Danny & the Juniors

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback.  I'm your host, Jumpin' John, and this podcast episode will deal with a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania doo-wop and rock and roll vocal group:   Danny & the Juniors!

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott.  The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John.  It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then. 
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Until next time...
Rock On!

Transcript

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback.  I'm your host, Jumpin' John, and this podcast episode will deal with a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania doo-wop and rock and roll vocal group:   Danny & the Juniors!

In 1955 four young men met at John Bartram High School and started singing together.  Danny Rapp sang lead, Frank Maffei sang second tenor, Joe Terranova (a.k.a. Joe Terry) sang baritone, and David White Tricker (a.k.a. Dave White) sang first tenor.  Initially known as the Juvenaires,  they sang at school parties and other local events.  Local record producer John Madara took notice of them and introduced them to local DJs Larry Brown and Artie Singer, who owned Singular Records.  In 1957, as Johnny Madara and The Juvenaires, they recorded a song written by Madara and White, "Do the Bop".  Singer took it to a fellow DJ named Dick Clark.  Clark liked it, however he advised the group to re-write the lyrics because the dance known as The Bop was on its way out.  Dick Clark also suggested changing their name to the Juniors.  The song was re-recorded as "At the Hop", this time with Danny Rapp on the lead vocal.  The song became a local hit in Philadelphia in June 1957.  In December 1957, the group received a call from Dick Clark to be a last-minute substitution for a no-show band on American Bandstand, and they performed "At the Hop" for a national audience.  ABC Paramount bought the master recording and by January 6th, 1958 "At the Hop" reached #1 on the Billboard pop singles chart.  It also reached  #1 on the R&B singles chart, #3 on the Music Vendor Country Chart, #1 in Canada, and #3 in the UK singles chart.  Eight years later "At the Hop" returned to the Top 40 in the UK, reaching #39.  Danny & the Juniors appeared in the 1958 jukebox musical Let's Rock and performed "At the Hop".  "At the Hop" has been recorded by numerous artists, and the song returned to prominence after it was performed by rock and roll revival act Sha Na Na at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.  It was also featured in the 1973 coming-of-age teen comedy American Graffiti. 

Here is Danny & the Juniors recording of their #1 hit, "At the Hop":

Danny & the Juniors soon appeared on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and other national TV shows.  They released two other tunes in 1958.  The single "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay" reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 on the R&B chart.  The single "Dottie" reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100.  "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay" has subsequently been recorded by many other artists.  Sha Na Na recorded the song on their debut 1969 album Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay!.  Sha Na Na also  performed the song in the 1978 film Grease as "Johnny Casino and the Gamblers" and performed the song on their syndicated TV show and in the 1970 concert film Festival Express.

In 1960, Danny & the Juniors was signed to Dick Clark's Swan Records label.  They released one more record, "Twistin' USA".  "Twistin' USA" became their final hit single, reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100.  While they went on to release several more singles, they were unable to repeat their earlier successes.

Dave White left the group to concentrate on writing and production.  He successfully composed a number of hits, including "You Don't Own Me" for Lesley Gore, and "1-2-3" and "Like a Baby" for Len Barry.  Through the rest of the 1960's, a new lineup of the Juniors also appeared on Guyden Records and Mercury Records.  They split up in 1964, but reunited in 1968 to re-record "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay" for Luv Records.  In 1973, they re-recorded "At the Hop" for Crunch Records, which was owned by the same company that owned their ABC-Paramount Records master recordings.  In 1973 the group appeared in the 1950's-themed nostalgia film called Let the Good Times Roll.  

Danny and the Juniors broke up and regrouped over the years, and split into two groups in 1978.  One featured Joe Terranova and Frank Maffei, while the other featured Danny Rapp with various backing singers.  Both groups performed under the "Danny and the Juniors" name.  In 1979, appearing as Danny and the Juniors, Billy Carlucci, Joe "Terry" Terranova, and Frank Maffei were featured on Season 3, Episode 3, of the syndicated series Sha Na Na. There they performed "At the Hop", "Twistin' U.S.A.", and "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay". 

Sadly, Danny Rapp died at the age of 41 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.  In 2003, the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.  The current version of the band at that time performed "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame's 2004 concert.  The group was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2013.

Thank you for listening to another episode of Rock and Roll Flashback.  I will close out this episode with Danny & the Juniors recording of "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay".  So fellow travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!