"Finger Poppin' Time" is a song written by Hank Ballard and performed by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters. It reached number two on the US Billboard R&B chart and number seven on the pop chart in 1960.[1] It was featured on their 1960 album Mr. Rhythm and Blues.[2] Ballard re-released a version of the song in 1972 as a single, but it did not chart.
| "Finger Poppin' Time" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters | ||||
| from the album Mr. Rhythm and Blues | ||||
| B-side | "I Love You, I Love You So-O-O" | |||
| Released | April 1960 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 2:30 | |||
| Label | King | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Hank Ballard | |||
| Hank Ballard & The Midnighters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1961, losing to "Let the Good Times Roll" by Ray Charles.
The song ranked number 49 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 singles of 1960.[3] The record sold in excess of one million copies.[4]
Other versions
- The Stanley Brothers released a version of the song as a single in 1960, but it did not chart.[5]
- Hello People featuring Utopia released a version of the song on their 1974 album The Handsome Devils.[6]
- Lou Ann Barton featuring The Flemtones released a version of the song on her 1982 album Old Enough.[7]
In popular culture
- The song was mentioned in the 1974 song "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" by Reunion.
- Ballard's version was featured in the 1984 film The Flamingo Kid.[8]
- The song was also heard in the 1993 film The Sandlot.[9]