# Songs about rock 'n' roll **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030 "2011-09-21T03:24:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/21 "2011-09-21T12:44:24Z")
The Velvet Underground also had a song “Rock and Roll” that’s different from the two other different songs by Led Zeppelin and Gary Glitter with the same title. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/22 "2011-09-21T13:57:19Z")
ABBA–[Rock & Roll Band](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPrkyBa0j7s) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/23 "2011-09-21T14:02:36Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > ABBA–[Rock & Roll Band](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPrkyBa0j7s) Yep, that’s up there for the least rocking song about rock alongside **Billy Joel’s It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me**. Don’t get me wrong; I love ABBA for their pop - but hearing them sing about rock is kinda funny. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/24 "2011-09-21T14:07:24Z")
In the spirit of the OP - these songs don’t have the words “rock and roll” in the title but they are most definitely about it: Billy Joel - _The Entertainer_ Rush - _Spirit of Radio_ Bad Company - _Shooting Star_ Foreigner - _Juke Box Hero_ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/25 "2011-09-21T14:07:52Z")
I’m kind of embarassed that I knew that ABBA song off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/26 "2011-09-21T14:13:29Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’m kind of embarassed that I knew that ABBA song off the top of my head. Hey, you can’t worry about that - Seasons in the Sun and Billy, Don’t be a Hero and The Night Chicago Died pop into my head way too often…😉 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/27 "2011-09-21T15:06:21Z")
> [@Dr.Righteous](#): > > In the spirit of the OP - these songs don’t have the words “rock and roll” in the title but they are most definitely about it: > > Billy Joel - _The Entertainer_ > Rush - _Spirit of Radio_ > Bad Company - _Shooting Star_ > Foreigner - _Juke Box Hero_ Well, if we want songs ABOUT different aspects of being a rock musician or band… Bad Company: “Moving On” Bon Jovi: “Wanted Dead or Alive” Jackson Browne: practically everything on the \*\*\*Running on Empty \*\*\*album Creedence Clearwater Revival: “Travellin’ Band” Heart: “Bebe La Strange” Journey: “Faithfully” Kansas: “Play the Game Tonight” Kiss: “Great Expectations” and even “Beth” (which is not really a love song but a lament about the strains being in a rock band puts on relationships) Ted Nugent: “Just What the Doctor Ordered” Bob Seger: “Turn the Page” Paul Simon: “Late in the Evening” Simon & Garfunkel: “Homeward Bound” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/28 "2011-09-21T15:43:50Z")
AC/DC: Let There Be Rock Rush: Limelight (more about the pressure of being a rock star) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/29 "2011-09-21T15:43:54Z")
Teegarden & Van Winkle: “God, Love and Rock & Roll” Ramones: “Rock and Roll Radio” Muddy Waters: “The Blues Had A Baby (and They Named It Rock and Roll)” A lot of rockabilly songs are about rock & roll but they don’t always call it by that name. Examples: Carl Perkins’ “Boppin’ the Blues” and Johnny Burnette’s “Rock Billy Boogie”. (They also did a song called “Rock Therapy”.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/30 "2011-09-21T15:46:47Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Just an observation about the directions this thread is going: > > “Rock” is invoked at least three ways: > > - **As Sex** : since that was the original meaning of the phrase when used in blues and pre-rock R&B. > > - **As the Music** : sometimes I get upset about how much rappers boast about themselves and hip hop music and their beats and stuff, but as a rocker, I really can’t complain, can I? Jeez we spend a lot of time commenting on the status and supermacy of rock music. > > - **As…Mojo** : the “rock” in Rock Around the Clock was equal parts dancing, having fun with your friends, and doin’…stuff…your parents wouldn’t approve of. Yet that morphed into “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World” where “stuff your parents wouldn’t approve of” has become “fighting for your independent voice.” I mean, sure - a liberal dose of folk rock got blended into rock in the 60’s, but still, the concept of “rockin’” became this broad indefinable \*something \*that meant nothing and everything cool at the same time. And boy, are there a lot of songs about it. > > I first read the OP assuming it was about the 2nd definition - songs about the music. But you can’t discuss one without the other two because the overlaps are all over the place. When bands claim “rock and roll is dead” they are typically speaking as much to the rebellious spirit as to the style of music, for instance…and songs like Good Rockin’ Tonight is all about the blurring between rocking out to good music and sex… Point well taken. And yes, I’m primarily interested in examples of your 2nd definition. And I also didn’t mean the songs had to literally have “Rock and Roll” in the title. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/31 "2011-09-21T15:48:44Z")
Long Live Rock And Roll Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll ---
**Author:** ![Rainworm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dc4da7/32.png) [@Rainworm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainworm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/32 "2011-09-21T15:56:27Z")
I think many songs by KISS (as mentioned before) are about rock’n’roll. If you ever actively listen to their lyrics, you will find out that rock’n’roll is rock’n’roll because rock’n’roll is rock’n’roll and he wants to rock’n’roll. Rock’n’roll. The other songs are about women, likely rock’n’roll women. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/33 "2011-09-21T16:45:36Z")
[One Rock and Roll Too Many](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDpS_6auAwM) from Starlight Express ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/34 "2011-09-21T16:57:06Z")
> [@williamweigand](#): > > The Velvet Underground also had a song “Rock and Roll” that’s different from the two other different songs by Led Zeppelin and Gary Glitter with the same title. Fastest bass evah. ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/35 "2011-09-21T17:19:53Z")
Nick Lowe - I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll Ramones - Rock and Roll High School ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/36 "2011-09-21T17:24:59Z")
> [@Simmerdown](#): > > Nick Lowe - I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll > Ramones - Rock and Roll High School Neither of those songs are _about_ rock ‘n’ roll; they’re just songs with “rock and roll” in the title. ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/37 "2011-09-21T17:29:11Z")
Because someone has to mention it eventually: “We Built This City” ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/38 "2011-09-21T17:30:34Z")
Neil Young - Hey Hey, My My (out of the Blue) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/39 "2011-09-21T17:32:49Z")
Does [_Life Is A Rock, But The Radio Rolled Me_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16kh-AP4OCU), by Reunion, count? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030/40 "2011-09-21T17:35:19Z")
> [@Simmerdown](#): > > Nick Lowe - I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll “The Called It Rock” if you own _Pure Pop For Now People_, “Shake and Pop” if you own _Jesus of Cool_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-rock-n-roll/597030.md?page=3)