Danny & the Juniors
| Danny & the Juniors | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States |
| Genres | Doo-wop, rock and roll |
| Years active | 1955-present |
| Labels | Swan, ABC, Guyden, Mercury, Capitol |
| Website |
www |
| Members |
Frank Maffei Joe Terranova (aka Joe Terry) Bobby Maffei |
| Past members |
Danny Rapp David White Lennie Baker |
Danny & the Juniors are a doo-wop and rock and roll quartet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania comprising Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova. Formed in 1955, they are most widely recognized for their 1958 hit single "At the Hop" (recorded the previous year in 1957) and "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay".
The 1960s
Danny & the Juniors appeared early in their career on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. They started to sing together when they were 13 and 14 years old.
In 1960, the band was signed to Dick Clark's Swan Records label, and they released one more record, "Twistin' USA". It made it into the Top 40, and became their final hit single. They went on to release several more singles, but were not able to repeat their earlier successes.
White left the group in the early 1960s to concentrate on writing and production. He was very successful in this venture, composing 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 1960s, the Juniors also appeared on Guyden Records, Mercury Records, and Luv Records (a subsidiary of Bell Records), where they re-recorded "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay" in 1968. 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.
The 1970s to the present
In 1976, "At the Hop" was re-issued, and it made its way into the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. The single was commercially used for the Canadian National Exhibition, changing the words to "Let's go to the Ex" rather than "Let's go to the hop." It was parodied by the band Dash Rip Rock with their single entitled "Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot", and by NRBQ during the 1973 energy crisis under the title, "Get That Gasoline".
After a few years, Rapp was found dead in a hotel in Arizona on April 5, 1983, of an apparent suicide.
Danny & the Juniors featuring Joe Terry currently tours, with Terranova singing lead, along with Maffei and Maffei's brother, Bobby Maffei.
Since September 2011, Frank Maffei and Terranova have presented an hour-long rock'n'roll radio special for London's Covent Garden Radio in the UK.
The Canadian pop group Finrod and the Juniors apparently were inspired by the 1950s doo-wop group Danny and the Juniors, with their style being very similar, including heavy use of harmony background vocals, rolling piano, and saxophone fills.
Members
- Danny Rapp (born Daniel Joseph Rapp, May 9, 1941, Philadelphia–died April 5, 1983)—lead tenor vocalist.
- Joe Terranova (born Joseph Terranova, January 30, 1941, Philadelphia)—baritone/bass vocalist.
- Dave White (born Dave White Tricker, September 1, 1939, Philadelphia)—tenor vocalist.
- Frank Maffei (born December 15, 1939, Philadelphia)—second tenor vocalist.
- Bobby Maffei—tenor vocalist.
Awards and recognition
Danny & the Juniors were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003, and the group was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame on November 22, 2013.
Singles
| Year | Title | US Hot 100 |
US R&B | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | "Do The Bop" | -- | -- | Singular |
| 1957 | "At the Hop" / "Sometimes" | -- | -- | Singular 711 |
| 1957 | "At the Hop" / "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)" | 1 | 1 | ABC-Paramount 9871 |
| 1958 | "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" / "School Boy Romance" | 19 | 16 | ABC-Paramount 9888 |
| 1958 | "Dottie" / "In The Meantime" | 39 | -- | ABC-Paramount 9926 |
| 1958 | "A Thief" / "Crazy Cave" | -- | -- | ABC-Paramount 9953 |
| 1958 | "Sassy Fran" / "I Feel So Lonely" | -- | -- | ABC-Paramount 9978 |
| 1959 | "Do You Love Me" / "Somehow I Can't Forget" | -- | -- | ABC-Paramount 10004 |
| 1959 | "Playing Hard To Get" / "Of Love" | -- | -- | ABC-Paramount 10052 |
| 1960 | "Twistin' U.S.A." / "A Thousand Miles Away" | 27 | -- | Swan 4060 |
| 1960 | "Candy Cane, Sugary Plum" / "Oh Holy Night" | -- | -- | Swan 4064 |
| 1961 | "Pony Express" / "Daydreamer" | 60 | -- | Swan 4068 |
| 1961 | "Cha Cha Go Go (Chicago Cha-Cha)" / "Mister Whisper" | -- | -- | Swan 4072 |
| 1961 | "Back To The Hop" / "The Charleston Fish" | 80 | -- | Swan 4082 |
| 1962 | "Twistin' All Night Long" (with Freddy Cannon) / "Some Kind Of Nut" | 68 | -- | Swan 4092 |
| 1962 | "Doin' The Continental Walk" / "(Do The) Mashed Potatoes" | 93 | -- | Swan 4100 |
| 1962 | "Funny" / "We Got Soul" | -- | -- | Swan 4113 |
| 1962 | "Oo-La-La-Limbo" / "Now And Then" | 99 | -- | Guyden 2076 |
| 1964 | "Sad Girl" / "Let's Go Ski-ing" | -- | -- | Mercury 72240 |
| 1968 | "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" / "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)" | -- | -- | Luv 252 |
| 1973 | "At The Hop" / "Let the Good Times Roll" | -- | -- | Crunch 018001 |
| 1973 | "At The Hop" / "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" | -- | -- | Roulette |
| 1980 | "At The Hop" / "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" | -- | -- | MCA |
Albums
Oddly, despite the sizable output released by Danny & The Juniors from the late 50's to early 60's, no albums were ever released during that time. The first compilation album was released in 1983: Rockin' With Danny and The Juniors on MCA; this was followed over the years by several other compilations on vinyl and CD.
External links
- Official Danny & The Juniors Site
- 'Danny and The Juniors' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
- Danny & The Juniors
- Covent Garden Radio London
- Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia web page