I don’t know about you, but Blythe could HARDLY WAIT for the letter R in our Musical A to Z.

You can just tell she’s all shivering with Rocky Horror An-ti-ci…

pation.

This week, we have arrived at the letter R.

And R is, must be, has to be, and always will be for: Rock.

Now, picking just five songs to cover that?

Impossible.

But let’s try.

Because: Fun!

So with that intro, we’re gonna start with a tip from Julie Andrews and start at the (sort of) beginning.

Here’s Elvis!

1. Jailhouse Rock – Elvis Presley (1957)

Not really sure where to start with the King. But this song? Release coincided with that of the movie of same name.

For this post? It let me start with Elvis and an “R”. I’d also like to point out that any number of other iconic members of rock legend have covered it.  Queen – who I featured in my last A to Z post – routinely did the song in concert, and, well – the Blues Brothers did a cover in that movie. So, yeah. For many reasons I’m sold.

What can I say? Every now and then I just like some:

2. Old Time Rock and Roll – Bob Seger (1978)

In my last A to Z post, I opined that Axl Rose is the only man who can sing in his underwear and still be bad ass. Well, here I give you another iconic Rock & Roll in Your Undies moment with Tom Cruise in 1983’s Risky Business – him sliding in to this song is what I picture every time I hear this song.

Well, him – or one of these guys:

Good to know that there are so many out there still:

3. Rockin’ In the Free World – Neil Young (1989)

Not too much else to say here – click the Wikipedia link above if you want the back story. I just like the song. It fit and – hey! Canadian content.

And, like everything else in the post, it just backs up the thesis of my next choice, which is that:

4. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution – AC/DC (1981)

So here’s the moment where my husband started heavily weighing in on my post this week.

I think Blythe was a little put out – she was pulling for Def Leppard to feature on the post – so we settled on giving them the blog post title.

But my husband? Slightly scandalized that I’d try to do a post about Rock and Roll WITHOUT AC/DC.

So here it is.

For what it’s worth he also critiqued, and ultimately gave the seal of approval to my other choices this week.

After much discussion and web searches.

Shocker? Other people have discussed this topic online.

But I digress.

My last choice on the official list?

Anyone else noticing a lack of estrogen up until this point?

Here you go:

5. I Love Rock ‘n Roll – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (1982)

Always loved this song – a great rock anthem; made famous here by Jett, who, as I’ve just learnt via doing this post, did like many rockers before her, and covered someone else’s song and made it a hit. This was originally done by the Arrows in 1975.

So that’s my list for today. I toyed with including Rock Me Amadeus as a bonus, but couldn’t find a good video to go with the version I remembered, namely the one with the English voiceover facts which through repetition are forever imprinted on my brain:

1756: Salzburg, January 27, Wolfgang Amadeus is born ….

….

1971 1791: Mozart composes The Magic Flute. Then, on December 5th of that same year, Mozart dies.

1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records ROCK ME AMADEUS!

However, before leaving my Rock and Roll theme, I do have to include one bonus track. It breaks my “rule” as it doesn’t include the word “Rock” in the title, but I love the song, I love the movie, and I love this specific scene, which has always felt so very rock and roll to me whenever I watch it – and just so clearly shows the freedom and appreciation and joy in the moment that music can give you.

Here’s Elton John’s Tiny Dancer (1971) as featured in 2000’s Almost Famous – which tracks the journey of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone and following the fictional band Stillwater on the road.

With those shout outs – and a respectful nod to the many songs I love but didn’t include – the evening is indeed, over.

Until next time – keep on rocking!