The song is sung in a first-person narrative of an adolescent or adult raised by a single teenage mother during the early years of rock-and-roll. Despite the bleakness of their situation, whenever the child cries, the mother sings him to sleep with a 'sha-na-na-na-na-na-na, it'll be all right...sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, just hold on tight'. In the second verse, the narrator notes that despite hardships, they'd 'dream of better mornings when Mama sang her song', and that while it didn't make sense to try to recall the words, the loving meaning beneath them was all that mattered.
Productionedit
The song was produced by Steve Tyrell. After the recording of a basic rhythm track, Steve Tyrell and B. J. Thomas had the inspiration of blending several unique and recognizable signature sounds associated with early American rock recordings. The single's backup vocals are first performed by the Blossoms. Duane Eddy plays the lead guitar in his "twangy" signature style with Al Gorgoni electric guitar distorted and clean. At around three minutes, Thomas sings his final vocals, and a Beach Boys sound (provided by Dave Somerville and three members of the Ron Hicklin Singers: Tom Bahler, Gene Morford & Hicklin) begins then carries the track to over 4 minutes.
"Rock and Roll Lullaby" reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the third number one for Thomas on the Easy Listening chart, where it spent one week in March 1972.[2]
Popular cultureedit
The song was a hit in Brazil because of its appearance as a love theme in the soap opera Selva de Pedra.
rock, roll, lullaby, this, article, about, 1972, song, thomas, 1984, album, jessi, colter, album, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challe. This article is about the 1972 song by B J Thomas For the 1984 album by Jessi Colter see Rock and Roll Lullaby album This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Rock and Roll Lullaby news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Rock and Roll Lullaby is a 1972 hit single performed by B J Thomas It was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil 1 Rock and Roll Lullaby Single by B J Thomasfrom the album Billy Joe ThomasB side Are We Losing Touch Released1972GenrePopLength4 08LabelScepter RecordsSongwriter s Barry Mann Cynthia WeilProducer s Steve Tyrell Al Gorgoni Contents 1 Song lyrics 2 Production 3 Personnel 4 Chart performance 5 Popular culture 6 See also 7 ReferencesSong lyrics editThe song is sung in a first person narrative of an adolescent or adult raised by a single teenage mother during the early years of rock and roll Despite the bleakness of their situation whenever the child cries the mother sings him to sleep with a sha na na na na na na it ll be all right sha na na na na na na na na just hold on tight In the second verse the narrator notes that despite hardships they d dream of better mornings when Mama sang her song and that while it didn t make sense to try to recall the words the loving meaning beneath them was all that mattered Production editThe song was produced by Steve Tyrell After the recording of a basic rhythm track Steve Tyrell and B J Thomas had the inspiration of blending several unique and recognizable signature sounds associated with early American rock recordings The single s backup vocals are first performed by the Blossoms Duane Eddy plays the lead guitar in his twangy signature style with Al Gorgoni electric guitar distorted and clean At around three minutes Thomas sings his final vocals and a Beach Boys sound provided by Dave Somerville and three members of the Ron Hicklin Singers Tom Bahler Gene Morford amp Hicklin begins then carries the track to over 4 minutes Personnel editLead vocals B J Thomas Backing vocals The Blossoms Darlene Love Fanita James amp Jean King with Dave Somerville Ron Hicklin Tom Bahler amp Gene Morford Acoustic guitar Al Gorgoni amp Teddy Irwin Electric guitar Al Gorgoni fuzztone amp Duane Eddy signature twang Electric piano Barry Mann Drums Alan Schwartzenberg Percussion Dave Cary amp George Devens Strings arranged by Glen Spreen Produced by Steve Tyrell amp Al GorgoniChart performance edit Rock and Roll Lullaby reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the third number one for Thomas on the Easy Listening chart where it spent one week in March 1972 2 Popular culture editThe song was a hit in Brazil because of its appearance as a love theme in the soap opera Selva de Pedra See also editList of number one adult contemporary singles of 1972 U S References edit Rock amp Roll Lullaby by B J Thomas Track Info AllMusic Retrieved July 25 2021 Whitburn Joel 2002 Top Adult Contemporary 1961 2001 Record Research p 242 nbsp This 1970s pop song related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rock and Roll Lullaby amp oldid 1216402749, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
