- Sock Hop
"Sock Hop" or "soc hop" (rarely) is a term coined in the 1950s in the
United States , following the growth in popularity ofrock and roll , to refer to informal sponsored dances at Americanhigh school s, typically held on the grounds of the high school itself in thegym nasium orcafeteria . Music was often recorded, sometimes live.Initially the term referred to the practice of removing one's shoes in order to dance in stocking feet, typically to spare the floor from the scuff marks of dress shoes.
In "Ready Teddy" (1956),
Little Richard sings::All the
flattop cats and the dungaree dolls:Are headed to the gym for the sock hop ballIn the 1973 classic motion picture
American Graffiti which is set in 1962 two kids named Steve and Laurie attend a high school freshmen sock hop dance. In one scene all the teens are dancing to "The Stroll " where a close up of their feet shows them dancing in white or black socks without any shoes.In subsequent decades, with the widespread popularity of sneakers and other types of shoes, the practice of removing shoes was dropped and the term began to be applied more generally to any informal high school dance.
Record Hop refers to a hop at which
disc jockey s played records. The number-one song of 1958 "At the Hop " byDanny and the Juniors , describes the scene. Sock hops were often record hops and vice versa.
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