| "Old Time Rock and Roll" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBob Seger | ||||
| from the albumStranger in Town | ||||
| B-side | "Sunspot Baby" | |||
| Released | May 1979[1] | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriters | George Jackson, Thomas E. Jones III, Chuck Crozier, Bob Seger (uncredited lyrics)[2][3] | |||
| Producers | Bob Seger Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section | |||
| Bob Seger singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Old Time Rock & Roll" by Bob Seger onYouTube | ||||
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is a song written byGeorge Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III, with uncredited lyrics byBob Seger.[2][3] It was recorded by Seger for his tenth studio albumStranger in Town. It was also released as a single in 1979. It is a sentimentalized look back at the music of the originalrock 'n' roll era and has often been referenced as Seger's favorite song. The song gained renewed popularity after being featured in the 1983 filmRisky Business. It has since become a standard in popular music and was ranked number two on the Amusement & Music Operators Association's survey of the Top 40 Jukebox Singles of All Time in 1996.[4] It was also listed as one of theSongs of the Century in 2001 and ranked No. 100 in the American Film Institute's100 Years...100 Songs poll in 2004 of the top songs in American cinema.
TheMuscle Shoals Rhythm Section, who often backed Seger in his studio recordings, sent Seger a demo of the song during the recording ofStranger in Town.[5] He said in 2006 (and also on the "Stranger in Town" episode of the US radio showIn the Studio with Redbeard a few years earlier):
All I kept from the original was: "Old time rock and roll, that kind of music just soothes the soul, I reminisce about the days of old with that old time rock and roll". I rewrote the verses and I never took credit. That was the dumbest thing I ever did. And Tom Jones (Thomas E. Jones) and George Jackson know it, too. But I just wanted to finish the record [Stranger in Town]. I rewrote every verse you hear except for the choruses. I didn't ask for credit. My manager said: "You should ask for a third of the credit." And I said: "Nah. Nobody's gonna like it." I'm not credited on it so I couldn't control the copyright either. Meanwhile, it got into aHardee's commercial because I couldn't control it. Oh my God, it was awful![6][7]
However, George Stephenson ofMalaco Records claimed:
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is truly [George]Jackson's song, and he has the tapes to prove it, despite Seger's claims that he altered it. Bob had pretty much finished his recording at Muscle Shoals and he asked them if they had any other songs he could listen to for the future.[8]
At the close of the decade, in December 2019, Seger restated his assertion that he rewrote the lyrics in the verses.[3]
The song was recorded at theMuscle Shoals Sound Studio inSheffield, Alabama, and Sound Suite Studios[9] inDetroit,Michigan. The guitar solo was contributed byHowie McDonald. Originally, the Silver Bullet Band was displeased with the song's inclusion onStranger in Town, claiming, according to Seger, that the song was not "Silver Bullety". However, upon hearing audience reactions to it during their tour in Europe, the band grew to like the song.[10]
In 1990, Seger joinedBilly Joel on one occasion andDon Henley on another to play the song during their concerts inAuburn Hills, Michigan.[11] He also performed the song at hisRock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Credits are adapted from theliner notes of Seger's 1994Greatest Hits compilation.[12]
The Silver Bullet Band
Additional musicians
"Old Time Rock and Roll" achieved substantialalbum-oriented rock radio airplay[13] and as the fourth single fromStranger in Town. It achieved varying peaks of popularity in the industry trade magazines: #40 inRecord World, #28 on theBillboard Hot 100, and #34 inCash Box during mid 1979. It was re-released in 1983 after its inclusion in the filmRisky Business and reached number 48 on theBillboard chart.[14] The song remains a staple onclassic rock radio.
Billboard felt that the song's highlights are Seger's "rough-edged vocals and the power charged instrumentation."[15]Cash Box said it is "a piece of infectious raucous joy" that is a highlight of Seger's concerts.[16]
In Australia, the song was released twice and charted for a total of 55 weeks. The first run was in 1983 after its use in the filmRisky Business, reaching number 53 on the charts. The second run saw it reach number 3 in late 1987 and it was the 3rd biggest selling single in Australia in that year.[17]
| "Old Time Rock and Roll" | |
|---|---|
| Single byStatus Quo | |
| from the albumFamous in the Last Century | |
| Released | 2000 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:58 |
| Songwriters | George Jackson, Thomas E. Jones III,Bob Seger |
SingerJohnny Hallyday released a French-language version, as "Le Bon Temps du Rock and Roll" in 1979 on his albumHollywood.[18]
Pop singerRonnie Dove recorded the song in 1987. It was issued as the B side to his single "Heart". It later appeared on his 1988 albumFrom the Heart.
In 2000, the British rock bandStatus Quo recorded a version of this song for their albumFamous in the Last Century. They played it onTop of the Pops and released it as a single which charted in theUK Singles Chart (No. 83)[19] and Norway (No. 4).[citation needed]
The song was featured in the 1983 filmRisky Business, starringTom Cruise. Cruise's character, Joel Goodsen, famouslylip-syncs and dances in his underwear as this song plays after his parents leave him home alone. In 1985, the Chipmunks did a version that, as Seger pointed out above, was used in the aforementioned Hardee's commercial advertising Alvin and the Chipmunks glasses. In 1986, the song was also featured in the TV seriesALF, in a caricature of the aforementioned Tom Cruise scene, in which Alf has similarly been left home alone and trashes the house.[20]Activision created a series ofGuitar Hero: World Tour television commercials directed byBrett Ratner based on the scene, each featuring a different set of celebrities lip-syncing to the lyrics while using the new instrument controllers. The first ad included athletesKobe Bryant,Tony Hawk,Alex Rodriguez, andMichael Phelps.[21] The song is also featured in episodes ofThe Nanny,The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,Growing Pains,Northern Exposure,South Park,Scrubs, andThe Flash. AnotherRisky Business homage was performed faithfully by character Eddie Diaz in season 8 of9-1-1. Steve Harrington briefly sang it in an episode ofseason 1 of theNetflix television seriesStranger Things. It was also used in the teaser trailer forGarfield: The Movie (2004).
In early 2020, the song was featured in aDomino's Pizza commercial about contactless delivery during theCOVID-19 pandemic. The commercial parodied the scene fromRisky Business and featuredCurtis Armstrong who starred in the movie.[22] The sixteen note piano vamp at the beginning of the song (played by Randy McCormick in the originalMuscle Shoals recording session) was used as a cellphonering tone during the Season 3 Premiere episode of the American TV series "Tracker".
|
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[27] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[28] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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