"Rock On" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by David Essex | ||||
from the album Rock On | ||||
B-side | "On and On" | |||
Released | August 1973 | |||
Recorded | 1973 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:24 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Essex | |||
Producer(s) | Jeff Wayne | |||
David Essex singles chronology | ||||
|
"Rock On" is a song written by English singer David Essex. Recorded in 1973 and released as a single by Essex, it became an international hit. In 1989, American actor and singer Michael Damian recorded a cover version that went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been recorded many times, including a 2006 version by the English hard rock group Def Leppard.
The song, written and recorded by David Essex, was released in August 1973 in the UK, and reached its highest position of number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in September that year. [3] It spent 11 weeks in the UK charts. [4] In March 1974, Essex's version reached number one in Canada on the RPM national Top Singles chart [5] and was a top-ten hit (reaching number 5) on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart. It was Essex's only Billboard top 40 song. "Rock On" was the title track of Essex's 1973 debut studio album, and was also featured on the soundtrack album of the 1973 film That'll Be the Day (as well as being played over the closing credits of the film's U.S. release) [6] in which he had a starring role. The song is still frequently played on classic rock and oldies radio stations.
Essex later re-recorded the song in 1988 with an updated lyric. This version, which was remixed by Shep Pettibone, appeared on Essex's 1989 album Touching the Ghost. A single release of the updated version reached number 93 on the UK Singles Chart.
The song features a slow-tempo vocal performance in C♯ minor, along with a minimalist, rhythm-driven instrumental accompaniment to Essex's vocal performance. The lyric pays homage to early rock-and-roll and its surrounding youth subculture, and notably to 1950s rebel James Dean. This song makes reference to "Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins, and "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran.
The distinctive stripped-back musical arrangement was devised by producer Jeff Wayne after hearing Essex's original vocal demo:
According to Wayne, only three session musicians played on the final backing track, and the most prominently featured was veteran session musician Herbie Flowers, whose double-tracked bass guitar was treated with a prominent "slapback" delay effect, creating a complex polyrhythmic backbeat:
Flowers himself noted that, as a reward for devising the double-tracked bass line, he was paid double his normal session fee, and thus received £24 instead of the usual £12. [7] He had earlier created a similar double-tracked bass line for Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side", explaining in a BBC Radio 4 interview that it had also been done because he would be paid double.
Weekly Charts
| Year-end Charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [19] | Silver | 250,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [20] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Rock On" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Michael Damian | ||||
from the album Where Do We Go from Here | ||||
B-side | "Where Is She?" | |||
Released | March 1989 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:21 | |||
Label | Cypress | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Essex | |||
Producer(s) | Larry Weir | |||
Michael Damian singles chronology | ||||
|
"Rock On" was covered by soap opera star and singer Michael Damian in 1989, and featured in the teen film Dream a Little Dream , starring Corey Haim and Corey Feldman among others. Damian's version, which he also released from his independent album Where Do We Go from Here on the Cypress Records label, was a harder-edged interpretation that employed none of the vocal or instrumental distortion in the original 1973 David Essex version.
"Rock On" became Damian's first hit in eight years, since his 1981 cover of Eric Carmen's song "She Did It". His rendition became a gold record. It reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, thus outperforming Essex's original Billboard ranking. However, the song did get to number one for Essex in 1974 on the US Cashbox Top 100, in the same week it was at number 11 on the Billboard charts. In addition, Haim, Feldman, and Meredith Salenger all appeared in Damian's music video for the song. This version was ranked number 99 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s [21] (despite the fact that Damian actually had four Billboard-charting singles during the 1980s).
|
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [29] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [30] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Rock On" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Def Leppard | ||||
from the album Yeah! | ||||
Released | May 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2004 [31] | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Essex | |||
Producer(s) | Def Leppard | |||
Def Leppard singles chronology | ||||
|
English hard rock band Def Leppard began playing the song on their 2005 tour in support of their compilation album Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection along with a cover of Badfinger's "No Matter What" which appeared on the album. [32] The band released a studio recording of the song as a digital single in May 2006 preceding the release of their album Yeah! , which features cover versions of 1970s rock hits. [31] The single spent 18 weeks on the US Hard Rock chart, peaking at No. 18 in June 2006. [33] The song has since become a staple in Def Leppard's setlists, often following a Rick Savage's bass solo. [34] "We took that one to pieces and rewrote it…" observed Joe Elliott. "American radio still plays 'Rock On' every day, sandwiched between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Zeppelin." [35] The radio remix version of the song also appeared on Def Leppard's 2018 compilation album The Story So Far – The Best Of . [36]
"Love Bites" is a song by English glam metal band Def Leppard from their album Hysteria. The power ballad is Def Leppard's only number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a top-10 hit in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. On the UK Singles Chart, the track peaked at number 11.
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 23 July 1988, behind "Hold On to the Nights" by Richard Marx. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is considered the band's signature song, and was ranked #2 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006.
The English rock band Def Leppard have released 12 studio albums, four live albums, six compilation albums, and two extended plays. Def Leppard also have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
"Rocket" is a song recorded by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was released in January 1989 as the seventh and final single from the album and reached the Top 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. It is the band’s final single to be released with guitarist Steve Clark before his death in 1991.
"Animal" is a song recorded by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the first single release off the album, and became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Armageddon It" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the United States, becoming their 3rd top 10 hit. It also reached the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand and the top 20 in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"Rock of Ages" is a song by Def Leppard from their 1983 album Pyromania. When issued as a single in the United States, the song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #19 on the Cash Box Top 100. It also hit #1 on the Top Tracks Rock chart.
"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The best-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA Gold record.
"No Matter What" is a song originally recorded by Badfinger for their album No Dice in 1970, written and sung by Pete Ham and produced by Mal Evans.
"Photograph" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, Pyromania (1983). Their lead vocalist Joe Elliott has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, where it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the Pop Singles chart.
"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!. It reached number 3 in Canada and on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified by the RIAA.
"Hysteria" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard. It is the tenth track on their 1987 album of the same name and was released as the album's fourth single in November 1987. The song became the band's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10.
"Let's Get Rocked" is a song by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their fifth studio album, Adrenalize (1992). Released in March 1992, the song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, number two on the UK Singles Chart, and number three on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. It was the band's first release after the death of guitarist Steve Clark.
"Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" is a 1993 single by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album Adrenalize. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock charts, and #34 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the fourth single from the Adrenalize album.
"Work It Out" is a 1996 song by the English hard rock band Def Leppard from their gold album Slang. It was written entirely by new guitarist Vivian Campbell. It was released as a single later that year, reaching number six on the US Mainstream Rock chart and number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Promises" is a 1999 song by English rock band Def Leppard from their album Euphoria. It was released as a single later that year and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart as well as number forty-one on the U.K. Singles Chart.
"Rock the Boat" is a song by American trio The Hues Corporation, written by Wally Holmes. "Rock the Boat" was first featured on their 1973 debut studio album Freedom for the Stallion. It was released as the third single from the album in early 1974, to follow up Stallion's title song, which had peaked at number sixty-three on the Hot 100, and "Miracle Maker " which did not chart.
"When Love & Hate Collide" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album Vault, written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. The power ballad was originally written and demoed for Adrenalize, but not finalized until 1995 for its inclusion on Vault. The demo version is much more heavily produced in the signature style of Hysteria and Adrenalize, and the final version is more stripped down, supposedly toward the style of the following studio album Slang. The original demo version contains the final recorded guitar solo by late original guitarist Steve Clark.
"Two Steps Behind" is a song by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their album Retro Active and the soundtrack to the film Last Action Hero. It reached number five on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. In the 1993 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Awards, the song was voted "Song of the Year" and "Best Song from a Movie Soundtrack".
"Angelia" is a ballad recorded by Richard Marx and the third released single on his second album, Repeat Offender.