Rock 'n' Roll Winter (Loony's Tune)

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"Rock 'n' Roll Winter (Loony's Tune)"
Single by Wizzard
B-side "Dream of Unwin"
Released19 April 1974
Recorded1974
Genre Glam rock [1]
Label Warner Bros
Songwriter(s) Roy Wood
Producer(s) Roy Wood
Wizzard singles chronology
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"
(1973)
"Rock 'n' Roll Winter (Loony's Tune)"
(1974)
"This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)"
(1974)

"Rock 'n' Roll Winter (Loony's Tune)" was a song written by Roy Wood. It was released by the British rock band Wizzard, as their first single on the Warner Bros label in 1974. [2] It was originally meant to be issued early in 1974 but the date was pushed back to 29 March 1974, before it was finally released on 19 April that year. [2] [3] Nevertheless, it sold well and reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, [4] and number 13 on the Irish Singles Chart. [5]

The song is dedicated to Roy Wood's girlfriend at the time Lynsey de Paul [6] (aka Loony, from Spike Milligan's nickname for her, Looney de Small) [7] with lyrics such as "Almost every song I dream of in the end, I could dedicate to you my lovely friend" and "But now your friendly music keeps me warm each night". [8] On the record label under the title of the song is the text "Sorry the word "Spring" wouldn't fit". [2] The backing vocals are credited to "Loony", "The Bleach Boys" and "The Suedettes". [2] [9] Although it was not included on the 1974 album Introducing Eddy and the Falcons , it was a bonus track on the CD version released in 2000. [10]

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Roy Wood is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands. Altogether he had more than 20 singles in the UK Singles Chart under various guises, including three UK No. 1 hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wizzard</span> British 1970s rock and roll band

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynsey de Paul</span> English singer-songwriter

Lynsey de Paul was an English singer-songwriter and producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting with UK top 10 single "Sugar Me", and became the first British female artist to achieve a number one with a self-written song. She represented the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, scoring another chart-topping hit in Switzerland and had a successful career as a two-time Ivor Novello Award-winning composer, record producer, actress and television celebrity.

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Introducing Eddy and the Falcons is the second album by the English rock band Wizzard. It peaked at No. 19 in the UK Albums Chart – ten places higher than its predecessor, Wizzard Brew. As with the previous Wizzard album, all songs were composed by Roy Wood.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roll Away the Stone</span> 1974 single by Mott the Hoople

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<i>Boulders</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Roy Wood

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Rocking Tonight</span> 1947 single by Roy Brown

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"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly of The Move and a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra. Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974. The song was beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody", which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can Hear the Grass Grow</span> 1967 single by the Move

"I Can Hear the Grass Grow " is the second single by the Move, written by Roy Wood. The song was first released on 31 March 1967, and reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart on 10 May 1967, staying for ten weeks in the charts. "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" was the second of a string of four consecutive top-5 singles in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night of Fear</span> 1966 single by The Move

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"Ooh I Do" is the fifth single released by Lynsey de Paul on 17 May 1974 and her only single released on the Warner Bros. label, after moving there from MAM Records. Co-written by de Paul and Barry Blue, this Phil Spector-ish song with a nod to the style of the Roy Wood/Wizzard sound, conveys the angst about parents not believing in a teenage love affair represented a change of style for de Paul, who also produced the recording. De Paul performed the song on TV shows in Spain and Germany, however, her only UK performance was for Top of the Pops, but this was never shown because of industrial action at the BBC. De Paul re-recorded the song for this episode and this version was released on the BBC Transcription Services album, Top Of The Pops-495, which also featured an interview conducted by Brian Matthews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Didn't Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll)</span> 1972 single by Gary Glitter

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"Forever" is a 1973 single, which was written and produced by Roy Wood. Wood played all of the musical instruments on the recording, as well as supplying lead and multi-tracked backing vocals. The song was globally published by Carlin Music Corp.

References

  1. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Deluxe and Delightful: Glam". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 336. ISBN   978-0-571-28198-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Wizzard". 45cat.com. 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  3. Evans, Jeff (December 21, 2013). "The Christmas songs that still sound glam at 40". Telegraph.co.uk.
  4. "rock and roll winter | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
  5. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie.
  6. La saga de Roy Wood Brumbeat forever (The Move, Wizzard, ELO, etc.) by Vincent Lasserre, Publisher: Camion Blanc, September 20 2017, ASIN: B0764B43R1
  7. Robson, Michael (2013-03-18). Sugar and Beyond — Anthology 1972–1974 (booklet). Lynsey de Paul. RPM Records (United Kingdom). p. 8.
  8. "Rock 'n' Roll Winter Lyrics - Wizzard". FlashLyrics.
  9. "Wizzard (2) - Rock N' Roll Winter". Discogs. 1974.
  10. "Wizzard (2) - Introducing Eddy And The Falcons". Discogs. 2000.