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 |
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| Released | May 16, 1980 | ||||
| Recorded | 1979-1980 | ||||
| Genre | Rock and Roll | ||||
| Length | 3:50 | ||||
| Label | Sire | ||||
| Producer | Phil Spector | ||||
| Ramones singles chronology | |||||
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| 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 by American punk rock band the 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 was partially due in an attempt to reach commercial success and to the work of their new producer, Phil Spector.
While most Ramones songs were based on three chords 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 synthesizer are used along with the standard guitar, drums, and bass. As in most 1950s rock & roll, the saxophone is 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 the Ramones' most enduring songs. Because of the nature of many different instruments used in the track, while performing live the band replaced the saxophone with the bass guitar as lead instrument.
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 was also 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 repeated couplet "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 movements such as late '60s psychedelic rock and early '70s pop.
Many of the band's influences are mentioned in the song, including John Lennon, Jerry Lee Lewis, T. Rex, and Moulty. The song states that rock and roll is dying, and it needs change if it wants to survive.
[edit] Pop Culture References
In homage to the Ramones song, an actual radio show entitled "Rock 'n Roll Radio" was created in 2005 on WESU Middletown 88.1FM, a radio station in Connecticut. It still airs weekly on Tuesday nights/Wednesday mornings from 12AM-1AM. The show can be heard online at www.wesufm.org
The song was also covered by Kiss and appears on the Ramones tribute album "We're a Happy Family".
[edit] Track listing
U.S. 7" Single
- "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" (Joey Ramone) - 3:50
- "I Want You Around" (Joey Ramone) - 3:02
