"Moon Hop" is a 1969 single by

Derrick Morgan Derrick Morgan OD (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence", ''Jamaica Observer'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He w ...

. Backed with the Reggaeites' "Harris Wheel", it reached #49 on the UK Singles Chart. The British Afro-Caribbean

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band Symarip covered "Moon Hop" as "Skinhead Moonstomp"; whilst unsuccessful on first release, in the wake of the

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Second-order intercept point#Two-tone analysis, Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone Warning chime, chime, such as the "ding ...

revolution it was re-issued and charted at #54.

Background

"Moon Hop" was written to commemorate the July 20, 1969 landing of the

Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...

on the moon. Symarip's version was released shortly afterwards and many see a strong similarity between the two. The Symarip version includes a vocal introduction: "I want all you skinheads to get up on your feet/Put your braces together and your boots on your feet/And give me some of that old moonstomping" which was based on

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

's "I Thank You.” The screeching guitar and lyrics were intended to appeal to

skinhead A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide i ...

s. When released for the first time, Moonstomp sold 5,000 copies, and Symarip named their album after it.

Chart performance

"Moon Hop" was the first version to chart on the UK Singles Chart; backed with the Reggaeites' "Harris Wheel", it spent a week at #49 in January 1970. Although Symarip's version didn't chart on first release, it was re-released ten years later in 1980 in the wake of the

revolution, and spent three weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1980.

References

{{authority control 1969 singles 1980 singles 1969 songs The Specials songs Pama Records singles