"Finger Poppin' Time" is a song by

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of the Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

and

the Midnighters The Midnighters were an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan. They were an influential group in the 1950s and early 1960s, with many R&B hit records. They were also notable for launching the career of lead singer Hank Ballard and the w ...

. Written by Ballard, it reached number two on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and number seven on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

in 1960. It was featured on their 1960 album ''Mr. Rhythm and Blues''. Ballard re-released a version of the song in 1972 as a single, but it did not chart. The song was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

in 1961, losing to " Let the Good Times Roll" by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

. The song ranked number 49 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1960. The record sold in excess of one million copies.

Other versions

The Stanley Brothers The Stanley Brothers were an American Bluegrass music, bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and Ralph Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016). Ralph a ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1960, but it did not chart. *

Hello People Hello People was a rock group that was created in New York City in late 1967 by producer Lou Futterman. History The idea for creating the group stemmed from Marcel Carné's 1945 film ''Children of Paradise'' (''Les Enfants du Paradis''). Eti ...

featuring

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

released a version of the song on their 1974 album ''The Handsome Devils''. * Lou Ann Barton featuring The Flemtones released a version of the song on her 1982 album ''Old Enough''.

In popular culture

*The song was mentioned in the 1974 song "

Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me) "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" is a 1974 patter song written by Norman Dolph (lyrics) and Paul DiFranco (music). It was recorded by an ad hoc group of studio musicians called Reunion, with Joey Levine as lead singer. The lyrics are ...

" by Reunion. *Ballard's version was featured in the 1984 film '' The Flamingo Kid''. *The song was also heard in the 1993 film '' The Sandlot''.

References

1960 songs 1960 singles 1972 singles Songs written by Hank Ballard Hank Ballard songs Hank Ballard & the Midnighters songs The Stanley Brothers songs Song recordings produced by Todd Rundgren Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler King Records (United States) singles {{1960s-single-stub