Rock & Roll (Lou Reed song)
| "Rock & Roll" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by the Velvet Underground | |
| from the album Loaded | |
| A-side | "Sweet Jane" |
| Released | August 1973 |
| Format | 7-inch single |
| Recorded | April 15, 1970 |
| Genre | Proto-punk |
| Length | 4:47 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter(s) | Lou Reed |
| Producer(s) |
|
"Rock & Roll" (sometimes spelled Rock 'n' Roll) is a song by the Velvet Underground, originally appearing on their 1970 album Loaded. The song was written by the Velvets' then-leader Lou Reed, who continued to incorporate the song into his own live performances years later as a solo artist.
The song recounts the advent of rock & roll, telling the story of a girl named Jenny whose "life was saved by rock and roll.”
In the liner notes to the Velvet Underground's box set Peel Slowly and See, Lou Reed wrote, "'Rock and Roll' is about me. If I hadn't heard rock and roll on the radio, I would have had no idea there was life on this planet. Which would have been devastating - to think that everything, everywhere was like it was where I come from. That would have been profoundly discouraging. Movies didn't do it for me. TV didn't do it for me. It was the radio that did it."
The song also appears on the albums 1969: The Velvet Underground Live; Live MCMXCIII; Loaded: Fully Loaded Edition; American Poet; Another View; Rock 'n' Roll Animal; Live in Italy; Rock and Roll: an Introduction to The Velvet Underground.; Rock and Roll Diary: 1967–1980.
"Rock & Roll" has appeared in a number of films, including A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Rock 'n' Roll High School and SLC Punk!
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