A-side "Rock and Roll Part 1" Released 1972 Recorded 1971 | B-side "Rock and Roll Part 2" Format 7" single Genre Glam rock | |
"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 No. 2 on the British charts. In concert, Glitter merged both into one performance. It is Glitter's only US top 10 hit for him.
Contents
In the UK, "Rock and Roll" was one of over 25 hit singles for Glitter. In the US, the instrumental portion (Part 2) attracted most of the attention; it hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The US mono 45, which is mixed different from the LP, clocks in at 3:10, while it runs 2:58 on the US LP. In France, "Part 1" was the successful side, reaching No. 1.
It was also in North America that the "Part 2" became popularly associated with sport, as a number of professional teams adopted the song for use during games— primarily to signify scores and wins.
Covers
The song was covered by The Human League in May 1980 as the first half of a track (Rock ’n’ Roll / Nightclubbing) on the EP Holiday '80, and was later included as a bonus track on the remaster of the Travelogue album released in 2003. The song was also released as a 7" single (without Nightclubbing' and was performed by the group 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.
Psychobilly band Long Tall Texans did a cover on their album Five Beans in the Wheel.
The following are not exact covers, but reference the original tune:
Use in sporting events
Part 2 of the song has often been played at various sporting events in Canada and the United States, particularly when the home team scores or wins. 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. "Rock and Roll" 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.
In 1999, Glitter was convicted of possessing 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.
Use in films
"Rock and Roll Part 2" was used on the soundtrack of the 1997 British comedy-drama The Full Monty. It was also used for several scenes in the 2000 film The Replacements (film) as well as the football scene in the 2004 comedy film Meet the Fockers. "Rock and Roll Part 2" is also used in Happy Gilmore and in Small Soldiers soundtrack.