The hippies that the Orlons and the Dovells were singing about in 1963 were probably young hep cats, digging the hottest tunes of the day and learning the latest dance steps. The "hippie" subculture of the "flower children" would emerge on the other side of the country about four years later.
That never occurred to me! You’re right, the song came out well before the popular concept of “a hippy” even developed!
Although Alan Ginsberg was already a kind of a hippy even in like 1959. But he was a “hep cat” as you said, I’m sure. And he was from NYC, not the west coast.