‘Rock On’ is a song written by English singer David Essex. Recorded in 1973 and released as a single by Essex, it became an international hit. The song, written and recorded by David Essex, was released in August 1973 in the UK, and reached its highest position of number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in September that year. It spent 11 weeks in the UK charts. In March 1974, Essex's version reached number one in Canada on the RPM national Top Singles chart and was a top-ten hit (reaching number 5) on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart. It was Essex's only Billboard top 40 song. ‘Rock On’ was the title track of Essex's 1973 debut studio album, and was also featured on the soundtrack album of the 1973 film That'll Be the Day (as well as being played over the closing credits of the film's U.S. release) in which he had a starring role. The song is still frequently played on classic rock and oldies radio stations.
David Essex wrote this to play at the end of the 1973 movie That'll Be The Day, where he played a working-class, aspiring rocker in pre-Beatles England. Essex spent much of the '60s making unsuccessful recordings, but did far better as an actor, landing the role of Jesus in the London production of Godspell in 1971. This earned him the role of Jim MacLaine in That'll Be The Day, in which he starred along with Ringo Starr and Keith Moon. Essex asked the film's producer David Puttnam if he could write the ending song, and Puttnam told him to take a crack at it. During the eight weeks of filming, Essex came up with ‘Rock On,’ a song that summons the restless and rebellious nature of his character amid the backdrop of rock and roll. Puttnam thought it was "too weird," so it didn't make the film, but Essex used it to get a record deal with CBS, which released it as his first single on the label. The song was an international hit, and the movie did very well in England; Essex reprised his character in a 1974 sequel called Stardust - this time the song he wrote ("Stardust") was used in the film.
The lyric pays homage to early rock-and-roll and its surrounding youth subculture, and notably to 1950s rebel James Dean. This song makes reference to ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ by Carl Perkins, and ‘Summertime Blues’ by Eddie Cochran. Essex later re-recorded the song in 1988 with an updated lyric. This version, which was remixed by Shep Pettibone, appeared on Essex's 1989 album Touching the Ghost. A single release of the updated version reached number 93 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1989, American actor and singer Michael Damian recorded a cover version that went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been recorded many times, including a 2006 version by the English hard rock group Def Leppard.
Label – Columbia
Songwriter – David Essex
Producer – Jeff Wayne
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Ooh
[Verse]
Hey, did you rock and roll?
Rock on, ooh, my soul
Hey, did you boogie too? Did ya?
Hey, shout, summertime blues
Jump up and down in you blue suede shoes
Hey, did you rock and roll? Rock on
[Pre-Chorus]
And where do we go from here?
Which is a way that's clear?
[Chorus]
Still looking for that blue jean baby queen
Prettiest girl I ever seen
See her shake on the movie screen
Jimmy Dean (James Dean)
[Pre-Chorus]
And where do we go from here?
Which is the way that's clear?
[Chorus]
Still looking for that blue jean baby queen
Prettiest girl I ever seen
See her shake on the movie screen
Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
[Outro]
Rock on, rock on
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)
Rock on, rock on
(Hey, did you rock and roll?)...