FRANKLIN — The sweet-singing vocal quartet, The Sock Hops, billed as “Georgia’s premier oldies group,” wowed the crowd with tight, four-part harmonies on Jan. 30 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts.

About 650 people attended the 90-minute, two-set show that featured a step back into the past with songs from the doo-wop era and — mostly — the early years of rock ‘n’ roll.

Among the many song highlights during the concert, an explosive standout was the Sock Hops’ full-throttle rendition — with Scott Cruce singing lead — of  The Tokens’ “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and the Four Seasons’ “Sherry.”

Besides the music (mostly from the past), another of the show’s highlights was the sometimes elaborate, sometimes amusing choreography, all of which was quite stunning.

The group also performed several songs by the Eagles, as a tribute to the recent death of one of the landmark group’s founders, Glenn Frey, at age 67.

The concert originally was scheduled about a week earlier, but was postponed because of a snow and ice storm.

The Sock Hops, formed in 1989 in Marietta, Ga., feature the combined talents of Courtney Oliver, Ward Hiss, Cruce and Jim Mitchell.

The lead vocals rotate between group founder Oliver and Cruce.

The concert began with a powerful rendition of “Runaround Sue,” followed by “Little Darlin’” and “You’re 16.”

At that point, Oliver gave his full-throttle vocal presentation of “Cara Mia” that triggered much applause. 

Next, the group launched into a soaring rendition of The Happenings’ “See You in September.”

Then, the Sock Hops played their first of several Eagles songs, “Take It Easy,” after which Cruce intoned (in a reference to Frey), “We’re going to miss you, Glenn!”

(In the second set, the group also sang the Eagles’ “Best of My Love.”)

The group singing several Roy Orbison songs, performed an especially poignant version of “Crying,” and then launched into Sam Cooke’s “What a Wonderful World” — and both songs received sustained applause.

In addition, the group sang the Beatles’ “All My Loving,” followed by the Four Seasons’ “Sherry.” 

Cruce’s falsetto on “Sherry” probably would have impressed even Frankie Valli, who sang it originally — and the performance elicited the loudest applause of the night, to that point.

As the cheering continued, Oliver noted that Cruce has been with the group for eight years.

To that, Cruce, who is blind, smiled and quipped, “I’ve never seen these guys before.” His deadpan delivery prompted much laughter from the crowd.

Later in the first set, the group sang the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” followed by Orbison’s “Only the Lonely.”

After the intermission, the Sock Hops began the second set with the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There” and, a little later, the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

Other memorable second-set songs included Jay and the Americans’ version of “This Magic Moment” and Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” the Mills Brothers’ “60-Minute Man,” the Four Seasons’ “Rag Doll” and Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.”

The concert ended with an encore that include a patriotic medley that had the crowd on its feet.

Oliver, who counts “Cara Mia” and “What a Wonderful World” as two of his top song leads, is originally from Birmingham, Ala.

 Cruce, an Atlanta native, joined the Sock Hops in 1997.  He especially soared with lead vocals on songs by the Four Seasons and the Eagles.

 A fixture in the Sock Hops since 1996, Hiss is billed as adding the baritone glue, holding the group’s complex harmonies together.  Originally from Coral Gables, Fla, Ward sings mellow lead vocals on songs like Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville” as well as Jimmy Durante’s “As Time Goes By.”

Mitchell, another Birmingham native, has anchored  the group with his booming bass notes since 2006.  His renditions of  “Blue Moon,” “Sweet Caroline,” and Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons” are standouts.

The Sock Hops have served as the opening act for the concert appearances of The Rascals, The Swingin’ Medallions, Sha-Na-Na, The Temptations, Three Dog Night, Mark Lindsey, The Drifters, The Grass Roots, Frankie Avalon, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Peter Noone, The Cadillacs, The Bobbettes, The Clovers, Herb Cox and the Cleftones, The Skyliners and Eddie Holman. 

The Sock Hops also perform regularly as one of the featured acts in The Great American Rock and Roll Revival show.

This group never fails to provide great re-creations of the musical hits of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, making the Sock Hops one of the premier entertainment groups in the Southeastern United States.