The Sherrys were players in the craze for teen dances that swept the nation in the early '60s, and practically every song the group recorded related to a specific fad dance. When a new dance called the Popeye began spreading from New Orleans to the rest of the country in late 1961 and 1962,
Little Joe Cook, the group's mentor (and father to half), took them into the studio to record a song created especially for the dance. That song, "Pop Pop Pop-Pie," became a Top 40 pop and R&B hit in 1962 and the Sherrys' biggest success. The group followed up with "Slop Time," a minor hit in 1963, and "Saturday Night," which quoted
Ernie Maresca's "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)" and saw some regional action but failed to reach the national charts.
Pop Pop Pop-Pie compiles the Sherrys' complete Jamie recordings, including the songs from their album At the Hop with the Sherrys, an alternate take of "The Last Dance," and two previously unreleased cuts. A plethora of teen dances are represented, including the Strand, the Slop, the Mashed Potato, the Fly, the Stomp, the Twist, the Limbo, and the Monkey, along with more general exhortations to dance such as "At the Hop" and "Dance." The group covers
the Dovells' "Bristol Twistin' Annie" (itself an adaptation of "Pistol Packin' Mama") as "Bristol Twistin' Danny" and even sings a few ballads, presumably for slow dancing. The utilitarianism of teen dance records may not qualify as high art, but they are loads of fun and make good party platters.