"Rock Me on the Water" | ||||
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Single by Jackson Browne | ||||
from the album Jackson Browne | ||||
B-side | "Something Fine" | |||
Released | July 1972 | |||
Recorded | 1971 | |||
Genre | Soft rock [1] | |||
Length | 3:47 7" version; 4:13 album version | |||
Label | Asylum Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jackson Browne | |||
Producer(s) | Richard Sanford Orshoff | |||
Jackson Browne singles chronology | ||||
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"Rock Me on the Water" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, released as the second single from his 1972 debut album, Jackson Browne , following the No. 7 success of Browne's debut single, "Doctor, My Eyes". Browne's version reached No. 48 on Billboard's September 23, 1972, Hot 100 chart, spending nine weeks on that chart after debuting at No. 73 on August 5, 1972. [2] [3] [4] It was also released as a single in Canada, Germany and Japan, and as a promotional single in the United Kingdom. [5]
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Browne was performing the song as early as autumn 1970. "In the songs he was writing shortly before his recording debut in 1972, Jackson Browne continually alluded to apocalyptic events, but never more explicitly than in 'Rock Me...'," he wrote. [6] Browne is documented as saying that the song, with its reference to the "sisters of the sun," pays homage to his real-life sisters. [7]
Browne addressed the gospel and religious issues in the song, saying that "it's not about religion, it's about society." The song is meant to employ gospel language, but, he said, he turns "it around 180 degrees... If you heard even three seconds of it, you would say, 'well, that's gospel,' but you have to have an idea in a gospel song, and if it's not going to be Jesus, then it must at least be salvation. If I say 'when my life is over, I'm going to stand before the father, but the sisters of the sun are going to rock me on the water now' is like a way of, lovingly, and in a friendly way, refuting the traditional and conventional messages of redemption having to do with the straight and narrow... I staked a lot on that song, because it was a combining of that social awareness and paying attention to what's going on around, with the inner search for spiritual meaning." [8]
Like much of the album from which it came, the song is presented simply, with only Craig Doerge (piano), Russ Kunkel (drums), and Lee Sklar (bass) playing, along with David Crosby's harmony vocals.
The original single from 1972 and the version on Browne's self-titled album are actually two different performances of the song. The single includes additional background vocals, congas, and electric guitar Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar . It omits the piano break between the first chorus and second verse, adds a short introduction, and is played at a slightly faster tempo. The timing discrepancy is not due to an edit of the album version. As of 2019, the single has not been released on an album or CD.
Bud Scoppa, in his March 1972 review of the Jackson Browne debut album, stated that "Rock Me..." would make an excellent single and that the song's "lilting gospel-like movement" showed a Van Morrison influence. [9]
Bruce Springsteen referenced the song in his speech upon the induction of Browne into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 saying: "Listen to the chord changes of 'Rock Me on the Water' and 'Before the Deluge', it's gospel through and through." [10]
Chart (1972) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 85 |
Chart (1972) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 48 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [11] | 45 |
Browne did a version of the song with country singer Kathy Mattea for the Red Hot + Country AIDS/HIV awareness benefit album released in 1994.
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America. Founding members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.
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Jackson Browne is the debut album of American singer Jackson Browne, released in 1972. It peaked on the Billboard 200 chart at number 53. Two singles were released with "Doctor, My Eyes", which peaked at number 8 on the Pop Singles chart, and "Rock Me on the Water", which reached number 48.
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