Rock 'n' Roll Children

Last updated
"Rock 'N' Roll Children"
Rock Roll Single Cover.jpg
Single by Dio
from the album Sacred Heart
B-side
  • We Rock (live)
  • The Last In Line (live)
ReleasedJuly 1985
RecordedAugust 25, 1984 (live recordings)
Philadelphia, USA
Rumbo Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre Heavy metal
Length4:32
Label Vertigo
Songwriter(s) Ronnie James Dio
Producer(s) Ronnie James Dio
Dio singles chronology
"Mystery"
(1984)
"Rock 'N' Roll Children"
(1985)
"Hungry for Heaven"
(1985)

"Rock 'N' Roll Children" is the sixth single released by heavy metal band Dio, appearing on their 1985 LP, Sacred Heart . It reached number 26 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart. By coincidence, it also reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1985, and remains their most successful release in the United Kingdom to date.

A music video was made for the single. Ronnie James Dio stars as a magician who looks over a young runaway couple through a crystal ball. The boy had quit his rock star aspirations for a steadier job, much to his girlfriend's disappointment. A sudden storm forces them to seek shelter in a nearby antique shop, where they are then teleported to a mysterious realm. Once there, they get separated and encounter past visions of the troubled issues in their lives (e.g. an abusive father, failing in school, etc.) After being reunited and leaving the realm, the boy and girl makeup and the former decides to renew his dream to be a rock star. The video ends with Dio switching the CLOSED sign to OPEN, with the implication that he will wait for other troubled individuals whom he can help.

Chart performance

Chart (1985)Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) [1] 26
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [2] 26


  1. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  2. "Dio Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stand by Me (Ben E. King song)</span> 1961 single by Ben E. King

"Stand by Me" is a song originally performed in 1961 by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by him, along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called "Stand by Me Father," recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarzan Boy</span> 1985 single by Baltimora

"Tarzan Boy" is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora's debut album Living in the Background. The song was re-recorded and released in 1993, and has been covered by several artists throughout the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm</span> 1993 single by Crash Test Dummies

"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" is a song by Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies, and written by its singer Brad Roberts. It was released in October 1993 as the lead single from their second album, God Shuffled His Feet (1993). The song was released to positive critical reviews and commercial success worldwide. It reached number four on the United States' Billboard Hot 100 and topped the national charts of Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also became a top-five hit on both the UK Singles Chart and the all-genre US Billboard Hot 100, but in the band's native Canada, it stalled at number 14 on the RPM Top Singles chart. In later years, however, the song made its way to several lists of bad songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy for You (Madonna song)</span> 1985 single by Madonna

"Crazy for You" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for the film Vision Quest (1985). It was released on March 2, 1985 by Geffen Records as the lead single from the film's soundtrack album. Film producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber, along with music director Phil Ramone, decided to use Madonna after listening to her previous recordings, employing John Bettis and Jon Lind to write the song. After reading the script of the film, Bettis and Lind wrote the song about the situation in which the lead characters meet at a nightclub. Initial recording sessions did not impress Bettis and Lind, and they felt that "Crazy for You" would be dropped from the soundtrack. However, a new version was recorded to their liking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Boys of Summer (song)</span> 1984 single by Don Henley

"The Boys of Summer" is a song by Eagles vocalist and drummer Don Henley, with lyrics written by Henley and music composed by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven (Bryan Adams song)</span> 1985 single by Bryan Adams

"Heaven" is a song by the Canadian singer and songwriter Bryan Adams recorded in 1983, written by Adams and Jim Vallance. It first appeared on the A Night in Heaven soundtrack album the same year and was later included on Adams' album Reckless in 1984. It was released as the third single from Reckless and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in June 1985, over a year and a half after the song first appeared on record. The single was certified Gold in Canada in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">With Arms Wide Open</span> 2000 single by Creed

"With Arms Wide Open" is a song by American rock band Creed. It was released on April 18, 2000, as the third single from their second studio album, Human Clay. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 2000, becoming the band's first and only song to top the chart. The song also received honors at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001, being nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, as well as Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti winning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jingle Bell Rock</span> 1957 single by Bobby Helms

"Jingle Bell Rock" is an American Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas season since then. "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joseph Carleton Beal (1900–1967) and James Ross Boothe (1917–1976), although both Helms and session guitarist on the song Hank Garland disputed this. Beal was a Massachusetts-born public relations professional and longtime resident of South Ocean Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Boothe was an American writer in the advertising business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hard to Say I'm Sorry</span> 1982 single by Chicago

"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" is a power ballad written by bassist Peter Cetera, who also sang lead on the track, and producer David Foster, for the group Chicago. It was released on May 17, 1982, as the lead single from the album Chicago 16. On September 11 it reached No. 1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's second No. 1 single. It was their first top 50 hit since "No Tell Lover" in 1978 and it spent twelve weeks in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. The single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in September of the same year. Songwriter Cetera, a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for the song in the category, Most Performed Songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want It That Way</span> 1999 single by Backstreet Boys

"I Want It That Way" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. It was released on April 12, 1999, as the lead single from their third studio album, Millennium. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, while Martin and Kristian Lundin produced it. The pop ballad tells of a relationship strained by matters of emotional or physical distance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How to Save a Life</span> 2006 single by the Fray

"How to Save a Life" is a song by American alternative rock band The Fray, released in March 2006 as the second single from their debut studio album of the same name. The song is one of the band's most popular airplay songs and peaked in the top 3 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. It became the joint seventh longest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with Santana's "Smooth" (1999), at 58 consecutive weeks. The song has been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA, and has sold 4.7 million downloads as of January 2015, the fourth best-selling rock song in digital history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holding Back the Years</span>

"Holding Back the Years" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released as the third single from their debut studio album, Picture Book (1985). It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. It is one of two Simply Red songs to reach number one in the US. It also reached number four on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Holding Back the Years" had initially been released in the UK the year before, reaching number 51. The song was nominated in the category of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race</span> 2006 single by Fall Out Boy

"This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy and the second single from their commercially successful third studio album Infinity on High (2007). The song officially debuted on November 21 at the American Music Awards and impacted US radio on December 5. The music was composed by vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump and the lyrics were penned by bassist Pete Wentz, following the band's songwriting approach which first began with some songs on their 2003 album Take This to Your Grave. Production was handled by Neal Avron, who also produced the band's previous From Under the Cork Tree album. Commenting on the band's decision to pick the track as the first single, Wentz said "There may be other songs on the record that would be bigger radio hits, but this one had the right message."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Diver (song)</span> 1983 single by Dio

"Holy Diver" is a song by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from the band's debut album of the same name. Although it only reached number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart at that time, it is one of Dio's most popular songs today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This I Promise You</span> 2000 single by NSYNC

"This I Promise You" is a ballad by American boy band NSYNC. It was released in September 2000 as the third and final single in the United States and the fourth and final single in Europe from their second studio album, No Strings Attached, in 2000. The song is included on all three of the band's compilation albums: Greatest Hits (2005), The Collection (2010), and The Essential *NSYNC (2014). The single reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beat It</span> 1983 single by Michael Jackson

"Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, Thriller (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson later said: "I wanted to write a song, the type of song that I would buy if I were to buy a rock song... and I wanted the children to really enjoy it—the school children as well as the college students." It includes a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run to You (Bryan Adams song)</span> 1984 single by Bryan Adams

"Run to You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. It was released in 1984 as the lead single from his fourth album, Reckless (1984). The track deals with the subject of infidelity, and is sung from the perspective of a man who declares that he will continue to "run to" his seductive mistress over his faithful partner; critic Ira Robbins for CMJ called it a "cheating classic". In the accompanying music video, however, Adams portrays his guitar as the object of desire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Travis singles discography</span>

Randy Travis is an American country music singer. His singles discography comprises 70 singles and 36 music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centuries (song)</span> Fall Out Boy song

"Centuries" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released September 9, 2014 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, American Beauty/American Psycho (2015). It was co-written by Fall Out Boy, with two producers. A gladiator-themed music video was created for the song. The single reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified quadruple Platinum by the RIAA. It reached first position on the UK Rock and Metal Chart. The song was also the band's fourth top ten hit and first in eight years, since "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" in 2007. In 2015, "Centuries" was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single. Fall Out Boy has played the song numerous times on televised performances and was used as ESPN's official theme song for sports coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Blood discography</span> Band discography

English rock duo Royal Blood have released three studio albums, two extended plays (EPs), fourteen singles and nineteen music videos. Formed in Brighton in March 2011, Royal Blood consists of bassist and vocalist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher. After signing with Warner Bros. Records, the duo released their debut single "Out of the Black" in October 2013, which debuted at number 29 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart. In February 2014, "Little Monster" was issued as the band's second single, registering on the UK Singles Chart at number 95 and the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart at number one. Both singles were later issued alongside their B-sides on the EP Out of the Black in March. "Come On Over" – initially featured as the B-side to "Out of the Black" – was released as a single in April, reaching number 68 on the UK Singles Chart. At the same time, "Little Monster" also returned to the charts, peaking at number 74 on the UK Singles Chart.