Sock hop

Sock hop is the name for a dance event that was created in the USA in the 1950s . During this time, rock 'n' roll became more and more popular. There were many casual dances in the high schools, typically in the cafeteria or more commonly in the gym.

In the beginning there was the expression for taking off your own shoes in order to prevent wear marks on the soles on the floor.

In Ready Teddy , a rock 'n' roll song from Little Richard's debut album Here's Little Richard (1957), it says:

All the flat top cats and the dungaree dolls,

Are headed for the gym to the sock hop ball,

The joint is really jumpin ', the cats are going wild,

The music really sends me, I dig that crazy style

(Text: John Marascalco , Robert Blackwell )

In the following decades, when sneakers and other types of shoes became more and more common, the custom of taking off your shoes lost its importance. So the term sock hop was used for every casual school dance.