Danny & the Juniors - The Complete Releases 1957-62 (2018)

Danny & The Juniors emerged as a rock ‘n’ roll-influenced doowop group in the mid-50s at their high school in the musical hotbed of Philadelphia, a city which also spawned the likes of Charlie Gracie, Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Freddy Cannon (a guest artist on one track on this collection) and Chubby Checker. They recorded a song called “Do The Bop”, which through the input of American Bandstand producer and presenter Dick Clark became “At The Hop”, which gave them a US chart debut at No. 1 to establish one of the memorable and iconic musical landmarks of the rock ‘n’ roll era in 1957. They went on to have several more hits over the next five years before the British Invasion eclipsed their career. This 35-track set comprises the entirety of the recorded output during this core era of their recording career, featuring as it does all their A and B sides for the ABC-Paramount, Swan, Guyden and UK Top Rank labels during these years – remarkably, they did not release any albums during this time. It naturally includes their eight hits from these years, among them their No. 1 “At The Hop” along with another classic “Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Here To Stay”, which was adopted by ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll revival band Sha-Na-Na as part of their repertoire, inspiring the album title “Sha-Na-Na Is Here To Stay”, and they performed it as Johnny Casino & The Gamblers in the 1978 movie version of “Grease”. This comprehensive collection captures the essence of a group who made a small but highly significant contribution to the rock ‘n’ roll canon.