Rock'n Me
| "Rock'n Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The European release of "Rock'n Me" by Mercury Records. | ||||
| Single by Steve Miller Band | ||||
| from the album Fly Like an Eagle | ||||
| B-side | "Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma" | |||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM | |||
| Recorded | 1976 at CBS Studios in San Francisco, California[1] | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop rock, southern rock[2] | |||
| Length | 3:05 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Writer(s) | Steve Miller | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Miller | |||
| Steve Miller Band singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Rock'n Me" (also known as "Rock 'N Me") is a song by American rock group Steve Miller Band, written by the group's leader Steve Miller.[2] The song was released as the second single from the group's ninth studio album Fly Like an Eagle in 1976; Miller also produced the song and album as well as performed on it.[3] The North American release of the single was generally credited to Steve Miller as a person, while the European release was generally credited to the Steve Miller Band as a whole group.
The single achieved lasting commercial and critical success, with the publication Billboard labeling it "an immediate audience grabber".[3] It became the band's second #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed at the top for one week,[4] and it also topped the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.[5] In later years, the song has been included in several compilation albums such as 1978's Greatest Hits 1974-78 and 1991's The Very Best of the Steve Miller Band.[2]
Miller has acknowledged that elements of "Rock'n Me", particularly the intro, was a tip of the hat to British group Free's "All Right Now". He stated, "Yeah, it's a tack on the wall for Paul (Kossoff). I did one concert in the two years that I was off the road. I went to London and played with Pink Floyd... it was a big, huge outdoor show so we needed a big rock and roll number that was really going to excite everybody. I just put it together and didn't think much about it."[3]
Composed for that kind of pop and rock festival atmosphere,[3] the lyrics and vocals have been labeled as having an 'every man' quality to them.[2] It is sung from the point of view of someone frequently traveling while keeping a positive, upbeat attitude. Locations mentioned in the song include the major cities of Phoenix, Arizona, Tacoma, Washington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia, and Los Angeles, California.
The song is a playable track on the video game Rock Band 2, and featured in Grand Theft Auto V and Tap Tap Revenge 3 for iOS.
Personnel
- Steve Miller–guitar, lead vocals
- Lonnie Turner–bass
- Gary Mallaber–drums
Charts
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Top Singles[5] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] | 22 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] | 23 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8] | 11 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 1 |
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] | 25 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[10] | 44 |
References
- ↑ Ashley Brown, ed. (1990). "Space Cowboy". The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music. Vol. 11 (Reference ed.). Marshall Cavendish. p. 1227. ISBN 1-85435-026-9.
- 1 2 3 4 Denise Sullivan. "Rock 'N Me - Steve Miller,Steve Miller Band | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- 1 2 3 4 Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th ed.). Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823076772.
- 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (9th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 443. ISBN 9780823085545.
- 1 2 "Top Singles". RPM. Vol. 26 no. 7. November 13, 1976. p. 23. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Steve Miller Band – Rock'n Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Steve Miller Band – Rock'n Me". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 1976-11-27" UK Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Steve Miller Band – Rock'n Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Miller,Steve Band Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
| Preceded by "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single November 6, 1976 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" by Rod Stewart |
| Preceded by "Disco Duck (part one)" by Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots |
RPM Top Singles number-one single November 13, 1976 (one week) |
Succeeded by "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot |
