Danny Rapp

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Danny (on the left) and the Juniors

Daniel Joseph "Danny" Rapp (May 9, 1941 – April 5, 1983) was an American musician and the frontman for the group Danny & the Juniors. The group is best known for their 1957 hit "At the Hop".

He was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of seven siblings. Although his birth certificate states his birth was May 10, he was born at home on May 9 and registered the following day.

Danny's musical career began in 1955 with the formation of his group The Juvenairs, which later became known as Danny and the Juniors. Their 1957 song "Do the Bop" came to the attention of Dick Clark, who suggested they rename it to "At the Hop." After limited initial success with the song, it became a worldwide hit when it was played on American Bandstand. The Juniors went on to have two more hits "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay" and "Twistin' USA". The Juniors released several more records in the 1960s but were not able to produce any more hits. In the 1970s they toured the oldies circuit, re-releasing "At the Hop" in 1976.

He died in 1983 of an apparent suicide by gunshot in a hotel in Arizona and was survived by his wife and three children.

[edit] References

The first track on the self-titled debut album from The Constantines called "Arizona," is based on Rapp's suicide. The song begins with the lyric "This is a song about the death of Danny Rapp. And that great gospel jest called rock 'n' roll."