Rock and Roll (Gary Glitter song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Rock and Roll" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Glitter cover | ||
| Song by Gary Glitter | ||
| from the album Glitter | ||
| Released | 1972 | |
| Genre | Glam rock | |
| Length | 3:01 & 3:38 | |
| Label | Bell Records | |
| Composer(s) | Gary Glitter & Mike Leander | |
| Producer(s) | Mike Leander | |
| Glitter track listing | ||
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"Rock and Roll", also known as "The Hey Song," is a song performed by British glam rocker 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 #2 on the British charts.
In concert performances, Glitter merges both into one performance.
In the US, the instrumental portion (Part 2) attracted most of the attention; it hit #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the years since, Part 2 of the song has often been played at various sporting events in Canada and the United States, particularly when the home teams scores (or wins). It was played first in a sport setting at Colorado Rockies hockey games in the late 1970s,[1] and it is widely believed that the Denver Broncos are the first NFL team to play the song during games.[2]
The nickname "the Hey Song" refers to fact that 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.
"Rock and Roll" was one of over 20 UK hit singles for the now-reclusive Glitter. Part 2 of this song has been used in the soundtrack to many movies, including Reality Bites (1994), Happy Gilmore (1996), Small Soldiers (1998), Any Given Sunday (1999), Bedazzled (2000), The Replacements (2000), Sugar & Spice (2001), Moonlight Mile (2002), Meet the Fockers (2004), and The Longest Yard (2005)
[edit] Reaction to Glitter conviction
In 2005-2006, Glitter was convicted on child sexual abuse charges in Vietnam. After the conviction was upheld in court, the NFL asked teams to stop playing the song, although Glitter had already been convicted and imprisoned on child pornography charges in England in 1997. One team that used the song, the New England Patriots, announced that they had already planned to drop the song even before the NFL's request.[3]
The Kansas City Chiefs also announced their intention to drop the song, and conducted a vote via the team's official website to select the new touchdown celebration. [4] Though the song "Boom" by P.O.D. won that poll, so far in the 2006 season another rendition of "Rock and Roll Part 2" performed by Tube Tops 2000 has served as the Chiefs' touchdown song. However, Glitter's own recording of the song was used heavily at the 2006 US Open tennis tournament, notably at the end of Andre Agassi's farewell match. [5] [6]
The San Jose Sharks also chose to change the song, which they had been using for over a decade after the Sharks score a goal. Glitter's song was replaced by "Holiday" by Green Day. The New Jersey Devils replaced the song with Ole, and the Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals replaced it with Zombie Nation's Kernkraft 400. The Minnesota Wild also dumped the song, changing their "goal song" to Joe Satriani's "Crowd Chant".
Despite this conviction the New York Islanders ice hockey team has chosen to retain the song for use after goals scored by the team during home games at Nassau Coliseum. The New York Knicks basketball team also uses the song to pump up the crowd.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Swimming Through History", Westword, 4 October 2001
- ^ "Broncos fans will sing different tune", Rocky Mountain News, 28 June 2006
- ^ "The NFL asks teams to ban golden oldie", The Boston Globe, 14 June 2006
- ^ "Chiefs Fans: Vote for YOUR new touchdown music!", Kansas City Chiefs Official Website, 8 August 2006
- ^ "Chiefs eke out just enough offense", Lawrence Journal-World, 27 August 2006
- ^ "Part 3: Chiefs still ‘Rock and Roll’", Kansas City Star, September 1, 2006
