1972 Hot Butter – Popcorn – What Was Left In

1972 Hot Butter – Popcorn

The Moog synthesizer first appeared on commercial recordings in 1967. An article that lists the first ten recordings included several recordings by legendary drummer Hal Blaine, the Strange Days album from the Doors, several songs Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. by the Monkees, and an album by Jean Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley.

Gershon began working on additional music as a solo artist and released the album Music To Moog By in 1969. The album contained covers of a two Beatle songs (including Paperback Writer).

The album also included some original music, including the song Popcorn. The song and video may not seem as impressive now, but they were groundbreaking at the time.

To demonstrate the capabilities of Moog synthesizers, Gershon formed the First Moog Quartet in 1970. One of the members of the group was jazz musician Stan Free, who also toured with the group for two years.

When the touring ended, Stan recorded the album Hot Butter with five studio musicians. One of the songs on the album was a cover of Popcorn. Musicor released the song as a single in 1972.

The peppy song climbed up to #9 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The single sold over two million copies, nearly half of them in France alone.

Somehow, somebody created a dance for the song, and they even shot a video showing off the dance moves.