"Old Time Rock and Roll" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Bob Seger | ||||
from the album Stranger in Town | ||||
B-side | "Sunspot Baby" | |||
Released | March 1979 | |||
Genre | Rock and roll | |||
Length | 3:14 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | George Jackson, Thomas E. Jones III, Chuck Crozier, Bob Seger (uncredited lyrics) [1] [2] | |||
Producer(s) | Bob Seger Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section | |||
Bob Seger singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"Old Time Rock & Roll" by Bob Seger on YouTube |
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is a song written by George Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III, with uncredited lyrics by Bob Seger. [1] [2] It was recorded by Seger for his tenth studio album Stranger in Town. It was also released as a single in 1979. It is a sentimentalized look back at the music of the original rock 'n' roll era and has often been referenced as Seger's favorite song. The song gained renewed popularity after being featured in the 1983 film Risky Business . It has since become a standard in popular music and was ranked number two on the Amusement & Music Operators Association's survey of the Top 40 Jukebox Singles of All Time in 1996. [3] It was also listed as one of the Songs of the Century in 2001 and ranked No. 100 in the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs poll in 2004 of the top songs in American cinema.
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, who often backed Seger in his studio recordings, sent Seger a demo of the song during the recording of Stranger in Town. [4] He said in 2006 (and also on the "Stranger in Town" episode of the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard a few years earlier):
All I kept from the original was: "Old time rock and roll, that kind of music just soothes the soul, I reminisce about the days of old with that old time rock and roll". I rewrote the verses and I never took credit. That was the dumbest thing I ever did. And Tom Jones (Thomas E. Jones) and George Jackson know it, too. But I just wanted to finish the record [Stranger in Town]. I rewrote every verse you hear except for the choruses. I didn't ask for credit. My manager said: "You should ask for a third of the credit." And I said: "Nah. Nobody's gonna like it." I'm not credited on it so I couldn't control the copyright either. Meanwhile, it got into a Hardee's commercial because I couldn't control it. Oh my God, it was awful! [5] [6]
However, George Stephenson of Malaco Records claimed:
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is truly [George] Jackson's song, and he has the tapes to prove it, despite Seger's claims that he altered it. Bob had pretty much finished his recording at Muscle Shoals and he asked them if they had any other songs he could listen to for the future. [7]
At the close of the decade, in December 2019, Seger restated his assertion that he rewrote the lyrics in the verses. [2]
The song was recorded at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, and Sound Suite Studios [8] in Detroit, Michigan. The guitar solo was contributed by Howie McDonald. Originally, the Silver Bullet Band was displeased with the song's inclusion on Stranger in Town, claiming, according to Seger, that the song was not "Silver Bullety". However, upon hearing audience reactions to it during their tour in Europe, the band grew to like the song. [9]
In 1990, Seger joined Billy Joel on one occasion and Don Henley on another to play the song during their concerts in Auburn Hills, Michigan. [10] He also performed the song at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Seger's 1994 Greatest Hits compilation. [11]
The Silver Bullet Band
Additional musicians
"Old Time Rock and Roll" achieved substantial album-oriented rock radio airplay [12] and as the fourth single from Stranger in Town. It achieved varying peaks of popularity in the industry trade magazines: #40 in Record World , #28 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #34 in Cash Box during mid 1979. It was re-released in 1983 after its inclusion in the film Risky Business and reached number 48 on the Billboard chart. [13] The song remains a staple on classic rock radio.
Billboard felt that the song's highlights are Seger's "rough-edged vocals and the power charged instrumentation." [14] Cash Box said it is "a piece of infectious raucous joy" that is a highlight of Seger's concerts. [15]
In Australia, the song was released twice and charted for a total of 55 weeks. The first run was in 1983 after its use in the film Risky Business, reaching number 53 on the charts. The second run saw it reach number 3 in late 1987 and it was the 3rd biggest selling single in Australia in that year. [16]
"Old Time Rock and Roll" | |
---|---|
Single by Status Quo | |
from the album Famous in the Last Century | |
Released | 2000 |
Genre | |
Length | 2:58 |
Songwriter(s) | George Jackson, Thomas E. Jones III, Bob Seger |
Singer Johnny Hallyday released a French-language version, as "Le Bon Temps du Rock and Roll" in 1979 on his album Hollywood . [17]
Pop singer Ronnie Dove recorded the song in 1987. It was issued as the B side to his single "Heart". It later appeared on his 1988 album From the Heart.
In 2000, the British rock band Status Quo recorded a version of this song for their album Famous in the Last Century . They played it on Top of the Pops and released it as a single which charted in the UK Singles Chart (No. 83) [18] and Norway (No. 4).[ citation needed ]
The song was featured in the 1983 film Risky Business , starring Tom Cruise. Cruise's character, Joel Goodsen, famously lip-syncs and dances in his underwear as this song plays after his parents leave him home alone. In 1985, the Chipmunks did a version that, as Seger pointed out above, was used in the aforementioned Hardee's commercial advertising Alvin and the Chipmunks glasses. In 1986, the song was also featured in the TV series ALF , in a caricature of the aforementioned Tom Cruise scene, in which Alf has similarly been left home alone and trashes the house. [19] Activision created a series of Guitar Hero: World Tour television commercials directed by Brett Ratner based on the scene, each featuring a different set of celebrities lip-syncing to the lyrics while using the new instrument controllers. The first ad included athletes Kobe Bryant, Tony Hawk, Alex Rodriguez, and Michael Phelps. [20] The song is also featured in episodes of The Nanny , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , Northern Exposure , South Park , Scrubs , and The Flash . Steve Harrington briefly sang it in an episode of season 1 of the Netflix television series Stranger Things . It was also used in the teaser trailer for Garfield: The Movie (2004).
In early 2020, the song was featured in a Domino's Pizza commercial about contactless delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. [21]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [26] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [27] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Robert Clark Seger is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, breaking through with his first album, Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1969. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the 'System' from his recordings and continued to strive for broader success with various other bands. In 1973, he put together the Silver Bullet Band, with a group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful on the national level with the album Live Bullet (1976), recorded live with the Silver Bullet Band in 1975 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. In 1976, he achieved a national breakout with the studio album Night Moves. On his studio albums, he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which appeared on several of Seger's best-selling singles and albums.
Back in '72 is the sixth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1973. It was the first new album on Seger's manager Punch Andrews' label, Palladium Records, to be released under their distribution deal with the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records and one of three early Seger albums that has never been reissued on CD.
Night Moves is the ninth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bob Seger, and his first studio album to credit the Silver Bullet Band. The album was released by Capitol Records on October 22, 1976. Although the front cover only credits backing by the Silver Bullet Band, four of the nine songs on the album feature backing by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
Stranger in Town is the tenth studio album by American rock singer Bob Seger and his second with the Silver Bullet Band, released by Capitol Records in May 1978. As with its predecessor, the Silver Bullet Band backed Seger on about half of the songs and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section backed Seger on the other half.
Against the Wind is the eleventh studio album by American rock singer Bob Seger and his third which credits the Silver Bullet Band. Like many of his albums, about half of the tracks feature the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as backing musicians. It was released in February 1980. It is Seger's only number-one album to date, spending six weeks at the top of the Billboard Top LPs chart, knocking Pink Floyd's The Wall from the top spot. Seger said that the album "is about trying to move ahead, keeping your sanity and integrity at the same time."
Like a Rock is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1986. The title track is best known for being featured in Chevrolet truck commercials throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
"Night Moves" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. It was the lead single from his ninth studio album of the same name (1976), which was released on Capitol Records. Seger wrote the song as a coming of age tale about adolescent love and adult memory of it. It was based on Seger's teenage love affair, which he experienced in the early 1960s. It took him six months to write and was recorded quickly at Nimbus Nine Studios in Toronto, Ontario, with producer Jack Richardson. As much of Seger's Silver Bullet Band had returned home by this point, the song was recorded with several local session musicians.
"Like a Rock" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. The single peaked at No. 1 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart.
"Against the Wind" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Bob Seger for his eleventh studio album of the same name. It was released as the second single from the album in April 1980 through Capitol Records. Seger recorded the ballad during a two-year process that begat his eleventh album; it was recorded with producer Bill Szymczyk at Criteria Studios in north Miami, Florida. Sonically, "Against the Wind" is a mid-tempo soft rock tune with piano backing. It was recorded with Seger's Silver Bullet Band, and features backing vocals from Eagles co-frontman Glenn Frey.
"We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock music artist Bob Seger, from his album Stranger in Town (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. Further versions charted in 1983 for Kenny Rogers as a duet with Sheena Easton, and again in 2002 for Ronan Keating.
"Fire Lake" is a song written and recorded by the American musical artist Bob Seger. He had planned to record "Fire Lake" for his 1975 album Beautiful Loser, but the track was not finished. The song had been partly written years before, in 1971, and was finally finished in 1979 and released in 1980 on Seger's album Against the Wind. The single reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. A live version of the song appeared on the album Nine Tonight, released in 1981.
"Shame on the Moon" is a song written and recorded by Rodney Crowell on his 1981 self-titled album. It was covered by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band as the lead single from their 1982 album The Distance.
The discography of Bob Seger, an American rock artist, includes 18 studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums and more than 60 singles. Bob Seger's albums have sold over 50 million copies and received seven multi-platinum, four Platinum and two Gold certifications by the RIAA.
"Rock and Roll Never Forgets" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. The song first appeared on Seger's ninth studio album Night Moves (1976). The song was released in early 1977 as the third and final single from the album. The song peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, charting less successfully than the previous two singles. Nevertheless, "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" remains popular with Seger fans, and has become a staple of classic rock radio.
"Katmandu" is a song written and recorded by American rock artist Bob Seger. It was initially released on his 1975 studio album Beautiful Loser, which became the first of ten consecutive platinum albums for Seger. The song was later featured on his live album Live Bullet. The single edit reached number 43 on the US Top 40, becoming Seger's most successful single since "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man". The song was featured in the soundtracks of the 1985 film Mask, the 16th episode of Freaks and Geeks, the tenth episode of the eighth season of Supernatural, and in the 2009 documentary Journey to Everest.
"Mainstreet" is a song written and recorded by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. It was released in April 1977 as the second single from the album Night Moves. The song peaked at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and has become a staple of classic rock radio; it also reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart.
"Hollywood Nights" is a song written and recorded by American rock artist Bob Seger. It was released in 1978 as the second single from his album, Stranger in Town.
"Still the Same" is a 1978 song written and recorded by the American singer Bob Seger. It hit #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and was an international hit.
"American Storm" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. It was recorded with The Silver Bullet Band and released in March 1986 as the lead single from their album Like a Rock. The single peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number 2 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"Feel Like a Number" is a song written by Bob Seger that was first released on his 1978 album with the Silver Bullet Band, Stranger in Town. It was also released as the B-side of the top 5 single "Still the Same" and a live version from the album Nine Tonight was released as a single in 1981. The song was featured in the 1981 movie Body Heat.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)