Song Of The Week No.14 - Martian Hop

[mysticfred]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veSLdNos7q8
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One of the most memorable early "novelty" records, The Ran-dells' 1963 hit "Martian Hop" made no.27 in the U.S. charts (Chairman 45-4403). The disc was released in the UK (London HLU 9760) though did not do so well here and is now a fairly rare collector's item.

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https://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i247 ... rtian1.jpg https://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i247 ... rtian2.jpg
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The pop culture of the late 50s and 60s was saturated with the beginnings of the Space Age. John Glenn orbited the Earth in 1962 and 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. This excitement over space related material increased the song's popularity, assisting its rise as a one-hit wonder, also the B movie industry was catering for great interest in Science Fiction movies.

The song also stands as one of the earliest instances of popular electronic music as it incorporates the use of a sine wave generator for sounds at the beginning of the song and at the key change. Steve Rappaport wanted to attract the attention of radio DJs so they would play the song. The song was the "first pop record to use additive synthesis from sine wave generators".

[Terry Robinson]

Yes, dreadful isn't it! Laughed so much when I first heard it I tried to obtain a copy from an E-Bay seller. Unfortunately, he had sold it before I had a chance to purchase it.

Cheers,

Terry.

[NewOldVinyl]

I have this 45. I suspect it's a reissue, but hey, at least I have it! ;)