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44-431: Rock On may refer to: Songs [ edit ] "Rock On" (David Essex song) , 1973, also covered by Michael Damian, Def Leppard and others "Rock On" (Tucker Beathard song) , 2016 "Rock On", a 1995 song by Funkdoobiest from Brothas Doobie "Rock On!", a 1972 song by Gary Glitter from Glitter "Rock On," a 1972 song by T. Rex from The Slider "Rock On",

88-418: A Rick Savage 's bass solo. "We took that one to pieces and rewrote it…" observed Joe Elliott . "American radio still plays 'Rock On' every day, sandwiched between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Zeppelin ." The radio remix version of the song also appeared on Def Leppard's 2018 compilation album The Story So Far – The Best Of . David Essex David Essex OBE (born David Albert Cook ; 23 July 1947)

132-624: A gold record. It reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, thus outperforming Essex's original Billboard ranking. However, the song did get to number one for Essex in 1974 on the US Cashbox Top 100, in the same week it was at number 11 on the Billboard charts. In addition, Haim, Feldman, and Meredith Salenger all appeared in Damian's music video for the song. This version

176-404: A 1988 song by Black 'N Blue from In Heat , also covered by Doro (1990) Albums [ edit ] Rock On! (Barry Stanton and Johnny Rebb album) , 1981 Rock On (The Bunch album) , 1972 Rock On (David Essex album) , 1973 Rock On (Humble Pie album) , 1971 Rock On (Raydio album) , 1979 Rock On (The Screaming Jets album) , 2005 Rock On!! (soundtrack) ,

220-440: A 1991 interview, he said the song "crystalised and taught a lot of things to me because it was such a different record, such a different production, such a different song to anything that has ever been out. It was totally out on its own..." Weekly Charts Year-end Charts Shipments figures based on certification alone. "Rock On" was covered by soap opera star and singer Michael Damian in 1989, and featured in

264-501: A 2009 American musical romantic-comedy film "Rock On!" ( Corner Gas ) an episode of Corner Gas Video games [ edit ] Rock-On , a 1989 video game for the PC Engine Other [ edit ] Sign of the horns Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Rock On . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

308-743: A Grammy and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 . A second single, "Lamplight", also reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart . In the 1970s, Essex emerged as a performer of some note. Contrary to a claim made in his own biography, his first concert was at the Granada in East Ham on Saturday 2 November 1974, and not at the Odeon. His biggest hits during this decade included two UK number one singles: " Gonna Make You

352-620: A Star " (1974) and " Hold Me Close " (1975). He also appeared in Stardust , a 1974 sequel to That'll Be the Day . The title song was another Top 10 hit. In 1976, Essex covered the Beatles song " Yesterday " for the musical documentary All This and World War II . Essex's pop idol looks gave him a strong female fan base, and his British tours created scenes of hysteria reminiscent of Beatlemania . According to The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles , he

396-556: A character called Johnny Lee. Essex told Jake Bowers of the BBC's Rokker Radio , a programme for Gypsies and Travellers, on 30 July 2006, that he has always been openly proud of his Traveller family history. He was Patron of Britain's National Gypsy Council, which works for equal rights, education, and services for Romany and Irish Travellers . In 2005, he appeared as a guest vocalist on, and wrote songs for, Saint Etienne 's album Tales from Turnpike House . Also that year, he appeared in

440-622: A cover of Badfinger 's " No Matter What " which appeared on the album. The band released a studio recording of the song as a digital single in May 2006 preceding the release of their album Yeah! , which features cover versions of 1970s rock hits. The single spent 18 weeks on the US Hard Rock chart, peaking at No. 18 in June 2006. The song has since become a staple in Def Leppard's setlists, often following

484-409: A dub record" was novel, writing: "You can thank bassist Herbie Flowers for that, Essex himself for being brave and inventive enough to release it, producer Jeff Wayne, and engineer Gary Martin ( Soft Machine , Yes , Gentle Giant , etc) at Advision, who made very sparse instrumentation sound like a lot with judicious use of effects." He commented that the track "remains a startlingly original single from

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528-637: A music compilation entitled His Greatest Hits reached number 13; a 1993 album, Cover Shot , featuring a cover version of the Buzz Cason / Mac Gayden song " Everlasting Love ", peaked at number 3. His autobiography, A Charmed Life , was published in 2002, and became a best-seller. In the 1999 New Year Honours , Essex was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for charitable services, especially to Voluntary Service Overseas." He still tours

572-745: A play staged at the Young Vic theatre. In 1985, he co-wrote and starred as Fletcher Christian in the West End musical Mutiny! , based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The score produced two more hit singles, including "Tahiti", his tenth Top 10 success. In February 2016, Essex performed in The War Of The Worlds at London's Dominion Theatre . Essex continued to perform in all areas of show business . A 1988 sitcom, The River , achieved good ratings. In 1991,

616-740: A professional player. He then also became interested in music and played drums with a local band (China Plates), before becoming a singer. Essex made his first record, titled "And the Tears Came Tumbling Down", for the Fontana label in 1965. He then toured with a band called 'David Essex and the Mood Indigo' for two years, and released a further seven singles in the 1960s. He also recorded two songs, "A Rose" and "Leon and John and Billy and Me" which remain unreleased, but exist as acetates. His first notable acting role, aside from small appearances in

660-625: A reward for devising the double-tracked bass line, he was paid double his normal session fee, and thus received £24 instead of the usual £12. He had earlier created a similar double-tracked bass line for Lou Reed 's " Walk on the Wild Side ", explaining in a BBC Radio 4 interview that it had also been done because he would be paid double. Reappraising "Rock On" in Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop (2013), Bob Stanley wrote that it "was all about what wasn't there. The rubbery bassline

704-487: A singer too often seen as no more than a pretty face." Discussing the history of dub-influenced rock in The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll (1997), Chuck Eddy describes "Rock On" as "a feast of heart-murmur electronics , disco -ready strings, and Jimmy Dean hair tonic, atop a techno- Latin bump." Dave Thompson of AllMusic writes that, on release, the song was "instantaneously established among

748-480: A soundtrack album from the 2008 Bollywood film (see below) Rock On! (Del Shannon album) , 1991 Film and television [ edit ] Rock On!! , a 2008 Bollywood rock musical film Rock On 2 , a 2016 sequel to the 2008 film Rock On! , a 2019 episode of Schitt's Creek Rock On (2005 film) , a DVD released by the Australian band The Screaming Jets Bandslam (working title Rock On ),

792-654: Is an English singer-songwriter and actor. From 1973 to 1994, he attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most success with his 1973 single "Rock On" . He has also had an extensive career as an actor. Essex was born in Plaistow , Essex (now a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Newham , included within Greater London ) on 23 July 1947. His father, Albert,

836-478: The Channel 4 documentary Bring Back...The Christmas Number One . Essex was due to join the cast of soap opera EastEnders , in early 2006, as new character Jack Edwards . However, the role was expanded beyond the three weeks planned, and Essex was unable to commit the time. The role instead went to Nicky Henson . A model and recording of Essex is featured in the museum of West Ham United Football Club . In

880-554: The teen film Dream a Little Dream , starring Corey Haim and Corey Feldman among others. Damian's version, which he also released from his independent album Where Do We Go from Here on the Cypress Records label, was a harder-edged interpretation that employed none of the vocal or instrumental distortion in the original 1973 David Essex version. "Rock On" became Damian's first hit in eight years, since his 1981 cover of Eric Carmen 's song " She Did It ". His rendition became

924-715: The "precise talents" of jingle writing led to his "masterful" production, citing "Rock On" as an example, as it is "built around a single bass riff, a stark arrangement only relieved by a soaring string section punctuating the chorus line. A superb example of economy used for effect." Reynolds writes that, with "Rock On", Essex and Wayne "invented a personal micro-genre" and sound template which they repeatedly returned to with subsequent songs, including "Streetfight", "We All Insane" (both 1973), "Window", "America", "Good Ol Rock & Roll" (all 1974) and "Rolling Stone" (1975). R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe considers "Rock On" to be one of his favourite ever songs, and paid homage to it on

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968-577: The Sweet . Reynolds also compares the "dub-cratered" sound of " Pour Some Sugar on Me " (1987) to "Rock On". Dance producer Shep Pettibone created a remix of "Rock On" for Essex's Touching the Ghost (1989). Speaking in 1976, Essex said he was surprised by the success of "Rock On", but deemed to be "very sweet success because it was exactly what I wanted — the song, the production, the attitude — it's one of my favorite records, no matter whether I recorded it." In

1012-835: The Temptations ' " Papa Was a Rolling Stone " (1972). Essex, who cited Dr. John as an influence and hero, was initially dubbed "the English Dr. John" by the rock media . In Uncut , Marcello Carlin cites "Rock On" as an example of how "fucking weird" Essex's music was, writing: "Rarely has such a nostalgic record sounded so futuristic and yet somehow lost ('Which is the way that's clear?')". He also praises Wayne's "visionary" production, commenting that his " dub spaces and raised-eyebrow strings" provide "the missing link between Norman Whitfield and Lee Perry ." Joe Banks of The Quietus describes "Rock On" as an " avant pop classic". According to Luke Haines in his Record Collector column,

1056-477: The UK every year and releases albums through his website. Despite his long and successful British career, he remains largely unknown in the United States. " Rock On " reached Number 3 in 1974, and was his only US Cash Box Top 40 hit single . Essex, who comes from a family of Irish Travellers , played a kind-hearted nomad in one episode of ITV1 's 1960s Yorkshire -based drama Heartbeat in 2000. He played

1100-496: The band's song " Drive " (1992), issued as the first single from Automatic for the People . The chorus wryly echoes "Rock On" with its use of the line "Hey kids, rock and roll". Eddy notes the impact of "Rock On" on Def Leppard , writing that they quote it in " Rock of Ages " (1983); Eddy also partly roots the dub breakdown in " Rocket " (1987) to the use of dub in "Rock On" and songs by other glam rock artists like Gary Glitter and

1144-412: The defining songs of the 1970s (not to mention David Essex's own career)" Circus writer Stephen Demorest described the "classic single" as dusky and menacing, with an "ominous quiet". Jude Rogers calls it a "peculiar, perfect dub-like" song. Rolling Stone highlight its "real mellow groove", and call it a " glam-rock anthem". Don Partridge of Melody Maker noted Wayne's background acquiring

1188-457: The films Assault and All Coppers Are... , was the lead in the stage musical Godspell in 1971 at the age of 23. Two years later, he starred in the film That'll Be the Day (1973) and recorded his international hit single, the self-penned " Rock On ", in the same year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1974. It was nominated for

1232-424: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_On&oldid=1039293021 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Rock On (David Essex song) The song, written and recorded by David Essex ,

1276-548: The main role as a half-gypsy trying to find his identity. On 20 September 2010, Essex married Welsh actress Susan Hallam-Wright (born 1973) his third wife, at St Cross Church, Talybont, near Bangor , North Wales . He first met her at the end of 2008 when she was auditioning for a role in All the Fun of the Fair . She got the part of Sally, then got promoted to the role of Mary, Jack's girlfriend, for

1320-506: The original production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical Evita , and his recording of the show's " Oh What a Circus " reached number 3. As the best known of the principal performers, Essex actually received top billing, above Elaine Paige whose stardom seemingly arrived overnight with her casting in the show. His contract required him to remain with the show for just 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 months during which, unusually and as Essex had predicted, his understudy, Nigel Planer ,

1364-404: The provinces. In January 2011, it was announced that Essex had finally joined the cast of EastEnders as Eddie Moon , five years after he was initially supposed to appear in the show. His first on-screen appearance was on 3 June 2011. Eddie left the square on 6 October 2011. He then wrote the music score for the film Traveller (2013), in which he co-starred with his son Billy Cook who played

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1408-504: The questions in the Eleven plus exam for entry into a grammar school , so that he could ensure he attended Shipman County Secondary School where he knew they played the game. He later attended The Warren secondary modern in Whalebone Lane, Chadwell Heath , when his parents moved to Marks Gate Estate. He was also a member of West Ham United Juniors for a while, and dreamed of one day being

1452-603: The recording, he explains his reasons for supporting West Ham and his love of the team. Essex spent six years as an ambassador for Voluntary Service Overseas , which earned him an OBE in 1999. Essex used to record and release records on his own record label , Lamplight. He has since changed the name of his company to Joseph Webster Ltd, named after his first grandchild. He tours regularly and continues to act, appearing in Boogie Nights 2 , Footloose and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical Aspects of Love . From September 2008 to

1496-573: The song is "David Essex's million-selling, avant-garde , self-penned masterpiece." He adds: "We all know the stories of yards and yards of magnetic tape being spooled across pencils in the control room of Advision studio by producer Jeff Wayne, to achieve the poly-rhythmic delay. If David Essex had only made one record, then 'Rock On' would have been enough." Ian McCann, also of Record Collector , cites "Rock On" alongside Lieutenant Pigeon 's "The Villain" (1972) as attempts to "make dub from rock". He wrote that Essex launching his teen idol career "with

1540-571: The summer of 2009 he took his own musical, All the Fun of the Fair , on a tour of the United Kingdom. He followed this in the autumn with a sell-out solo tour of the UK, named the Secret Tour. Essex has released a DVD on his website of the last night of the tour, filmed in Bournemouth . He returned to London's West End with All the Fun of the Fair but with a different ending from that performed in

1584-491: Was an East End docker and his mother, Olive (née Kemp), was a self-taught pianist and an Irish Traveller . His grandfather, Thomas Kemp, was nicknamed "Philimore", which was the anglicised version of "Philly Mor" – being Irish for "Big Philly". Essex was two years old when his parents moved out of the overcrowded home the family was sharing with relatives, to Canning Town where he grew up. Essex attended Star Lane Primary School. He loved playing football and did not answer any of

1628-840: Was an echo of something played in 1956, caught like a sound corked in a bottle and released as a gas twenty years later. The whole song was akin to a spectre in a photograph, with its cat-ghost strings and Essex's half-asleep vocal summoning a lost era with random signifiers". He adds that its lyrics offer more questions than answers, and concludes that, "caked in echo and confusion", the song was "the sound of Britain in 1973." In Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy (2016), Simon Reynolds comments that Essex's music avoided straightforward 1950s revivalism , deeming "Rock On" and similar singles like "America" (1974) to be hypnotic and "stripped-down" records laden with "studio-warped" sounds, and as such were closer to Dr. John 's "humid junglescapes", like " Craney Crow " (1971), and "the cinemascopic funk " of

1672-410: Was devised by producer Jeff Wayne after hearing Essex's original vocal demo: According to Wayne, only three session musicians played on the final backing track, and the most prominently featured was veteran session musician Herbie Flowers , whose double-tracked bass guitar was treated with a prominent "slapback" delay effect, creating a complex polyrhythmic backbeat: Flowers himself noted that, as

1716-509: Was never required to perform. Two years later, he starred in the motorcycle racing film Silver Dream Racer ; and the soundtrack song " Silver Dream Machine " was a top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart . Essex, a keen motorcyclist, waived his fee for the then-new 1980 electric-start Triumph Bonneville he had contracted to advertise on behalf of the struggling Triumph motorcycle workers' co-operative . In 1981, he starred in Childe Byron ,

1760-408: Was ranked number 99 on VH1 's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s (despite the fact that Damian actually had four Billboard -charting singles during the 1980s). Shipments figures based on certification alone. English hard rock band Def Leppard began playing the song on their 2005 tour in support of their compilation album Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection along with

1804-618: Was released in August 1973 in the UK, and reached its highest position of number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in September that year. It spent 11 weeks in the UK charts. In March 1974, Essex's version reached number one in Canada on the RPM national Top Singles chart and was a top-ten hit (reaching number 5) on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart. It was Essex's only Billboard top 40 song. "Rock On"

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1848-664: Was remixed by Shep Pettibone , appeared on Essex's 1989 album Touching the Ghost . A single release of the updated version reached number 93 on the UK Singles Chart . The song features a slow-tempo vocal performance in C♯ minor, along with a minimalist, rhythm-driven instrumental accompaniment to Essex's vocal performance. The lyric pays homage to early rock-and-roll and its surrounding youth subculture, and notably to 1950s rebel James Dean . This song makes reference to " Blue Suede Shoes " by Carl Perkins , and " Summertime Blues " by Eddie Cochran . The distinctive stripped-back musical arrangement

1892-424: Was the title track of Essex's 1973 debut studio album , and was also featured on the soundtrack album of the 1973 film That'll Be the Day (as well as being played over the closing credits of the film's U.S. release) in which he had a starring role. The song is still frequently played on classic rock and oldies radio stations. Essex later re-recorded the song in 1988 with an updated lyric. This version, which

1936-517: Was voted the number one British male vocalist in 1974, and was a teen idol for more than a decade. In December 1973, Essex appeared in the stage version of Tommy at London's Rainbow Theatre. In 1978, he appeared on Jeff Wayne 's musical version of The War of the Worlds , as the Artilleryman. In the UK the two-record set remains a best-seller. In the same year, Essex played the character Che in

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