"Rock and Roll" is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter that was released in 1972 as a single and on the albumGlitter. 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 top 10 hit in the U.S. It was also in North America that the "Part 2" became popularly associated with sports, as a number of professional teams began to play the song during games to invigorate the audience. Since Glitter's convictions for child sex offences, the song's continued use has been controversial. In the UK, "Rock and Roll" was one of over 25 hit singles for Glitter. In the US, the instrumental version attracted most of the attention; it hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The running time of the US mono 45, which is mixed different from the LP, is 3:10 whilst it is 2:58 on the US LP. In France, "Part 1" was the successful side, peaking at number one.
History and usage
Sports
In North America, "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, or to otherwise invigorate the crowd. 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. 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. 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. In 1999, Glitter was convicted of downloading 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. 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. The New Jersey Devils replaced the song in 2013, with the team stating that it wished to create a more positive in-arena atmosphere. In 2014, Billboard reported that the song was slowly falling out of favour due to both the controversies, and teams electing to replace it with newer songs.
Films and television
"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 is on the soundtrack of the 1997 comedy-dramaThe Full Monty. It was also used for several scenes in the 2000 film The Replacements as well as the American football scene in the 2004 comedy filmMeet the Fockers. "Rock and Roll Part 2" is also used in Happy Gilmore and in the Small Soldiers soundtrack. The song is also played in the 1994 movie when Les Averman and Greg Goldberg are playing commentators before Team USA play against Team Iceland. In The Simpsons episode 'A Fish Called Selma', first broadcast in 1996, Homer sings the chorus to the song in his head. The song can also be vaguely heard in The Office episode 'Initiation'. In 2019, "Rock and Roll Part 2" appeared in Todd Phillips' film Joker as Arthur Fleck dances down a staircase, generating public controversy. Some sources indicated that Glitter, as co-writer of the song, would receive a lump sum and royalties for its use. According to the Los Angeles Times, Glitter does not receive payment when the song is used as he has sold the rights, and the US rights to the song are now owned by Universal Music Publishing Group.
The song was covered by The Human League as the first half of a track on the EP Holiday '80 issued in April 1980, and later included as a bonus track on CD releases of Travelogue, including the 2003 remasters. The song was also released as a 7" single 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. American punk band D.I. covered the song for Team Goon, the 1987 expanded re-release of their 1983 self-titled debut EP. Part 2 was sampled in the Timelords' hit "Doctorin' the Tardis".
