Upcoming Interview: David White of Danny & The Juniors

UPDATE: The interview is now published here.

I am thrilled to announce that I recently interviewed David White, who founded the great '50s-'60s doo-wop group, Danny & The Juniors, known for, among other hits, "At the Hop" and "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay".

Featuring Danny Rapp as lead singer and backed by Joe Terranova, Frank Maffei, and White, the group hailed from Philadelphia and quickly rose to national prominence with their smooth vocal arrangements and upbeat, fun style.

White, who co-wrote "At the Hop" and wrote "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay", went on to have a successful writing career after the original rendition of Danny & The Juniors broke up in the early '60s. Among other well-known and popular songs, White co-wrote "You Don't Own Me", which was recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, and "1-2-3", recorded by Len Barry in 1965.  

Danny & The Juniors continues to tour today, minus White and original lead singer Rapp, who was found dead in his Arizona hotel room in 1983 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. The group now consists of Joe Terranova (who goes by Joe Terry) as lead singer, Frank Maffei, and Frank's brother, Bob Maffei.

White, who now lives in Las Vegas, continues to write to this day, always looking for the next creative project to get involved with. 

So stay tuned for this fun interview with someone who was right there in the thick of Rock 'n' Roll's early days, not only as a performer, but as a songwriter who gave the world material that is still going strong with new generations of fans over five decades later. In the meantime, enjoy these videos!

All the Best, 

Aaron Robertson

David White is the second singer from the front at the very beginning of this video.
 
Before it became "At the Hop", it was actually "Do the Bop". More on that in the interview!
Lesley Gore performing her hit, "You Don't Own Me", which was co-written by David White.