Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
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| "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" | ||
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| Single by Ramones | ||
| from the album End of the Century | ||
| Released | May 16, 1980 | |
| Recorded | 1979-1980 | |
| Genre | Pop Rock | |
| Length | 3:50 | |
| Label | Sire | |
| Producer(s) | Phil Spector | |
| Ramones singles chronology | ||
| "Baby I Love You/High Risk Insurance" (1980) |
"Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?/I Want You Around (1980) |
I Wanna Be Sedated/The Return of Jackie and Judy (1980) |
| Back Side | ||
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| The back side of the single. | ||
Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (or simply, Rock 'n' Roll Radio) was the second single of American punk rock band Ramones from their fifth studio album End of the Century. It was released on May 16, 1980. This song and the album itself marked a complete change in the Ramones' sound. This is partially due in an attempt to reach commercial success and the work of their new producer, the famed Phil Spector.
While most Ramones songs were based on three chord songs and a memorable melody, Rock 'n' Roll Radio is a complex song, based on many of the 50's pop songs the band grew up listening to. A piano, trumpet, horn, saxophone and a synthesizer are used along with the standard guitar, drums and bass. Like most of 50's rock & roll, the song has the saxophone being the lead instrument rather than the guitar. The opening and closing parts of the song sample a radio tuning into the Rock 'n' Roll Radio channel.
The song has become one of their most enduring songs. Due to the nature of many different instruments used in the track, while performing live the band substitutes the lead instrument (the saxophone) with the bass guitar.
There is no title track for the album. The album title comes from a famous couplet in the song: "It's the end, the end of the seventies/It's the end, the end of the century.". The verse has also been used in the 2003 documentary - End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones.
[edit] Lyrical content
This song states the band's philosophy for forming a band in the first place. The verses, "We need change, we need it fast/Before rock's just part of the past." was a direct statement. The Ramones formed to return rock and roll back to its most basic roots, abandoning the bulk of it lead by late '60s psychedelic rock and early '70s pop.
Many of the band's influences are mentioned in the song - John Lennon, Jerry Lee Lewis, T. Rex, and The Hullaballoos among others. The song states that rock and roll is dying, and it needs change if it wants to survive.
[edit] Track Listing
U.S. 7" Single
- "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" (Joey Ramone) - 3:50
- "I Want You Around" (Ramones) - 3:02
