rapp as lead singer, Frank Maffei as second tenor, Joe Terranova as baritone and Dave White as first tenor. They knew each other from John Bartram High School and began singing together in the mid-1950s, at first as the Juvenaires. The producer John Madara saw their potential and put them in touch with the local disc jockeys Larry Brown and Artie Singer, who had the label Singular Records.

Music and breakthrough

In 1957, as Johnny Madara and The Juvenaires, they recorded a song that Madara and White had written, Do the Bop. Singer played it to his colleague Dick Clark. Clark suggested changing the group's name to the Juniors and giving the song a new title. That is how At the Hop came about, with Danny Rapp on lead vocals. With the line Let's go to the Hop instead of Let's all do the bop, it became a local hit in June 1957. In December 1957 they stepped in at the last moment on American Bandstand and sang it for the whole of America.

Influence

ABC Paramount bought the recording and released it in January 1958. At the Hop reached number one on the American pop and rhythm and blues charts in 1958 and number three in England. Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay and Dottie followed as singles. The group also appeared in the 1958 film Let's Rock. In 1960 they signed with Swan Records, Dick Clark's label.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to At the Hop and notice the question-and-answer singing between the lead singer and the backing voices. Can you hear how the group builds the chorus together?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists