Danny & the Juniors

Danny & the Juniors were an American doo-wop and rock and roll vocal group formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Originally consisting of Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei, and Joe “Terry” Terranova, the group was formed in 1955. They are best known for their 1957 no. 1 hit "At the Hop" and their 1958 follow-up hit "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay".

1950s

Danny Rapp (lead), Frank Maffei (second tenor), Joe Terranova (a.k.a. Joe Terry) (baritone), and Dave White Tricker (a.k.a. Dave White) (first tenor) met at John Bartram High School and started singing together in the mid-1950s. Changing "Let's all do the bop" to "Let's go to the Hop" proved to be successful, and it became a local hit in June 1957. In December 1957, they received a call from Dick Clark to be a last-minute substitution for a no-show band on American Bandstand, and they performed it for a national audience. or sometime near the end of the band's recording career in the early 1960s. 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. before reuniting 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.

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, reaching no. 39. they performed "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame's 2004 concert.

From September 2011, Frank Maffei and Terranova presented an hour-long rock'n'roll radio special for London's Covent Garden Radio in the UK.

Since July 2025, later addition Bobby Maffei is the only surviving member.

Personnel deaths

Danny Rapp was found dead in a hotel in Quartzsite, Arizona on April 4, 1983, an apparent gunshot suicide. his daughter Wendy said he died of lung and throat cancer.

Joe Terranova died on April 15, 2019, at the age of 78.

Frank Maffei died on July 19, 2025, at the age of 85.

Members

Danny Rapp (born Daniel Earl Rapp, May 9, 1941, Philadelphia – died April 5, 1983) — lead vocals (1958–1983; his death)
Joe Terry (born Joseph Angelo Terranova, January 30, 1941, Philadelphia – died April 15, 2019) — lead and baritone vocals (1958–2019; his death)
Dave White (born David Ernest White, November 26, 1939, Philadelphia – died March 16, 2019) — first tenor vocals
Jimmy Testa - vocals
Johnny Petillo - vocals
Bobby Love - vocals

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

{|class="sortable wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!US Billboard Hot 100

!US Cashbox

!US Billboard R&B

!Canada CHUM Chart

!UK

!Label (US)

| align=center| 1957|| "Do the Bop" b/w "Sometimes" || align=center|-- || align=center| --|| align=center| -- || align=center| -- || align=center|-- || Singular

| align=center| 1957|| "At the Hop" b/w "Sometimes" || align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|--|| align=center|-- || Singular 711

| align=center| 1957/8|| "At the Hop" b/w "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)" || align=center|1|| align=center|1|| align=center|1|| align=center|1|| align=center|3 || ABC-Paramount 9871

| align=center| 1958|| "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" / "School Boy Romance" || align=center|19|| align=center| 16|| align=center| 16|| align=center|16|| align=center|-- || ABC-Paramount 9888

| align=center| 1958|| "Dottie" / "In The Meantime"|| align=center|39|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || ABC-Paramount 9926

| align=center| 1958|| "A Thief" / "Crazy Cave"|| align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || ABC-Paramount 9953

| align=center| 1958|| "Sassy Fran" / "I Feel So Lonely"|| align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || ABC-Paramount 9978

| align=center| 1959|| "Do You Love Me" / "Somehow I Can't Forget" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || ABC-Paramount 10004

| align=center| 1959|| "Playing Hard To Get" / "Of Love" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || ABC-Paramount 10052

| align=center| 1960|| "Twistin' U.S.A." / "A Thousand Miles Away" || align=center|27|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|10|| align=center|-- || Swan 4060

| align=center| 1960|| "Candy Cane, Sugary Plum" / "Oh Holy Night" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Swan 4064

| align=center| 1961|| "Pony Express" / "Daydreamer" || align=center|60|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|16|| align=center|-- || Swan 4068

| align=center| 1961|| "Cha Cha Go Go (Chicago Cha-Cha)" / "Mister Whisper" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Swan 4072

| align=center| 1961|| "Back To The Hop" / "The Charleston Fish" || align=center|80|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Swan 4082

| align=center| 1962|| "Twistin' All Night Long" (with Freddy Cannon) / "Some Kind Of Nut"|| align=center|68|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Swan 4092

| align=center| 1962|| "Doin' The Continental Walk" / "(Do The) Mashed Potatoes" || align=center|93|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Swan 4100

| align=center| 1962|| "Funny" / "We Got Soul" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Swan 4113

| align=center| 1962|| "Oo-La-La-Limbo" / "Now And Then" || align=center|99|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|27|| align=center|27|| Guyden 2076

| align=center| 1964|| "Sad Girl" / "Let's Go Ski-ing" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Mercury 72240

| align=center| 1968|| "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" (re-recording) b/w "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Luv 252

| align=center| 1973|| "At the Hop" / "Let the Good Times Roll" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Crunch 018001

| align=center| 1973|| "At the Hop" / "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || Roulette GG-121

| align=center| 1973|| "At the Hop" / "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- || MCA D-2411

| align=center| 1976|| "At the Hop" / "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" || align=center|--|| align=center| --|| align=center| --|| align=center|-- || align=center|-- ||

Albums

Despite the sizable output released by Danny & The Juniors from the late 1950s to early 1960s, no albums were 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.

References

External links

Danny & The Juniors Official Website
The Vocal Group Hall of Fame: Danny and the Juniors