Rock and Roll (Gary Glitter song)

Infobox Single
Name = Rock and Roll


Cover size =
Caption = Original 7" single
Artist = Gary Glitter
from Album = Glitter
A-side = "Rock and Roll Part 1"
B-side = "Rock and Roll Part 2"
Released =
Format = 7" single
Recorded =
Genre = Glam rock
Length = 3:01 (Part 1)
3:38 (Part 2)
Label = Bell Records
Writer = Gary Glitter, Mike Leander
Producer = Mike Leander
Certification =
Chart position = * #2 (UK)
* #1 (France)
* #7 (USA) (B-side)
Last single =
This single = "Rock and Roll"
(1972)
Next single = "I Didn't Know I Loved You (Til I Saw You Rock 'n' Roll)"
(1972)|"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, 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, [ [http://music.westword.com/Issues/2001-10-04/music/music2.html "Swimming Through History"] , "Westword", 4 October 2001] and the Denver Broncos are the first NFL team to play the song during games. [ [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1004585/2/index.htm "The Vibes Of Victory"] , "Sports Illustrated", 30 November 1992]

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 Glitter. Part 2 of this song has been used in the soundtrack to many movies, including "Reality Bites" (1994), "Happy Gilmore" (1996), "The Full Monty" (1997), "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).

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. The NFL has allowed a cover version of the song by the Tube Tops 2000 to be played. [Cite web |url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/35824326 |title=Column: Why did NFL muzzle Gary Glitter? |date=2006-09-15 |accessdate=2008-08-20 |publisher=Yahoo! Music news] Subsequently, some professional and college teams in the US and Canada have discontinued using the song.

Notes