John Medora (born May 28, 1936 in Philadelphia), also known as Johnny Madara, was an American singer and songwriter, who teamed up with David White and Arthur Singer to write the 1957 hit "At the Hop". "At the Hop", a slightly disguised 12-bar blues celebration of popular dance styles, was a hit single by Danny & the Juniors. The song was released in the fall of 1957, and reached #1 on the US hit charts on January 6, 1958, thus becoming one of the top-selling singles during all of 1958. It was written by Arthur Singer, John Medora and David White. The song also achieved top 10 popularity on the Rhythm and Blues chart, and was regionally popular in country music.
Singer Nick Todd, brother of Pat Boone, reached the Billboard Top 100 with his cover.
The song describes the scene at a record hop, particularly the dances being performed and the interaction with the disc jockey host.
A sample of the song's lyrics (contemporary popular dances in bold):
You can rock it you can roll it
Do the stop and even stroll it
At the hop
When the record starts spinnin'
You chalypso and you chicken at the hop
Do the dance sensation that is.