The selection for this week’s Novelty Friday is “Martian Hop” by The Ran-Dells.  The song was written by the Ran-Dells, a group from Wildwood, New Jersey. It was released in 1963 and reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Part of its popularity can be attributed to the race-to-space culture of the late 1950s and 1960s. John Glenn orbited the Earth in 1962, and President John F. Kennedy had just announced the intention of the United States to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.  Another part of the song’s popularity is its infectious beat. The Ran-Dells are recognized for the first use of a sine wave generator in pop music. Group members were Robert Rappaport, Steven Rappaport, and John Spirt.

Here are the lyrics to “Martian Hop” by The Ran-Dells:

We have just discovered
An important note from space
The Martians plan to throw a dance
For all the human race

Papa ooh mir mir papa ooh mir mir papa ooh mir mir papa ooh mir mir
Ee-ee-ee ee-ee
I got into my rocket ship to see the Martian Hop
I saw the planet shining red so there I made my stop
But as I opened up the door and climbed the ladder down
I saw the Martians on the floor a-dancin’ to this sound
Ee-ee-ee ee-ee the Martian Hop ee-ee-ee ee-ee-ee-ee

It seemed I was the first one there and so I was surprised
To see the Martians twist and stomp before my very eyes
They did the locomotion and the hully-gully too
I couldn’t name a single dance the Martians couldn’t do
Ee-ee-ee ee-ee the Martian Hop ee-ee-ee ee-ee-ee-ee

Now right around the stroke of twelve the dance had just begun
The earth kids parked their spaceship down on Mars to have some fun
And so I left my friends, the Martians, stomping on the ground
And even though I’m back on earth I still can hear this sound.
Ee-ee-ee ee-ee the Martian Hop ee-ee-ee ee-ee-ee-ee

Papa ooh mir mir papa ooh mir mir papa ooh mir mir papa ooh mir mir
…

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop music, rock and roll hits, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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