Rock and Roll Girls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Rock and Roll Girls" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by John Fogerty | ||||
| from the album Centerfield | ||||
| B-side | "Centerfield" | |||
| Released | March 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Fogerty | |||
| Producer(s) | John Fogerty | |||
| John Fogerty singles chronology | ||||
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"Rock and Roll Girls" is a song written by John Fogerty that was first released on his 1985 album Centerfield. It was also released as the second single from the album, backed with the title track of the album. It peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number five on the Mainstream Rock chart.
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 chord progression of the verses of "Rock and Roll Girls" are nearly identical to that of Chad and Jeremy's 1964 hit "A Summer Song," except that Fogerty yodels on one of the notes.[6][4] According to music critic Joe Kowalski, this one alteration "changes the complexion of the riff.[6] According to Fogerty, the melody was actually based on 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]