| "Caroline" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Status Quo | ||||
| from the album Hello! | ||||
| B-side | "Joanne" | |||
| Released | 31 August 1973 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:43 | |||
| Label | Vertigo | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Francis Rossi, Bob Young | |||
| Producer(s) | Status Quo | |||
| Status Quo singles chronology | ||||
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| Official audio | ||||
| "Caroline" on YouTube | ||||
| Status Quosingles chronology | ||||
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"Caroline" is a single released by the British rock band Status Quo in 1973. It was included on the band's 1973 album Hello! [3]
The song was written by band leader Francis Rossi and roadie / harmonica player Bob Young on a table napkin in the dining room of a hotel in Perranporth,Cornwall,in 1971. A demo was cut with Rossi playing guitar and bass,with Terry Williams on drums. The group changed the arrangement from a slow blues song,doubling the tempo,and recorded it mostly live using their stage gear and amplifiers. [4] On the single release,the song fades out,while the album version is about thirty seconds longer and has a conclusive ending.
The song became one of the opening numbers in Quo's live setlist for over 25 years. [4] It was the second number played at their Live Aid gig in 1985 [5] and it inspired Apollo 440's 1999 single "Stop the Rock". [6]
The song was reprised,in 2014,for the band's thirty-first studio album Aquostic (Stripped Bare) . It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance of the album at London's Roundhouse on 22 October,the concert being recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series. [7] [8]
Another re-recorded version of the song appears on the band's 2003 album Riffs .
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles (Kent Music Report) [9] | 31 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [10] | 49 |
| French Singles (SNEP) [11] | 63 |
| Germany (GfK) [12] | 36 |
| Ireland (IRMA) [13] | 11 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [14] | 5 |
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA) [15] | 12 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [16] | 13 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [17] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||