Eagle Rock (song)

Last updated

"Eagle Rock"
Eagle-Rock.jpg
Single by Daddy Cool
from the album Daddy Who? Daddy Cool
A-side "Eagle Rock"
B-side "Bom Bom"
Released1971
Genre Australian rock, blues rock
Length4:09
Label Sparmac
Wizard
Songwriter(s) Ross Wilson
Producer(s) Robie Porter
Daddy Cool singles chronology
"Eagle Rock"
(1971)		"Come Back Again"
(1971)

"Eagle Rock" is the debut single by Australian rock band Daddy Cool, released in 1971 on the Sparmac record label. It went on to become the best-selling Australian single of the year, achieving gold status in eleven weeks, and remaining at No. 1 on the national charts for a (then) record ten weeks. [1] [2] "Eagle Rock" also spent 17 weeks at the No. 1 spot on the Melbourne Top 40 Singles Chart. [3] The song was re-released by Wizard Records in 1982, and reached No. 17 on the Australian singles chart. [2]

Contents

In New Zealand, the song has charted three times. In 1971 it reached No. 17, in 1986 it was in the charts for ten weeks, reaching No. 19, and in 1990 it was No. 1 for four weeks, staying in the charts for 15 weeks and achieving gold status. [4]

Guitarist, vocalist and the song's writer Ross Wilson [5] was living and performing in London when he wrote the song. [6] [7] He explained his inspiration for the song:

It came from a Sunday Times liftout magazine A-Z on music. In the before blues section there was an evocative photo of rural black Americans dancing in a dirt poor juke joint—the caption was along the lines of "some negroes 'cut the pigeon wing' and 'do the eagle rock'". [8]

— Ross Wilson, 2001

"Eagle Rock" was a 1920s black dance performed with the arms outstretched and the body rocking from side to side. "Doing the eagle rock" is also a metaphor for sexual intercourse. [9] The 1913 song "Ballin' the Jack" has the line "Stretch your lovin' arms straight out in space / Then do the Eagle Rock with style and grace".

The accompanying promotional video, directed by Chris Löfvén, shows the band in locations around Melbourne. [10]

In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs of all time, as decided by a 100-strong industry panel, "Eagle Rock" was declared second behind the Easybeats' "Friday on My Mind". [11]

In 2010, "Eagle Rock" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry.

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Eagle Rock" was ranked number 21. [12]

Influence

English musician Elton John toured Australia during 1972 and was so inspired by "Eagle Rock" that, with lyricist Bernie Taupin, he wrote "Crocodile Rock". [13] The cover of John's 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player , which featured "Crocodile Rock", has a photo of Taupin wearing a "Daddy Who?" promotional badge. Taupin is also seen wearing Daddy Cool memorabilia on albums Tumbleweed Connection and Honky Chateau .

In 1998, Australia Post issued a special-edition set of twelve stamps celebrating the early years of Australian Rock 'n' Roll, featuring Australian hit songs of the late 1950s, the 1960s and the early 1970s. One of the songs featured in the collection was "Eagle Rock". [14]

In 2005, it appeared as backing music on commercials for "Victoria - The Place to Be". [15] [16] It was also used in the opening scenes of the 2005 horror movie Wolf Creek , [16] in the 2011 Australian film Red Dog and in the television series Dossa and Joe .

Since the early 1990s, "Eagle Rock" has been played at home games for the Sydney-based Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team and is unofficially the club's theme song. The song was also played to the crowd after Manly's Grand Final wins in 2008 and 2011. [17] Ross Wilson actually performed the song as part of the pre-game entertainment at the 1996 ARL Grand Final in which Manly won their 6th rugby league premiership.

The song is also played at West Coast Eagles games at Optus Stadium in the Australian Football League [18] and the Eagles' Rick 'The Rock' Eagle mascot character is also named after the song. The song was also played at the MCG after the Eagles victory in the 2018 AFL Grand Final.

Tradition

The song is also the basis of a tradition practiced among a small group of Australians for decades. Whenever the song is played at an event or a public bar, they (particularly the males) congregate on the dance floor where they unstrap their belts and hobble around singing the song with their trousers around their ankles. [19] Ross Wilson of Daddy Cool, although perplexed about the origin of the practice has observed,'... I suppose it's got the silliness that was part of the charm of Daddy Cool.' [19]

It is commonly attributed to a group of mining engineering students, who at the time were residents of St John's College within the University of Queensland campus. St John's has had the eagle as its mascot since its founding in the early 20th century which lends support to their claim that they began the practice. In St Leo's, the memory (1992) by Michael A. Head, the author comments on the heated confrontations that occurred during his time at St Leo's college (a neighbouring residential college) between the residents of each college relating to this issue, with St Leo's claiming it as their own. [20]

Video

Frame capture from colourised section of "Eagle Rock". NFSA #1105254 Eagle Rock face.jpg
Frame capture from colourised section of "Eagle Rock". NFSA #1105254

The promotional film clip for "Eagle Rock" was shot on 16mm black-and-white film in 1971 by 23-year-old Melbourne filmmaker Chris Löfvén. It shows the band in Melbourne locations including South Melbourne, St. Kilda's Aussie Burger Bar opposite Luna Park and live shots from the 1971 Myponga Festival held in South Australia. [10]

A rarely seen experimental colourised version of the film clip was found and restored by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) in 2013. [21]

The newly discovered version features a 37-second section using colour filters printed onto colour film stock. This particular print, though never intended for screening, was possibly seen by teenage audiences of 0-10 Network (now Network Ten) pop music program Happening '71 throughout 1971. [22]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ross Wilson unless otherwise indicated. [5]

7-inch vinyl

  1. "Eagle Rock" – 4:09
  2. "Bom Bom" (Ross Wilson, Ross Hannaford) – 2:33

12-inch vinyl

  1. "Eagle Rock – 4:07
  2. "Daddy Rocks Off" – 4:34
  3. "Bom Bom" (Wilson, Hannaford) – 2:34

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) [4] Gold5,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Daddy Cool

Additional credits

Parodies

Australian comedian and singer Kevin Bloody Wilson wrote a parody of the song, "Me Beer's Cut Off", for his 2009 album Excess All Areas .

Related Research Articles

Patricia Mary Wilson is an Australian singer and journalist. Wilson wrote for Go-Set, a 1960s and 1970s pop music newspaper, under the pen-name "Mummy Cool" during 1971–1972. Wilson released several singles in the early 1980s including the hit single "Bop Girl". The song was written by her then husband Ross Wilson of the bands Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock. Pat currently resides in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Wilson (musician)</span> Australian singer and songwriter (born 1947)

Ross Andrew Wilson is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is the co-founder and frontman of the long-standing rock groups Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, as well as a number of other former bands, in addition to performing solo. He has produced records for bands such as Skyhooks and Jo Jo Zep & the Falcons, as well as for those of his own bands. He appeared as a judge on celebrity singing TV series It Takes Two from 2005. Wilson was individually inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 1989 and again as a member of Daddy Cool in 2006. Ross currently resides in the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crocodile Rock</span> 1972 single by Elton John

"Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France, where John and his team had previously recorded the Honky Château album. It was released on 27 October 1972 in the UK and 20 November 1972 in the U.S., as a pre-release single from his forthcoming 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, and became his first U.S. number-one single, reaching the top spot on 3 February 1973, and staying there for three consecutive weeks. In the U.S., it was certified Gold on 5 February 1973 and Platinum on 13 September 1995 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friday on My Mind</span> 1966 single by the Easybeats

"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching No.16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, No.1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, No.1 in Australia and No.6 in the UK, as well as charting in several other countries. In 2001, it was voted "Best Australian Song" of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as determined by a panel of 100 music industry personalities. In 2007, "Friday on My Mind" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Be Gone (Spectrum song)</span> 1971 single by Spectrum

"I'll Be Gone" or "Some Day I'll Have Money" is a song by Australian progressive rock group Spectrum released as their debut single by EMI on Harvest Records in January 1971. It peaked at #1 on the national singles chart, while it reached Top 5 in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Mike Rudd, and produced by Howard Gable. The B-side, "Launching Place Part Two" was written to promote a music festival. Spectrum never repeated the success of "I'll Be Gone".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Hannaford</span> Musical artist

Ross Andrew Hannaford was an Australian musician, active in numerous local bands. He was often referred to by his nickname "Hanna". Widely regarded as one of the country's finest rock guitarists, he was best known for his long collaboration with singer-songwriter Ross Wilson, which began as teenagers, with The Pink Finks and forming the seminal early '70s Australian rock band Daddy Cool. Hannaford died of cancer after being diagnosed a year earlier.

Ray Arnott is an Australian rock drummer, singer-songwriter, he was a member of Spectrum (1970–1973), which had a number one hit with "I'll Be Gone". He also played drums for The Dingoes in the 1970s and Cold Chisel in 1980s.

<i>Oz</i> (1976 film) 1976 Australian film

Oz is a 1976 Australian film written, directed and co-produced by Chris Löfvén. It stars Joy Dunstan, Graham Matters, Bruce Spence, Gary Waddell, and Robin Ramsay; and received four nominations at the 1977 AFI Awards. The musical score is by Ross Wilson. The plot is a re-imagining of the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film transferred to 1970s Australia and aimed at an older teen / young adult audience. It was released on DVD in 2004 as Oz - A Rock 'n' Roll Road Movie : Collector's Edition with additional material. The poster and album sleeve for the American release was done by rock artist Jim Evans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power and the Passion (song)</span> 1983 single by Midnight Oil

"Power and the Passion" is the second single from Midnight Oil's 1982 album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The song is one of the band's most famous, and it was performed on every Midnight Oil tour since the issue of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 as well as at the WaveAid concert.

<i>Daddy Who? Daddy Cool</i> 1971 studio album by Daddy Cool

Daddy Who?... Daddy Cool is the 1971 debut album by Australian rock band Daddy Cool.

Daddy Cool is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1970 with the original line-up of Wayne Duncan, Ross Hannaford, Ross Wilson and Gary Young. Their debut single "Eagle Rock" was released in May 1971 and stayed at number 1 on the Australian singles chart for ten weeks. Their debut, July 1971's LP Daddy Who? Daddy Cool, also reached number 1 and became the first Australian album to sell more than 100,000 copies. The group's name came from the 1957 song "Daddy Cool" by US rock group The Rays. Daddy Cool included their version of this song on Daddy Who? Daddy Cool.

"Daddy Cool" is a song by US doo-wop group The Rays and was released on Cameo Records as the B-side of their 1957 single "Silhouettes". It became a No. 3 hit on the Billboard Pop singles chart. The song was written by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay, who had also written the A-side, "Silhouettes". The song became a No. 1 single on the Australian singles charts when covered by novelty band Drummond in 1971, and remained there for seven weeks. UK cover band Darts also had a hit single with the song, which reached No. 6 in 1977.

Sons of the Vegetal Mother were an Australian "esoteric special-occasion progressive band", formed in late 1969, with a floating line-up based around the nucleus of Ross Wilson and Ross Hannaford. A side-project of the band, formed in 1970 was Daddy Cool, which played 1950s doo-wop music plus some originals. Daddy Cool were to eclipse their parent band when their debut single "Eagle Rock" reached No. 1 on the Australian National charts.

Mighty Kong were an Australian 'supergroup' successor to Daddy Cool, which broke up in August 1972. It was also the fifth in the line of groups that featured singer-songwriter Ross Wilson and guitarist Ross Hannaford, which began with Pink Finks in 1965. Despite its all-star line-up, drawing from three of the top groups of the time, the band was short-lived and never really achieved its considerable potential, effectively relegated to being a footnote in the story of Daddy Cool.

APRA's Top 30 Australian songs was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 2001, to celebrate its 75th anniversary. A panel of 100 music personalities were asked to list the "ten best and most significant Australian songs of the past 75 years". The top ten songs, in numerical order, were announced on 28 May 2001 at the APRA Awards. The next twenty were not ordered and had been released nearly four weeks earlier, on 2 May, in a media statement by APRA representative Debbie Kruger.

<i>The New Cool</i> 2006 studio album by Daddy Cool

The New Cool is the third studio album, by Australian rock band Daddy Cool. It was released in November 2006, thirty-four years after the release of their previous studio album, Sex, Dope, Rock'n'Roll: Teenage Heaven.

Cam-Pact was an Australian soul and psychedelic pop band which formed in April 1967. Originally they performed as The Camp Act but soon changed to Cam-Pact. Although little known outside Melbourne at the time, the various lineups of the group featured a number of young Melbourne musicians who went on to become significant figures on the Australian music scene, including Ray Arnott, Keith Glass, Chris Löfvén, Russell Smith, Robert Lloyd, and Chris Stockley. Cam-Pact issued five singles and three extended plays on Festival Records before disbanding in March 1970.

Wayne Ian Duncan was an Australian rock musician. In 1970 he was a founding member of the doo-wop band, Daddy Cool, providing bass guitar and backing vocals. They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006. During his career he had also been a member of the Rondells, Sons of the Vegetal Mother, Gary Young's Hot Dog, Jane Clifton and the Go Go Boys, the Black Sorrows, and the Hornets. In late November 2016 Duncan had a stroke and died a week later, he was survived by his domestic partner, Anne, and by two children. According to Australian music journalist, Ian McFarlane, "Duncan was never a sedate bassist. One only has to listen to some of the latter-day DC material... to hear how inventive his playing could be."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come Said the Boy</span> 1983 song by Mondo Rock

"Come Said the Boy" is a song by Australian rock band Mondo Rock, released in November 1983 as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album The Modern Bop (1984). The song became the band's highest-charting single, peaking at number 2 on the Kent Music Report. It was written by the group's lead guitarist, Eric McCusker, and was co-produced by John Sayers and the band.

"Come Back Again" is an Australian rock song, released by Daddy Cool in September 1971 on the Sparmac record label. It reached number 3 in the Australian charts.

References

  1. ↑ "No. 1 Hits 1971". The Menzies Era. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 . St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  3. ↑ "Off the Record playlist". 3RRR. 17 February 2005. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  4. 1 2 Scapolo, Dean (2007). The Complete New Zealand Music Charts: 1966–2006. Wellington: Dean Scapolo and Maurienne House. ISBN   978-1877443-00-8.
  5. 1 2 "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  6. ↑ "Daddy Cool". Milesago. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  7. ↑ "Australian Rock Database entry for Daddy Cool". Magnus Holmgren. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
  8. ↑ "Long Way To The Top: Episode 3 "Billy Killed the Fish 1968-1973"". ABC-TV. Archived from the original on 15 October 2002. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
  9. ↑ "Blues terms". The Sutton Blues Collective. Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  10. 1 2 Hollow, Chris (10 October 2000). "Daddy Cool : Ross Wilson Interview". Sand Pebbles fanzine. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  11. ↑ "The final list: APRA'S Ten best Australian Songs". APRA. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  12. ↑ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  13. ↑ Creswell, Toby; Samantha Trenoweth (2006). "Ross Wilson". 1001 Australians You Should Know. North Melbourne, Victoria: Pluto Press. p. 242–243. ISBN   978-1-86403-361-8.
  14. ↑ "Australian Stamps : Rock Australia". Australia Post . 20 March 2001. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  15. ↑ "Australian Music in the Charts & Ads" (PDF). The Music Network. 1 March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  16. 1 2 "Now listen, they're steppin' in as rock royalty". The Age. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  17. ↑ "The Story of Egor". Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  18. ↑ "Auzzie's profile". West Coast Eagles . Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  19. 1 2 "Second Best Is Enough For Father of Cool". TE Online. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  20. ↑ Head, Michael Austin (1991). St. Leo's College, the memory : St. Leo's College within the University of Queensland 1917-1992 (doc). St Lucia, Qld. : Leonian Press. ISBN   0-646-05965-3.
  21. ↑ "Eagle Rock" by Daddy Cool, restored colourised film clip on YouTube
  22. ↑ Good Old Eagle Rock’s Here to Stay – Restoring an iconic Oz rock film on nfsa.gov.au
  23. ↑ "NZ Listener Chart Statistics for Eagle Rock". flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  24. 1 2 "Daddy Cool – Eagle Rock". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  25. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1990". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.