Sock hop

File:Shimer College Sox Hop 1948.jpg

Sock hop at Shimer College, Illinois, in 1948

A sock hop or sox hop, often also called a record hop<ref name= McBride>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp or just a hop, was an informal (but officially organized) dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music.

The term sock hop came about because dancers were required to remove their shoes to protect the varnished floor of the gymnasium.<ref name="McBride" />Template:Rp

History

Sock hops were held as early as 1944 by the American Junior Red Cross to raise funds during World War II.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They then became a fad among American teenagers in 1948.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sock hops were commonly held at high schools and other educational institutions, often in the school gymnasium or cafeteria.

File:Shimer College Sox Hop shoes 1948.jpg

Students removing their shoes for a sock hop.

The music at a sock hop was usually played from vinyl records, sometimes presented by a disc jockey.<ref name= McBride />Template:Rp Occasionally there were live bands. In later years, "hops" became strongly associated with the 1950s and early rock and roll.<ref name= McBride />Template:Rp "At the Hop", a song by Danny & the Juniors that debuted in 1957, names many popular and novelty dances and otherwise documented what occurred at a hop.<ref name= McBride />Template:Rp

In subsequent decades, with the widespread popularity of sneakers and other types of indoors-only footwear, the practice of removing shoes was dropped. The term then came to be applied more generally to any informal dance for teenagers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Revival

The term caught on in England in the late 1970s during a British rockabilly revival, led by groups like The Stray Cats. "Life Begins at the Hop", a song celebrating sock hops, became the first charting single for XTC.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

• Sokkie - a similar idea in South Africa
• School dance - modern incarnation of sock hops, shoes typically being mandatory for safety purposes (to avoid slipping and falling, shoe theft, etc.)
• Prom - formal school dance in North American high schools, usually held for seniors (and sometimes juniors in a 'junior prom') at the end of the school year
• Social dance
• Bobby soxer

External links

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