Doing A Sock Hop? Remember these fun things...
By Adrian Cavlan
The other day I had the joy of being asked to DJ a 1950’s-themed party. I say “joy” because the oldies from the birth of rock n’ roll up through doo wop and surf, etc. are some of my favorites, and it’s not too often that you get asked to play a whole night of that stuff these days.
A few things to think about when doing these parties:
The songs are short! Many of them aren’t even 2.5 minutes long, so you have to know the music well and know where you want to go or you could get “DJ stuck” landing yourself into silence between the tracks (because you can’t think fast enough of what to play next), or, just as badly, playing songs back to back that have no direction or momentum and blowing up the dance floor almost immediately. The remedy? Do your homework and know the songs. Prep a few little short sets that you know will work on the dance floor that can buy you some breathing room. Need one? OK: Twist & Shout into Tequila into La Bamba.
You almost always want to play the song to its conclusion. These songs are short, folks, and people know them and want to hear all of them when you play them. This is particularly true of any song with a cold ending or a cold fade. That isn’t to say never do it, but suffice to say you should save 95% of your quick mixing skills for the hip hop set.
There were great participation dances that came out in the ‘50s. Two that immediately come to mind are The Stroll by The Diamonds and the Limbo Rock by Chubby Checker. These are great fun and you will be really bringing an authentic vibe to the party if you do at least one of these. Keep in mind a couple of things:
You will need a stick and a couple of volunteers to hold it if you do the limbo. A simple broomstick or dowel will do.
What is the average age of your guests?! Back in the late 80s and early 90s we were DJing all of these peoples’ 20 year high school reunions, and they all wanted to do these, but now these folks are in their 70s and 80s! Doubt they have any interest in the limbo w/ a side order of paramedic ride to the E.R. ; )
Related to the above: keep in mind the average age of your guests. If they are older, they are used to eating earlier and closing up shop by around 9 or 9:30 or so, no matter how much fun they are having. Not saying there aren’t exceptions, but I would say front-load the fun: give them most of the good stuff right out of the gate. They may only dance for 45 minutes or an hour, but they will be thrilled and say it was the best party ever as they are leaving. Way better than still having 70% of your best stuff in the bag because you were “saving it for later.”
Have fun out there!