A sock hop or sox hop, often also called a record hop[1]: 199 or just a hop, was an informal (but officially organized) dance event for teenagers in mid-20th-century North America, featuring popular music.
The term sock hop came about because dancers were required to remove their shoes to protect the varnished floor of the gymnasium.[1]: 200
Sock hops were held as early as 1944 by the American Junior Red Cross to raise funds during World War II.[2] They then became a fad among American teenagers in 1948.[3] Sock hops were commonly held at high schools and other educational institutions, often in the school gymnasium or cafeteria.
The music at a sock hop was usually played from vinyl records, sometimes presented by a disc jockey.[1]: 200 Occasionally there were live bands. In later years, "hops" became strongly associated with the 1950s and early rock and roll.[1]: 200 "At the Hop", a song by Danny & the Juniors that debuted in 1957, names many popular and novelty dances and otherwise documented what occurred at a hop.[1]: 199–200
In subsequent decades, with the widespread popularity of sneakers and other types of indoors-only footwear, the practice of removing shoes was dropped. The term then came to be applied more generally to any informal dance for teenagers.[4]
The term caught on in England in the late 1970s during a British rockabilly revival, led by groups like The Stray Cats. "Life Begins at the Hop", a song celebrating sock hops, became the first charting single for XTC.[5]
