Danny and the Juniors … one of the great Philly Groups that helped lead the way to Rock and Roll History! They formed in 1955 at Bartram High School known as the Juvenaires at the time singing at school parties and local Philly events. In 1957 they recorded a song called “Do The Bop” and was introduced to Dick Clark. Yep, the famous eternal teenager … Dick Clark. He suggested changing their name to the Juniors and renamed the song “At The Hop” with Danny Rapp singing lead. After changing a few words “Let’s all do the Bop” to “Let’s go to the Hop” the record became a local hit. In December of 1957 the group received a call to appear on the “American Bandstand” show as a last-minute replacement for a no show … the performance was the big break they needed, performing for a national audience … the rest is Rock and Roll History! Their follow up song is a Rock and Roll anthem … “Rock and Roll is here to stay”! Last week we lost the last surviving member of the Juniors, an old friend … Frankie Maffei. I had the horrors of performing with the Juniors a few times and began reminiscing about two particular events. The first was having Danny and the Juniors headline a show with us at the Emerald Room. Watching them play their legendary hit songs was an experience I will never forget, especially the comedic relief of Frankie Maffei. Frankie was the second tenor of the group, but his humor and charm was the highlight. I was with them at their Vocal Group Hall of Fame induction in 2003. That evening at the Montemurro’s Supper Club Show, they joined us on stage to do their two hit records and yes, we did the iconic “Rock and Roll is here to Stay!” Every now and then the classic black and white film clip of them doing “At the Hop” appears and I still get that rush of hearing it for the first time. If you have a chance to google a movie from 1973 called…”Let The Good Times Roll” you will see Danny and the Juniors doing their classic songs. They made an appearance on the syndicated series “Sha Na Na” performing “At the Hop” and Rock and Roll is Here to Stay” an episode I’ll never forget. I’m sure Frankie was given a hug last week by his fellow band mates as he entered Rock and Roll Heaven! Thanks for the music, the history and especially the memories!