Popcorn
Hot Butter - Popcorn
(2:31)112,034 plays (27,940 listeners)
Videos for this track
See more
About this track
“Popcorn” is a famous early synthpop instrumental, originally recorded by Gershon Kingsley. In 1972, it was a huge hit in many countries when it was rerecorded by Hot Butter.
Gershon Kingsley (of Perrey and Kingsley) first recorded it for his 1969 album Music to Moog By. In 1971 the song was re-recorded by Kingsley’s band First Moog Quartet. Stan Free, a member of the First Moog Quartet, rerecorded the instrumental with his band Hot Butter in 1972. The record was one of a rash of Moog synthesizer-based releases that characterized “synth-pop” of the 1960s and 1970s.
The title refers to the short staccato or sharp “popping” sound used.
There were two 7” covers, both released in 1972 under Musicor Records and Stateside labels.
Hot Butter’s version became the first primarily electronic-based piece of music to reach the American popular music charts, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Pop Singles and #4 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. The single had a great success in Australia where it reached number one for ten weeks. It was also #1 in Switzerland, where it topped the chart for ten weeks and stayed for 17 weeks in the top ten. In Norway, it was #1 for nine weeks and featured for 21 weeks in the top ten. It was also number one in Germany and reached #5 on July 22, 1972 in UK and #15 in Canada - October 1972. In France, this version of “Popcorn” is the 131st best-selling single of all time, with about 900,000 sales.
Gershon Kingsley (of Perrey and Kingsley) first recorded it for his 1969 album Music to Moog By. In 1971 the song was re-recorded by Kingsley’s band First Moog Quartet. Stan Free, a member of the First Moog Quartet, rerecorded the instrumental with his band Hot Butter in 1972. The record was one of a rash of Moog synthesizer-based releases that characterized “synth-pop” of the 1960s and 1970s.
The title refers to the short staccato or sharp “popping” sound used.
There were two 7” covers, both released in 1972 under Musicor Records and Stateside labels.
Hot Butter’s version became the first primarily electronic-based piece of music to reach the American popular music charts, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Pop Singles and #4 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. The single had a great success in Australia where it reached number one for ten weeks. It was also #1 in Switzerland, where it topped the chart for ten weeks and stayed for 17 weeks in the top ten. In Norway, it was #1 for nine weeks and featured for 21 weeks in the top ten. It was also number one in Germany and reached #5 on July 22, 1972 in UK and #15 in Canada - October 1972. In France, this version of “Popcorn” is the 131st best-selling single of all time, with about 900,000 sales.
Albums featuring this track
Similar Tracks
| Track | Duration | Listeners | |||
 |
Kraftwerk - Wellenlange | 9:37 | 2,437 | ||
|
|
Pet Shop Boys - Flamboyant (michael mayer kompakt mix) | 7:55 | 2,319 | ||
|
|
Kraftwerk - Kometenmelodie 2 full track | 5:50 | 18,189 | ||
|
|
Yello - Houdini | 4:11 | 1,848 | ||
|
|
Yello - Shake and Shiver | 4:30 | 1,835 | ||
|
|
Pet Shop Boys - Full Steam Ahead | 1:50 | 1,431 |
Shouts
-
foggiano86 wrote:
fantastica!!!!
-
Pripa wrote:
the best
-
IcarusLanding wrote:
awesome music. does anyone know who covered this song in a sort of jazzy downtempo track around 2003 (with the addition of someone saying/singing "happyyy" onto it)?
-
hilmie wrote:
one of my top hits of the 70s
-
shep_shepherd wrote:
Analogue classic!
-
Yannis30 wrote:
sorry to disagree but I think the drumming is the worst part of this song
-
RV87 wrote:
Yeah...The Rhytm section is great
-
eiszeitjaeger wrote:
Listen to the drums... its the best "drumjoin" ever!! stone on!
-
markanthony2 wrote:
i have the vocal and instrumental of this record on vinyl
-
dbgirl wrote:
Great song <3
-
babyphatman wrote:
hot butter on what? say what? the popcorn.
-
pimlicoco wrote:
Attention: Drummer at work!
-
sQuEeZeWaX wrote:
LMAO this song still cracks me up and i remember the dance!!!!!!!!!!!
-
ElCommandante wrote:
Like the part from 1:08 to 1:36 the most.
-
seanyrarr wrote:
Man, that key change is one of the finest moments in music
-
wappytea wrote:
my mum played this for me all the time as a kid
-
AlDigit wrote:
Das war mein erster Lieblingstitel - und meine erste Platte!
-
cubaneight wrote:
Simple yet monsterly effective..lets hear it again & again.
-
Iconus wrote:
For once I dig a reprise/cover!
-
CtrlRm wrote:
good stuff, if you like this youd like my band, Ctrl RM
Listeners
-
fishfiish
Top Listener
-
Rilott
Top Listener
-
leniix3
Top Listener
-
Dr_Channard
Top Listener
-
Kirky_
Top Listener
-
fLaMePrO
Top Listener
Recent Activity
- AdamORourke loved Popcorn. 3 hours ago
- laathletics added Popcorn to laathletics’s library. 8 hours ago
- bluetaq and andagezt loved Hot Butter – Popcorn. 10 hours ago
- seifensieder added Popcorn to seifensieder’s library. Saturday evening
- uschimilord, Lobowski, terbes and 2 other people loved Hot Butter – Popcorn. Saturday evening
- meanderix added Popcorn to the playlist 60s & 70s. Friday evening
- rakam-le-roux loved Popcorn. Friday afternoon
- rakam-le-roux added Popcorn to rakam-le-roux’s library. Friday afternoon
- paquitopaquete tagged Popcorn with ‘molonguis’. Friday morning
- notamber, drahdiwaberl, popeli and 9 other people loved Hot Butter – Popcorn. Thursday evening
Related Journals
-
Food and Drink Related Songs
by echa83 |
20 Jun 2008 | 
4 comments
-
[My Gang] Hercules and Love Affair - Blind (feat. Antony Hegarty) : Reco of the Week…
by Babs_05 |
29 Jan 2008 | 2 comments
-
My Wishing Tracklist
by kirillkosarev |
8 Jul 2007 | Add comment
