Rock and roll anthem
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A rock and roll anthem is a celebratory rock and roll song. The subject that the anthem celebrates can vary, although one common anthemic theme is the celebration of rock and roll for itself.
Chuck Berry probably wrote more of these than any other songwriter:
- "School Days" (1956) "Hail, Hail Rock and Roll, deliver me from the days of old"
- "Roll Over, Beethoven" (1956) -- "and tell Tchaikovsky the news"
- "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) -- "got a back beat you can't lose it"
- "Johnny B. Goode" (1958) -- "never ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play a guitar just like ringing a bell"
- "Let it Rock" (1959)
The essence of the rock and roll anthem may be best captured in the Lieber and Stoller song "That is Rock and Roll", sung first by the Coasters in 1959:
- You say our music's for the birds and you can't understand the words,
- Well honey if you did, you'd really blow your lid, 'cause baby that is rock and roll
There are many others:
- 1954 "Rock Around the Clock" -- Bill Haley and his Comets
- 1957 "Jailhouse Rock" -- Elvis Presley, "Warden threw a party at the county jail, prison band was there and they began to wail."
- 1958 "Rock and Roll is here to stay" -- Danny and the Juniors
- 1961 "It will stand" -- The Showmen
- 1962 "PFC Rhythm and Blues Jones" -- Ray Stevens, "I'm a lover not a fighter, I'm a BMI songwriter"
- 1965 "Do You Believe in Magic" -- Lovin' Spoonful, who sang "It's like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll"
- 1966 "Satisfaction" -- The Rolling Stones
- 1967 "Heavy Music" -- Bob Seger
- 1967 "I Dig Rock & Roll Music" -- Peter, Paul and Mary, ambivalent anthem by folk singers, "The message may not move me, Or mean a great deal to me", this from the singers of "Puff, the Magic Dragon"
- 1967 "Rock and Roll Woman" -- Buffalo Springfield
- 1970 "Had Me A Real Good Time" -- The Faces
- 1971 "Rock and Roll" - Led Zeppelin
- 1971 "American Pie" -- Don McLean
- 1972 "God Gave Rock and Roll To You" -- Argent (later covered by Kiss)
- 1972 "Rock and Roll Lullaby" -- B. J. Thomas
- 1972 "Rock and Roll Part 2", Gary Glitter, instrumental anthem
- 1972 "Rock and Roll" -- Lou Reed, Mitch Ryder and his band Detroit, (successor to the Detroit Wheels)
- 1973 "Stay With Me" -- The Faces
- 1973 "I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)" -- Moody Blues
- 1974 "Life is a Rock (and the Radio Rolled Me)" -- Reunion
- 1974 "Rock On" -- David Essex
- 1974 "Rock and Roll Heaven" -- The Righteous Brothers
- 1974 "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" -- Rick Derringer
- 1974 "It's Only Rock and Roll (but I like it)" -- The Rolling Stones
- 1975 "Rock Show" -- Paul McCartney and Wings
- 1975 "Rock and Roll All Nite" -- first hit for Kiss, recorded live
- 1975 "God Save The Queen" -- The Sex Pistols
- 1976 "Rock and Roll Band" -- Boston
- 1976 "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)" -- AC/DC
- 1977 "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" -- Ian Dury & the Blockheads, updating the grand old slogan, "Wine, women & song!"
- 1977 "Blank Generation" -- Richard Hell an anthem of nihilism
- 1977 "Hot Legs" -- Rod Stewart
- 1977 "Let There Be Rock" -- AC/DC
- 1979 "Old Time Rock and Roll" -- Bob Seger
- 1979 "Hey Hey, My My (Out of the Blue)" -- Neil Young
- 1979 "Long Live Rock" -- The Who
- 1980 "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" -- Billy Joel
- 1980 "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" -- AC/DC
- 1981 "I Love Rock and Roll" -- Joan Jett
- 1981 "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" -- AC/DC
- 1983 "Rock of Ages" -- Def Leppard (featuring the classic opening words, "Gunter glieben glauchen globen")
- 1984 "I Wanna Rock" -- Twisted Sister
- 1987 "Paradise City" -- Guns N' Roses
- 1991 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" -- Nirvana (band)
- 1995 "Teenage Politics" -- MxPx
- It'll be here for ever and ever, ain't gonna leave, never no never
- Sinkin' deep in the heart of man, Rock and Roll forever will stand
- "It will stand" -- The Showmen
In addition to those which celebrate rock and roll, other rock anthems that have celebrated other subjects have included:
- 1965 "My Generation" -- a youth anthem by The Who, who sang "hope I die before I get old" for more than 35 years
- 1968 "Born to be Wild" -- a celebration of freedom by Steppenwolf.
- 1969 "Volunteers of America" -- Jefferson Airplane, a very anthem-oriented band, on their most anthemic album
- 1969 "We Can Be Together" -- Jefferson Airplane, a very anthem-oriented band, on their most anthemic album
- 1975 "I Write the Songs", the ironic anti-anthem, written by Beach Boy Bruce Johnston for David Cassidy and Barry Manilow.
- 1983 "Down Under" -- Men at Work, an Australian anthem
- 1984 "Born in the USA" -- Bruce Springsteen, a cry of anguish from the forgotten vets of America, which ironically has become the ultimate American anthem due to the power of the music and the chorus