Song of the Day 4/28: Gary Glitter, “Rock and Roll (Part 1)”

There’s no other way to put it — the French just think differently from everybody else.

Paul Gadd was just 15 when, calling himself Paul Raven, he cut his first single in 1960. He had a small-time career until the glam rock craze hit Britain in 1971, at which point he changed his name to Gary Glitter and bought a wardrobe to match. The next year he and producer Mike Leander co-wrote the song that made Glitter internationally famous.

“Wrote” probably over-dignifies the song’s gestation. Leander came up with the drum part (the compression influenced later glam bands) and a few guitar riffs, then let the tape roll while Glitter ad-libbed his vocals. The original tape was first cut down to 15 minutes, then edited further to fit onto the two sides of a 45.

Part 1 had actual verses, but the chorus was simply, “Rock and roll, rock and roll.” Part 2 was even more primitive — many people know it as “The Hey Song,” because that’s almost the only lyric other than the chorus.

Everywhere else in the world, Part 2 became the hit. Maybe it was the fact that it needed no translation. The song reached No. 2 in the UK, No. 7 in the USA and the Top 10 in a dozen countries. It became a sports arena anthem, especially in the USA.

One country, however, departed from the consensus. France is the only country where “Rock and Roll” reached No. 1 — but it was Part 1, not Part 2, that topped the chart.

Glitter was a one-hit wonder in the USA, but had a robust career in the UK, where he scored more than two dozen chart hits, including 10 in the Top 10, between 1972 and 1975. He managed several comebacks throughout the ’80s and ’90s, including a 1987 release of Parts 3 through 6 of “Rock and Roll” as remixed by producer Trevor Horn.

Glitter might have kept milking the song forever, but his career cratered after his arrest for child pornography in 1999. He was later convicted of sexually assaulting girls as young as 12 and 13 earlier in his career, and is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence, imposed in 2016, in England. As a result the use of “Rock and Roll” at sporting events has been curtailed, despite the fact that Glitter sold the rights to the song years ago and therefore collects no royalties from its use.