B-side "The Wall" Format 7", 45rpm Label Asylum, Warner Bros. | Released 1975 Length 2:56 | |
Genre Roots rock, rock and roll | ||
"Rockin' All Over the World" is a rock song written by John Fogerty, formerly of Creedence Clearwater Revival. It made its debut on Fogerty's second solo album (see John Fogerty) in 1975. It was also released as a single, spending six weeks in the US top 40, peaking at #27. Rolling Stone Magazine critic Dave Marsh considered the song a good choice for the album's lead single, although he claimed that it was "little more than the formulaic CCR sound with the title repeated over and over, like a chant." Status Quo recorded their own, heavier arrangement of Fogerty's song for their 1977 album Rockin' All Over the World.
During the recording of Status Quo's music video to the song, bassist Alan Lancaster was living in Australia. He had refused to return to the UK for the recording, so he was replaced by a dummy with a bass guitar in the video. Quo's version was their 8th UK top ten hit, peaking at #3.
At Live Aid, Status Quo began their set (and thus the event itself, being the opening band) with "Rockin' All Over the World" which first became an unofficial anthem for the event when the BBC used it to advertise their TV coverage. Coldplay performed a portion of the song at Live 8, with lead singer Chris Martin singing the chorus during the song "In My Place", after much was made of Status Quo's absence from the concert in the British media.
Status Quo recorded another version titled Running All Over the World for Sport Aid 1988.
Other versions
Other versions of this song have been recorded by The Georgia Satellites and Bon Jovi, and also by artists outside the English-speaking world such as Dutch Bertus Staigerpaip, German Wolfgang Petry and Spanish Platero y Tú (outro of "Si tú te vas" song). Carl Wilson recorded it on his 1983 album Youngblood, and The Beach Boys themselves added the song to their live act in the mid-'80s. Bruce Springsteen has performed the song a number of times during his famous live shows, and it was the final song played in his 2009 Working on a Dream Tour. During Hard Rock Calling 2012, Springsteen appeared on stage with Fogerty to perform the song with him.
The song has found a usage in the sports world as well. In 1988, to support Sport Aid, Status Quo re-recorded the song as "Running All Over the World" with slightly amended lyrics. It reached #17 in the UK Singles Chart. Another re-recorded version appeared on their album Riffs in 2003.
The song is now a Southend United anthem after they began singing "Shrimping All Over the World" after the 2004 Football League Trophy final. Supporters of the Northern Ireland national football team often sing the song, particularly on away trips, changing the lyrics to "Drinkin' All Over the World". The song is also the goal music of the German football club Bayer Leverkusen. It is also played at Leyton Orient, Millwall F.C., Blackpool FC and Bolton Wanderers after every home win; and is often played after major rugby league finals.
During an episode of the 2013 BBC2 series The Story of Music, when presenter Howard Goodall was discussing the style galant popularised by composers such as Mozart, the song was performed by a string quartet and classical singer. The performance was used to illustrate that using a restricted palette of chords was just as much a feature of late 18th-century music as it is a feature of modern-era artists such as Status Quo.
The song was reprised, in 2014, for the Status Quo's thirty-first studio album Aquostic (Stripped Bare). It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance of the album at London's Roundhouse on 22 October, the concert being recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series.