Rock 'n' Roll Is King

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"Rock 'n' Roll Is King"
File:Rock'n'Roll Is King.jpg
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Secret Messages
B-side "After All"
Released
  • 18 June 1983 (UK)
  • June 1983 (US)
Format 7" single
Recorded 1983 Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, the Netherlands
Genre Rock and roll[1]
Length
  • 3:49 (Album version)
  • 3:07 (Single version)
  • 3:10 (Double-album version)
Label Jet
Writer(s) Jeff Lynne
Producer(s) Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"The Way Life's Meant to Be"
(1982)		 "Rock 'n' Roll Is King"
(1983)		 "Secret Messages"
(1983)
Secret Messages track listing
Music video
"Rock 'n' Roll Is King" (audio only) on YouTube

"Rock 'n' Roll Is King" is a song written and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) released as a single from the 1983 album Secret Messages. With this song the band returned to their rock roots. It features a violin solo by Mik Kaminski.

The song went through many changes during recording and at one point was going to be called "Motor Factory" with a completely different set of lyrics. The single proved to be ELO's last UK top twenty hit single, and reached no. 19 in the US in August 1983.

"I sang on quite a few tracks; I sang on Rock 'N' Roll Is King. I played on that one, but it wasn't called that, it was something about something about working at Austin Longbridge! It was full of car plant sounds, you could hear it going clank, clank, clank, like somebody hitting a lathe with a hammer, and Jeff went away and made it into Rock 'n' Roll Is King, wiped off everything we'd done, no, there was still some backing left in there, It was much better how he finished it off than it was before." Dave Morgan (4 March 1999 – King Of The Universe #8)

Chart positions

Chart (1983) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] 13
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 4
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[5] 5
Canada (CHUM)[6] 4
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 6
Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 8
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 17
Norway (VG-lista)[13] 6
Poland (LP3)[14] 2
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[15] 7
Spain (AFYVE)[16] 30
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 20
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 8
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19] 13
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[20] 36
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 19
US Billboard Top Tracks[20] 19
US Cash Box[21] 22

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1392 – Saturday, September 17, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 July 2007). CHUM. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4325." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Electric Light Orchestra - Rock 'N' Roll Is King search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Rock 'n' Roll Is King". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  12. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King". VG-lista. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Rock'n'Roll Is King". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1983-07-16" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 27, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 September 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 28 April 2014.

External links


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