Saturday Night (Bay City Rollers song)

Last updated
"Saturday Night"
Saturdaynightbaycityrollers.jpg
Dutch single of 1974 re-recording
Single by Bay City Rollers
from the album Rollin'
B-side "Marlena"
Released29 June 1973 (UK) [1]
August 1975 (US) [2]
Recorded1973
Genre
Length2:56
Label Arista
Songwriter(s) Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
Producer(s) Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
Bay City Rollers singles chronology
"Love Me Like I Love You"
(1975)
"Saturday Night"
(1973)
"Money Honey"
(1976)
Music video
"Saturday Night" (TopPop, 1976) on YouTube

"Saturday Night" is a song recorded by the Scottish pop rock band Bay City Rollers. It was written and produced by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. The tune is an upbeat rock number with a memorable hook, in which the word "Saturday" is spelled out in a rhythmic, enthusiastic chant.

Contents

The original version of the song was recorded and released in the UK in 1973 but did not hit the charts. The original version was sung by Nobby Clark. At the end of 1975, "Saturday Night" was released in the US and hit the number-one spot in January 1976. It was the first Billboard #1 of the US Bicentennial year. The song had been re-recorded for the Rollers' 1974 UK album Rollin' with lead vocals by Les McKeown, Nobby's replacement. The single also reached number one on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart listing on 10 January 1976. [5] This is the band's sole No. 1 hit in the United States.

In 2019, the song was used in Netflix's Umbrella Academy series.

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [14] Gold75,000^
United States (RIAA) [15] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Students at the Lochiel, Glenwood, and South Carvolth Schools in Canada covered the song in 1976. This rendition later appeared on The Langley Schools Music Project album, Innocence & Despair.

The song was covered by English rock band Ned's Atomic Dustbin for the Mike Myers 1993 romantic comedy film So I Married an Axe Murderer . The song also appears on the soundtrack album.

Japanese punk rock band Hi-Standard released a fast-paced cover of the song on their 1996 debut album Growing Up.

Two covers have been aired as the opening theme song for the pre-game show of Hockey Night in Canada : Canadian hard rock band Monster Truck covered first for the 2017–2018 season [16] while Jane's Party and Shawnee Kish covered the second for the 2021-2022 season. [17]

Sampling

The 'Hey! Ho! Let's Go' chant in "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones was, according to Tommy Ramone, inspired by "Saturday Night". [18]

Down With Webster's "Saturday Night" and Simple Plan's "Saturday" interpolate the opening "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night" chant. [19] [20]

Credits and personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay City Rollers</span> Scottish pop rock band

The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and are one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles".

Nicholas George Gilder is a British-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer/songwriter.

Sweeney Todd is a Canadian glam rock band formed in Vancouver in 1975. They released two albums, the first with original lead vocalist Nick Gilder, who soon left for a solo career, and the second with his 16-year-old replacement Bryan Adams, who later enjoyed international success as a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blitzkrieg Bop</span> 1976 single by Ramones

"Blitzkrieg Bop", titled "The Blitzkrieg Bop!!" on its single release, is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in February 1976 as their debut single in the United States. It appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album, Ramones, released two months later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden Party (Rick Nelson song)</span> 1972 single by Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band

"Garden Party" is a 1972 song written by Rick Nelson and recorded by him and the Stone Canyon Band for the album Garden Party. The song tells the story of Nelson being booed at a concert at Madison Square Garden. It was Nelson's last top 40 hit, reaching No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard pop chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Rollercoaster</span> 1975 single by Ohio Players

"Love Rollercoaster", sometimes rendered as "Love Roller Coaster", is a song by American funk/R&B band Ohio Players, originally featured on their 1975 album Honey. It was composed by William Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, and James Williams. It was a number-one U.S. hit in January 1976, and was certified gold. In Canada, the song spent two weeks at number two. "Love Rollercoaster" was covered by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers for the soundtrack of the 1996 animated movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)</span>

"Bye, Bye, Baby " is a popular song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, a member of The Four Seasons, whose version of the song made it to No. 1 in Canada and No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. On the original issue of the single, the title was "Bye Bye Baby". However, on the album, The 4 Seasons Entertain You, and on later issues of the song, the name was changed to the longer, more familiar one. The song is about saying goodbye, not because the person is unloved but rather because the relationship is adulterous.

<i>Bay City Rollers</i> (album) 1975 compilation album by Bay City Rollers

Bay City Rollers, released in late 1975, was the first full-length album by Scotland's Bay City Rollers to be issued in the US and Canada. The compilation, which hit No. 1 in the RPM Canadian album chart on 7 February 1976 and reached as high as No. 20 on the US album chart, included the US and Canadian #1 hit single "Saturday Night".

<i>Rock n Roll Love Letter</i> 1976 studio album by Bay City Rollers

Rock N'Roll Love Letter is an album by the Bay City Rollers. It was a North America-only release, issued in early 1976 by Arista Records, catalogue #4071.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yummy Yummy Yummy</span> 1968 single by Ohio Express

"Yummy Yummy Yummy" is a song by Arthur Resnick and Joey Levine, first recorded by Ohio Express in 1968. Their version reached No. 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in June and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been covered by many artists. Ohio Express was a studio concoction and none of the "official" members appear on the record. Joey Levine sang lead vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montego Bay (song)</span> 1970 single by Bobby Bloom

"Montego Bay" is a song co-written and performed by Bobby Bloom about the city in Jamaica of the same name. The song was a top 10 hit for Bloom in the Fall of 1970 on both sides of the Atlantic. It reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 5 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart, No. 7 on the Australian Go-Set Singles Chart and No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was co-written and produced by Jeff Barry. In the master tape of the song, Bloom breaks into a chorus of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" at the end of the recording. The song features a whistler, as well as Jamaican instruments in a calypso style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonely Night (Angel Face)</span> 1976 single by Captain & Tennille

"Lonely Night (Angel Face)" is a song written by Neil Sedaka. The song was first recorded by Sedaka and appeared as a track on his 1975 studio album, The Hungry Years. The following year the song was made popular when covered by the pop music duo Captain & Tennille, who took their version to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Ballad (L.T.D. song)</span>

"Love Ballad" is a song by R&B/Funk band L.T.D. Jeffrey Osborne is the lead singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That's Rock 'n' Roll</span>

"That's Rock 'n' Roll" is a song written and originally recorded by Eric Carmen in 1976. It became a popular Billboard top 10 hit in 1977 for teen idol Shaun Cassidy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Made Me Believe in Magic</span>

"You Made Me Believe in Magic" is the title of a 1977 international hit single by the Bay City Rollers, taken from their album It's a Game. The recording, a mid-tempo disco-styled pop tune featuring strings and horns, had its greatest impact in North America, where it was issued as the album's lead single in May 1977 to reach number 10 on the US Hot 100 in Billboard magazine that August. "You Made Me Believe in Magic" was the Bay City Rollers' third US Top 10 hit; the follow-up single "The Way I Feel Tonight" (#25) would mark the group's final Hot 100 appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock and Roll Love Letter (song)</span> 1976 single by Bay City Rollers

"Rock and Roll Love Letter" is the second single from American Tim Moore's second album, Behind the Eyes. Tim Moore's original version was not successful. It was later covered by the band Bay City Rollers, and that version became a Top 40 hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money Honey (Bay City Rollers song)</span> 1975 single by Bay City Rollers

"Money Honey" is the title of a 1975 international hit single by the Bay City Rollers, taken from their album Rock n' Roll Love Letter and in the UK on their album Dedication. The power-pop recording was issued in the US as the album's lead single in January 1976, reaching number nine on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine that March. "Money Honey" was the Bay City Rollers' second US Top 10 hit. It reached number seven on the Cash Box chart. The follow-up single was the album's title track, "Rock and Roll Love Letter". In the UK, "Money Honey" was released in November 1975 and reached number three, becoming the group's ninth Top 10 single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Pretend (Raspberries song)</span> 1973 single by Raspberries

"Let's Pretend" is a song by Raspberries, released in March 1973 as the second single from their second LP, Fresh. It was written by band leader Eric Carmen, who also provided the lead vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxy Roller</span> 1975 song by Sweeney Todd

"Roxy Roller" is a song originally recorded by the glam rock band Sweeney Todd in 1975 with Nick Gilder on vocals. It was written by Jim McCulloch and Nick Gilder. In total, four versions of the song were released in 1976:

References

  1. "Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night".
  2. "Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night".
  3. Read, Maddy (August 22, 2021). "Bubblegum pop: 'Commercialized, computerized and easy to sing to'". The Crimson White. Retrieved 2023-03-15. Tracks that cemented their places in history as a part of the first wave of bubblegum pop include "Saturday Night" by Bay City Rollers, "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies and "Indian Lake" by the Cowsills.
  4. Cafarelli, Carl (2001). "The Bay City Rollers". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. Los Angeles: Feral House. pp. 157–158.
  5. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  6. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6474a." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
  7. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 14, 1976" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  8. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989" . Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  9. "Bay City Rollers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Bay City Rollers"
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  12. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  13. Billboard 25 December 1976: TIA-6
  14. "Canadian single certifications – Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night". Music Canada . Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  15. "American single certifications – Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  16. "Monster Truck Release Bay City Rollers' Cover of 'Saturday Night'; Hear the Truck throughout the 2017-2018 Hockey Night In Canada Season". 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  17. @ListenHarderPR (February 25, 2022). "Toronto pop-rock quartet @JanesPartyBand, in collaboration with Shawnee Kish, are the latest rocking band to cover the theme song for Hockey Night In Canada" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  18. "The Story Behind The Song: Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones". 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  19. "Single Review: Saturday // Simple Plan". 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  20. "Down With Webster rocks Hockey Tonight". CBC . Retrieved 21 September 2022.