"Martian Hop" is a song written by

The Ran-Dells The Ran-Dells were an American musical ensemble from Villas, New Jersey, United States. In 1963 their novelty song " Martian Hop" peaked at number 27 on the US ''Billboard'' black singles chart, and at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Des ...

, and released in 1963. It has been described as a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

and reached #27 on the black

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

and #16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was later covered by artists as diverse as

Rocky Sharpe and the Replays Rocky Sharpe and the Replays is an English doo-wop/rock and roll revival group who first found fame in the late 1970s. The usual line-up of the group was Rocky Sharpe (born Robert Podsiadły, 26 November 1952 – 5 December 2019), Helen Highwate ...

Joanie Bartels Joan Constance Bartels (born May 21, 1953) is a retired American children's singer-songwriter, recording artist, and occasional actress based in New Zealand. Her 1985 album, ''Lullaby Magic'', was certified gold by the Recording Industry Assoc ...

and soul group The Newcomers. Versions in French included comedian

Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean comedian, singer and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of a native Ca ...

and the group Les Champions.

Creation

The song is the product of the three band members joking around in John Spirt's living room at his residence in

Wildwood, New Jersey Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area and is a popular summer resort destination along the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's year-rou ...

. It tells of

Martians Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...

throwing a

dance party A dance party (also referred to as a dance) is a social gathering where dancing is the primary activity. Some dance parties are held in a casual setting and open to the public, such as a rave, or those held in nightclubs. Other types of dance ...

for "all the

human race Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

," and "theorized Martians were probably great dancers." It is one of many songs recorded during the 1950s and 1960s that capitalized on space exploration and the possibility of threatening aliens. While Steve Rappaport worked on the song in the studio,

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

heard it and recommended to

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music record producer, producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by Time (magazine), ''Time' ...

it be picked up and released on the new label, Chairman. The master tape cost over $300 and "Martian Hop" became the third single Chairman released.

Early electronic music

Though the Ran-Dells have been recognized for innovative and pioneering use of a sine wave generator (a first for the pop music genre), the musicians actually responsible for the sine wave tones heard in "Martian Hop" received no credit for the composition. The twelve-second introduction at the beginning of the song is an uncredited sample from the first 30 seconds of "Moon Maid" by

Tom Dissevelt Thomas Dissevelt (4 March 1921, Leiden – 1989) was a Dutch composer and musician. He is known as a pioneer in the merging of electronic music and jazz. He married Rina Reys, sister of Rita Reys, in 1946. Tom Dissevelt was also known as bass ...

and

Dick Raaymakers Dick Raaijmakers (Maastricht, 1 September 1930 – The Hague, 4 September 2013), also known as Dick Raaymakers or Kid Baltan, was a Dutch composer, theater maker and theorist. He is considered a pioneer in the field of electronic music and tape mu ...

, aka Kid Baltan. It appeared on their experimental album, ''The Electrosoniks - Electronic Music'' in 1962, a year before "Martian Hop" was recorded.

Chart positions

The Ran-Dells Rocky Sharpe and the Replays version

References

External links

The Martian ( Hop ) Chronicles - The Story of the Ran-Dells

Le Martien (The Martian Hop) Henri Salvador
{{authority control 1963 singles Novelty songs 1963 songs Songs about dancing Songs about extraterrestrial life Songs about planets Fiction set on Mars

Creation

Early electronic music

Chart positions

See also

References

External links