Rock and Roll Girls

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"Rock and Roll Girls"
Single by John Fogerty
from the album Centerfield
B-side"Centerfield"
ReleasedMarch 1985 (1985-03)
Recorded1984
GenreRock
Length3:27
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)John Fogerty
Producer(s)John Fogerty
John Fogerty singles chronology
"The Old Man Down the Road"
(1984) 		"Rock and Roll Girls"
(1985) 		"Eye of the Zombie"
(1986)

"Rock and Roll Girls" is a song written by

Mainstream Rock chart
.

Lyrics and music

According to Fogerty, "Rock and Roll Girls" was inspired by watching his teenage daughter and her friends hanging out.[1] He referred to them as "rock and roll girls" so that the song title referenced them rather than groupies who the term might also refer to.[1] It was about how teenagers have their own world that they don't tell their parents about.[1] It illustrates those "last days of innocence."[2] Fogerty biographer Thomas M. Kitts finds the song a hopeful one in which the singer can escape his struggles to enter a world "out of time" in which he can find music, love and girls.[3] Music critic James Perone agrees that the song "creates impressions of love, pop music and the beautiful young women of (presumably) the 1960s.[4] According to Ultimate Classic Rock critic Bryan Wawzenek, "Rock and Roll Girls" starts out seeming like it will be a typical 1980s song glorifying rock and roll music.[5] But then there is a twist, he says, and the lyrics then "speak to the mystery of pop music – how it can become a secret handshake between friends, the soundtrack to a memory that means everything."[5]

The melody and

the Rockin' Rebels' 1962 song "Wild Weekend."[1] Fogerty stated "I don't think of it as stealing—more a case of honoring...I'm a sucker for that sound."[1] Kitts describes it as having "a breezy melody and an old-time rock and roll rhythm."[3]

Fogerty plays the saxophone solo on the song.[7]

Reception

Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Paul Evans regards the song as "charming but slight."[12]

Although less successful on the charts than Fogerty's previous single from Centerfield, "

Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at #5,[14] as well as in Canada, reaching #16, and in Austria, reaching #10.[15][16]

Lawsuit

Fogerty used "Rock and Roll Girls" (as well as "Centerfield") as an example of how songs evolve in his defense in a lawsuit brought against him by Fantasy Records. Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz claimed that the refrain of "The Old Man Down the Road" was the same as that from a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Run Through the Jungle." Although Fogerty had written "Run Through the Jungle" Fantasy Records and Zaentz owned the copyright. Fogerty used progressive versions of "Rock and Roll Girls" as it was being developed to demonstrate how many blues songs are similar because they are based on the same 5-note pentatonic scale, but that they incorporate small variations.[2]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780316244565
    .
  2. ^ a b UPI (November 6, 1988). "Fogerty Plays Idea Tapes in Court". The Daily Spectrum. p. C9. Retrieved 2019-11-07 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0415713467
    .
  4. ^
    ASIN B00BCR4JKC
    .
  5. ^ a b c Wawzenek (May 28, 2013). "Top 10 John Fogerty Lyrics". Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  6. ^ a b Kowalski, Joe (April 12, 1985). "'Centerfield Spectacular Catch". Fond Du Lac Commonwealth Reporter. p. 34. Retrieved 2019-11-07 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Beebe, Greg (January 25, 1985). "Rocker Hits Grand Slam". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 24. Retrieved 2019-11-07 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. March 16, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  9. ISBN 9780810322127
    .
  10. ^ Daily, Mike (February 14, 1985). "Fogerty Scores an Almighty Home Run". The Age. p. 42. Retrieved 2019-11-07 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Centerfield". Allmusic. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  12. ISBN 0743201698
    .
  13. ^ "John Fogerty Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  14. ^ "John Fogerty Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  15. ^ "RPM 100 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. May 25, 1985. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  16. ^ "John Fogerty: Rock and Roll Girls". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
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