| "Roll Away the Stone" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byMott the Hoople | ||||
| from the albumThe Hoople | ||||
| B-side | "Where Do You All Come From?" | |||
| Released |
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| Recorded | July 1973 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:02 | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Songwriter | Ian Hunter | |||
| Producer | Mott the Hoople | |||
| Mott the Hoople singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio | ||||
| "Roll Away the Stone" onYouTube | ||||
"Roll Away the Stone" is a song written byIan Hunter, recorded by English rock bandMott the Hoople, and released as a single on theCBS label.[3] On the first version, recorded beforeMick Ralphs left the band, Ralphs playslead guitar and one of theThunderthighs handles the bridge voice. It was re-recorded by the band for their 1974 albumThe Hoople, withAriel Bender on harmony lead line andLynsey de Paul singing the vocal bridge.[4]
It reached No. 8 on theUK Singles Chart for two weeks in December 1973, spending five weeks in the top 10.[5] The band performed the song on theBBC Television showTop of the Pops on 15 November 1973.[6]
Cash Box said that "Hunter's unique, far reaching vocals are stronger than ever and the rest of the group backing him musically is up to the task."[7]Record World called it Mott the Hoople's "biggest rocker since their label debut" and said that the "Easter-themed love epistle should sha-la-la itself to monumental status."[8]
In 1986, the song was used as a background song on the 1974 edition of the BBC TV seriesThe Rock 'n' Roll Years, for the news clips relating to the twogeneral elections in the United Kingdom that year. It also featured in the 2015 filmThe Diary of a Teenage Girl,[9] as well as on the soundtrack album.[10]
