| "Rock and Roll" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Led Zeppelin | ||||||||||
| from the album Led Zeppelin IV | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Four Sticks" | |||||||||
| Released | 21 February 1972 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM | |||||||||
| Recorded | December 1970–March 1971 | |||||||||
| Genre | Rock and roll, hard rock, heavy metal | |||||||||
| Length | 3:40 | |||||||||
| Label | Atlantic | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham | |||||||||
| Producer | Jimmy Page | |||||||||
| Led Zeppelin singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track from the band's fourth album in 1971, with a guest appearance by The Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart.
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Befitting its title, the song is based on one of the most popular structures in rock and roll, the 12 bar blues progression (in A). "Rock and Roll" stands as one of the best-known songs in the band's catalogue.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has said that this song came to be written as a spontaneous jam session, whilst the band were trying (and failing) to finish the track "Four Sticks".[1][2] Drummer John Bonham played the introduction to Little Richard's "Keep a Knockin'" and Page added a guitar riff.[3] The tapes were rolling and fifteen minutes later the basis of the song was down.[4] Said Page:
We were recording another number [Four Sticks]; we’d just finished a take and John Bonham did the drum intro and we just followed on. I started doing pretty much half of that riff you hear on Rock n Roll and it was just so exciting that we thought, “let’s just work on this”. The riff and the sequence was really immediate to those 12-bar patterns that you had in those old rock songs like Little Richard, etc, and it was just so spur-of-the-moment the way that it just came together more or less out of nowhere.[2]
Page also commented:
It actually ground to a halt after about 12 bars, but it was enough to know that there was enough of a number there to keep working on it. Robert [Plant] even came in singing on it straight away.[5]
"Rock and Roll" is one of the few Led Zeppelin songs where all four members share the composer credit.
The lyrics by singer Robert Plant reference a number of 1950s and 1960s early rock hits, including "The Stroll," "The Book of Love," and "Walking In the Moonlight."
"Rock and Roll" was a key component of the band's setlist at Led Zeppelin concerts from 1971 on. Initially, Plant referred to it on stage as "It's Been A Long Time", which is the first line of the song.[3] In 1972 it was elevated to the opening number of all concert performances and it retained this status until 1975. For the band's 1977 North American tour, it became part of a medley encore with "Whole Lotta Love", and during 1979 and 1980 it became an encore in its own right.[3]
When performing the song live, singer Robert Plant usually switched the second verse with the third.
A live performance of the song from Madison Square Garden in July 1973 was recorded for the band's concert film The Song Remains the Same and accompanying soundtrack album. There is also a June 1972 live recording of "Rock and Roll" which has been captured on the album How the West Was Won.
In 1985 Page, Plant and Jones reunited and performed the song at the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, as part of the Led Zeppelin set featuring drummers Tony Thompson and Phil Collins. "Rock and Roll" was also performed as the final encore at Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007. On 7 June 2008, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones joined Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins on stage at Wembley stadium to perform "Rock and Roll," along with "Ramble On".
In 2002, General Motors used "Rock and Roll" in a series of television commercials for their Cadillac line of automobiles and ended the song and slogan "Break Through" in late 2006.
In 2006, Bowl Games of America used "Rock and Roll" as the finale for the Gator Bowl halftime show. The song was performed by 28 high school marching bands, with over 2,500 players.
The song is featured in HBO's The Sopranos. It plays in the background on the radio at a pizza parlor in episode 3 of season 3.
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Marsh | United States | "The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made"[6] | 1989 | 424 |
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | United States | "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll"[7] | 1994 | * |
| Radio Caroline | United Kingdom | "Top 500 Tracks"[8] | 1999 | 21 |
| VH1 | United States | "The 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time"[9] | 2000 | 66 |
| Q | United Kingdom | "The 50 Most Exciting Tunes Ever.."[10] | 2002 | 17 |
| Q | United Kingdom | "The 1001 Best Songs Ever"[11] | 2003 | 201 |
(*) designates unordered lists.
1972 7" single (US/Australia/New Zealand: Atlantic 45-2865, Austria/Germany: Atlantic ATL 10156, Brazil: Atco ATCS 10.005, Canada: Atlantic AT 2865, France: Atlantic 10156, Holland: Atlantic ATL 2091190, Japan: Warner Pioneer P-1123A, Lebanon: Atlantic AT 16005, Mexico: Atlantic G-1136, Poland: Atlantic XN 82, Portugal: Atlantic ATL N 28128, Spain: Atlantic HS 823)
1972 7" single (South Africa: Atlantic ATL 590)
1972 7" EP (US: Atlantic LLP 171 SD 7-7208)
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart[12] | 47 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart[13] | 42 |
| US Record World 100 Top Pops[14] | 38 |
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[15] | 38 |
| Japanese Singles Chart[16] | 34 |
| German Singles Chart[17] | 13 |
| Spanish Singles Chart[18] | 14 |
| Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart | 51 |
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