50 years ago: “At the Hop” hit #1 for first of 7 weeks

At the Hop Danny & the Juniors

Writer(s): Artie Singer/John Medora/David White (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 18, 1957 Peak: 17 US, 15 CB, 16 HR, 15 RB, 3 UK, 13 CN, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.5 US, -- UK, 2.5 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 9.79 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Just as Elvis Presley had appropriated black music to become the King of Rock and Roll, this white vocal quartet tapped into the doo-wop format largely owned by black groups. They formed in high school in Philadelphia in 1955 as the Juvenairs and sang on street corners and local dances and parties. Their break came in 1957 when they decided to sing at the street corner right under the window of record producer John Madara. He introduced them to a DJ who, in turn, introduced them to Artie Singer, who owned Singular Records. Singer signed them. SJ The group recorded “Do the Bop,” a song written by Madara and band member Dave White. SJ Singer was acquainted with Dick Clark, who hosted American Bandstand from Philadelphia and played the song for him. Clark was impressed, but since the bop dance craze was on the way out, he suggested changing the title to “At the Hop.” SJ It wasn’t the only break the group got from Clark. When another act scheduled to appear didn’t show up, Danny & the Juniors filled in. The song was picked up by ABC Paramount Records for national distribution and would go on to top the pop and R&B charts. This was their only top-ten pop hit, but it became the biggest single of 1958. CPM The song is “one of the all time great slabs of rock ‘n’ rolling exuberance;” DT it “makes you want to dance.” PW It is “reminiscent of the blues, while capitalizing on the upbeat feeling of 50s music.” KW It is a “catchy tune” PW with an “attractive beat” PW “and dumb words. The joybful, liberating power of a few well-chosen dumb words should never be underestimated.” PW Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Danny & the Juniors KW Mic.com (12/25/2013). “30 Songs That Changed the Course of Musical History” by Kayli Woods SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Brothers, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 59. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 281. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 28. CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 79. PW Paul Williams (1993). Rock and Roll: The Best 100 Singles. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. Pages 37-8. First posted 4/15/2020; last updated 4/2/2023.

50 years ago: “Great Balls of Fire” charted

Great Balls of Fire Jerry Lee Lewis

Writer(s): Otis Blackwell, Jack Hammer (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 23, 1957 Peak: 2 US, 2 CB, 2 HR, 12 CW, 3 RB, 12 UK, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 0.51 video, 98.8 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Some of rock ‘n’ roll’s earliest architects walked a fine line between their religious Southern upbringings and the shockingly sexual and aggressive style that defined early rock music. With a musical prowess birthed as much from the black honky-tonks as the Assembly of God Church, AC Lewis concocted an uncomfortable blend of music inspired by God and the devil. He got booted from Bible college AC for “playing hymns boogie-woogie style.” TB His “onstage terrorization of the piano” FR earned him the nickname “The Killer.” Nowhere was Lewis’ musical dichotomy more on display than with “Great Balls of Fire,” a song that “transcends everything doctrinaire and theoretical.” DM This is “nerve shaking, frame rattling, brain charring – rock ‘n’ roll at its most primal.” DT Jerry Lee’s signature song was “full of Southern Baptist hellfire turned into a near-blasphemous ode to pure lust.” RS500 Lewis realized the shock in 1957 of such sexual innuendo coming from a Southern music man SF and initially refused to sing the song. RS500 He argued with Sun Records’ founder Sam Phillips that “recording the song would send him straight to hell.” SS Phillips eventually won out, thanks to the ever-flowing liquor during the session. RS500 The song came to Lewis via songwriter Otis Blackwell. He was a poor kid from Brooklyn, New York, the first black man to really tap into the Nashville sound, dominating the country and rock charts in the mid to late-‘50s. AC He wrote “Don’t Be Cruel” and “All Shook Up” for Elvis Presley. After seeing Lewis perform on TV, he sent a demo of “Great Balls of Fire” to Sun Records. Both Phillips and Lewis knew it was a hit AH worthy of following Lewis’ breathrough hit “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Regarding Blackwell’s writing partner, Jack Hammer, several accounts say his sole contribution is coming up with the title and selling it to Blackwell. LW The song was a “refinement of the ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’’ formula but it has a few differences that give the song far more impact.” AH “Great Balls of Fire” “has a much more dynamic opening, one that sets the tone for the whole record with its stop-start exclamations” AH that are reminiscent of Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.” It wouldn’t be much longer before Lewis’ career would come crashing down in flames. In May 1958, he was in the UK for a tour and the press asked who the girl was with him. It emerged that it was his thirteen-year-old cousin Myra – and his bride. The tour was cancelled and Lewis returned home in disgrace. He would revive his career years later on the country charts, but would never again reclaim the pop and rock glory he had in the 1950s. Resources: AMG All Music Guide review by Cub Koda AC Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group. Pages 114-6. FR Paul Friedlander (1996). Rock and Roll: A Social History. Boulder, Colorado; Westview Press, Inc. Page 50. AH Andrew Hickey (2021). A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs: Volume 2. Pages 173-82. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 118. DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 128. RS500 RollingStone.com (2011). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SF Songfacts SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 389-90. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 96. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 25. Related Links: Last updated 8/23/2023.

Today in Music (1956): The Five Satins chart with “In the Still of the Nite”

In the Still of the Nite (I’ll Remember) The Five Satins

Writer(s): Fred Paris (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 25, 1956 Peak: 24 US, 32 CB, 26 HR, 3 RB, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 30.3 video, 64.0 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Author and critic Dave Marsh called it “the most popular doo-wop record ever made.” DM When the song was first released, it only reached #24 on the Billboard pop charts but it became a classic, especially as a doo-wop standard and model of early rock and roll. The song re-charted twice, reaching #81 in 1960 and #99 in 1961. The song is actually one of two which can claim the origin of the term “doo-wop.” The “repeating nonsense syllables” PW such as “the plaintive ‘doo wop, doo wah’ refrain in the bridge has often been suggested as the origin of the term.” WK Similarly, the Turbans’ “When You Dance” features the chant “doo wop.” WK The Five Satins’ Fred Paris was inspired to write an R&B song with the same title as Cole Porter’s “In the Still of the Night.” DM The spelling of “Nite” instead of “Night” was to avoid confusion with Cole Porter’s song. WK He wrote it about a former girlfriend he hoped would come back. Unfortunately, she moved from Connecticut to California and he never saw her again. She likely never even knew the song was about her. SF It was recorded in the basement of St. Bernadette Church in New Haven. The building had great acoustics and was insulated from ambient noise. SF The group’s manager, Marty Kugell, was friends with Vinny Mazzetta, an altar boy at the church. Mazzetta convinced the pastor to let the group record at the church and use the church piano. SF Mazzetta plays saxophone on the recording. SF After it was recorded, Paris shipped off to Japan and watched from afar as a new lineup including only two of the original members was assembled to tour the United States. Once while hanging out in the barracks, Fred started singing “In the Still of the Night.” The other guys, not knowing he wrote the song, told him he was singing the wrong words. SJ When Parris was discharged in 1958, he set up a new version of the group with which to tour. SF Interestingly, the original group was called the Five Satins even though they had only four members. The trend was moving toward acts like the Five Crowns and the Five Royales instead of the Four Lads and the Four Coins. SF The song is featured in the movies Dirty Dancing (1987) and The Irishman (2019). It was also a big hit by Boyz II Men, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Five Satins DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 292. SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Books, Inc.: New York, NY. 168. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia PW Paul Williams (1993). Rock and Roll: The Best 100 Singles. Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.: New York, NY Pages 29-30. First posted 3/13/2021; last updated 1/31/2024.