Rock Me (Steppenwolf song)

"Rock Me"
Single by Steppenwolf
from the album At Your Birthday Party
B-side Jupiter[1]
Released February 1969 (1969-02)
Format 7" single
Genre Rock
Length 3:45
Label ABC
Songwriter(s) John Kay[2]
Producer(s) Gabriel Mekler
Steppenwolf singles chronology
"Magic Carpet Ride"
(1968)		 "Rock Me"
(1969)		 "It's Never Too Late"
(1969)

Rock Me is a rock song written by John Kay. It was the fifth American single release by the Canadian-American hard rock band Steppenwolf. The association with Grusin came as he was scoring the 1968 psychedelic sex farce movie Candy, where it is the culmination to the soundtrack.[3] The single, produced by Gabriel Mekler backed with Jupiter's Child was released in 1969, peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 19, 1969.[4] It was Cashbox's top debut the week of March 1, 1969.[5] The song is considered the highlight of the band's 1969 album At Your Birthday Party[6][7] though it had been released for the soundtrack well ahead of the album.[8] The song followed on the heels of the band's two 1968 hits,[9] Born to Be Wild which peaked at #2 and Magic Carpet Ride which peaked at #3.

Way Back Attack ranks it #31 on its list of the Top 100 Psychedelic Hits of 1966-1969.[10]

The song later appeared in the band's live albums Live at 25 released in 1995 and Live in Louisville released in 2004 as well as all of the band's compilation albums.

The band performed the song on the January 5, 1969 episode of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and on the German Beat-Club.[11]

In his book Die at the Right Time!: A Subjective Cultural History of the American Sixties, Erik v. d. Luft noted the surprising theme from the all-male band, fronted by John Kay's gruff voice "complaining that a woman was being objectified for sex."[6]

Chart history

References

  1. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Steppenwolf-Rock-Me/release/5230933
  2. ↑ https://repertoire.bmi.com/DetailView.aspx?detail=titleid&keyid=1261048&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True
  3. ↑ "Candy [Original Soundtrack] - Steppenwolf - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  4. 1 2 "Steppenwolf Rock Me Chart History".
  5. ↑ "Cash Box Top Singles - 1969". www.tropicalglen.com.
  6. 1 2 Luft, Eric v d (21 September 2009). "Die at the Right Time!: A Subjective Cultural History of the American Sixties". Gegensatz Press – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ https://steppenwolf.com/files/record-collector-magazine-full-article.pdf
  8. ↑ "1960's". steppenwolf.com.
  9. ↑ "Look Back: Radio Hits April 1969 - Best Classic Bands". 12 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Way Back Attack - Top 100 Psychedelic Hits 1966-1969". www.waybackattack.com.
  11. ↑ "rock-me-live – steppenwolf – Music – 101.9 Jack FM – Playing What We Want – Fargo ND, Moorhead MN". 101.9 Jack FM. Midwest Communications.
  12. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly".
  13. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1969 in Canada". 14 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1969". www.tropicalglen.com.
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