Rock and Roll (Gary Glitter song)

"Rock and Roll"
Original 7" single
Single by Gary Glitter
from the album Glitter
A-side	"Rock and Roll Part 1"
B-side	"Rock and Roll Part 2"
Released	1972
Format	7"
Recorded	1971
Genre	Glam rock[1][2]
Length	3:02 (Part 1) 3:10 (Part 2)
Label	Bell
Songwriter(s)	Gary Glitter Mike Leander
Producer(s)	Mike Leander
Gary Glitter singles chronology
"Rock and Roll" (1972) "I Didn't Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll)" (1972)
"Rock and Roll" (1972) "I Didn't Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll)" (1972)

"Rock and Roll" (also known as "The Hey Song") is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter that was released in 1972 as a single and on the album Glitter. Co-written by Glitter and Mike Leander, the song is in two parts: Part 1 is a vocal track reflecting on the history of the genre, and Part 2 is a mostly instrumental piece. Both parts were popular in Britain, and the single went to No. 2 on the British charts. In concert, Glitter merged both into one performance.

"Rock and Roll" is Glitter's only US Top 10 hit. It was also in North America that the "Part 2" became popularly associated with sports, as a number of professional teams adopted the song for use during games — primarily to signify scores and victories. It is often referred to as "The 'Hey' Song", as the only intelligible word in Part 2 is the exclamation of "Hey", punctuating the end of several instrumental phrases and repeated three times at the song's chorus. At sporting events, fans often insert their own "Hey", or sometimes other chanted syllables.^[3]

In the UK, "Rock and Roll" was one of over 25 hit singles for Glitter. In the US, the instrumental version (Part 2) attracted most of the attention; it hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[4] The US mono 45, which is mixed different from the LP, clocks in at 3:10, while it runs 2:58 on the US LP. In France, "Part 1" was the successful side, peaking at number-one.

Cover versions

The song was covered by the Human League in May 1980 as the first half of a track ("Rock and Roll/Nightclubbing") on the EP Holiday '80, and was later included as a bonus track on the remaster of the Travelogue album released in 2003. The song was also released as a 7" single (without "Nightclubbing") and was performed by the band on Top of the Pops in May 1980, even though the single failed to chart.

Tube Tops 2000 released a version for a glam rock tribute compilation Blockbuster: A 70's Glitter Glam Rock Experience, released in January 2001.

Psychobilly band Long Tall Texans did a cover on their album Five Beans in the Wheel.

American punk band D.I. covered the song for Team Goon, the 1987 expanded re-release of their 1983 self-titled debut EP.

The following are not exact covers, but reference the original tune:

• Cheap Trick – "Elo Kiddies"
• Bongwater – "Rock and Roll Part II"
• The Timelords – "Doctorin' the Tardis"
• Dean Gray – "Dr. Who on Holiday"
• Kanye West – "Black Skinhead"
• Sammy Hagar – "Mas Tequila"

Use in sporting events

Part 2 of the song has often been played at various sporting events in Canada and the United States, particularly when the home team scores or wins. It was played first in a sport setting in 1974 at games for the Kalamazoo Wings of the high-minor International Hockey League by Kevin O'Brien, the team's public relations and marketing director.^[5] When he went to work for the NHL's Colorado Rockies in 1976, he brought the song with him. After the Rockies moved to New Jersey as the New Jersey Devils in 1982, the Denver Nuggets and Denver Broncos picked up the tradition and were the first NBA and NFL teams to play the song during games.^[5]

In 1999, Glitter was convicted of possessing child pornography in England, and in 2006 of child sexual abuse charges in Vietnam. After the second conviction was upheld in court, the NFL asked teams to stop playing the song. Glitter was dismayed by this result as he is a fan of the San Diego Chargers and had choreographed some of the team's cheerleading cadences in 1989.^[6] The NFL allowed a cover version of the song by the Tube Tops 2000 to be played, but in 2012, the NFL instructed teams to "avoid" the song following negative reaction from British media to the New England Patriots' use of the song. In 2014, Billboard reported that the song was slowly falling out of favor, due to both the controversies, and teams electing to replace it with newer songs such as The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and The Black Keys' "Gold on the Ceiling".^[7][8][9]

Use in films

"Rock and Roll Part 2" was used for Sudden Death, both in a trailer and the actual film. In the latter, the song can be heard from the Civic Arena's audio system whenever the Pittsburgh Penguins score a goal, much like what happened in real games at the time.

It was also on the soundtrack of the 1997 British comedy-drama The Full Monty.^[10] It was also used for several scenes in the 2000 film The Replacements as well as the football scene in the 2004 comedy film Meet the Fockers.^[11] "Rock and Roll Part 2" is also used in Happy Gilmore and in the Small Soldiers soundtrack.^[12]

Chart performance

References