“I don’t care what people say,
rock ’n' roll is here to stay!”
That timeless anthem to the power of rock ’n’ roll was proclaimed by a quartet of Philadelphia teenagers known as Danny & The Juniors.
You might remember their first hit, At The Hop. The story of their success in the heyday of Fifties rock ’n’roll, their decline, their incredible comeback, second career -- and their role in a wild American revival of old time show business -- would be a glorious one, if not for the sad end to the life of Danny himself -- Danny Rapp, dead in a mobile home turned motel unit in the dry hot Arizona desert.
Our pals Burt Kearns and Jeff Abraham tell that story, as none has done before, on the Please Kill Me website (no pun intended).
"This is what’s cool” is the tagline of the pop culture and literary website that sprung from the classic punk oral history book by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain -- and this article is very cool, another outtake from the upcoming book by Jeff and Burt.
You can read it by clicking here.
"So what was the breaking point? The twentieth anniversary of singing the same two songs? Looking through the windshield at another endless highway and seeing only more of the same Holiday Inns, afternoons waking up hungover next to the same middle-aged female fans? Near the end of the decade, maybe it was Danny & The Juniors’ latest and strangest trip: another package tour, traveling by bus with another collection of acts. Only this time it wasn’t rock & roll.
"It was vaudeville..."
So check out The Lonesome Death of Danny Rapp! I don't care what people say, this story is a great one! (even though people are agreeing it’s quite a read!)
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