"Caroline" is a single released by the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

in 1973. It was included on the band's 1973 album '' Hello!''

Background and release

The song was written by band leader

Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born o ...

and roadie / harmonica player Bob Young on a

table napkin A napkin, serviette or face towelette is a square of cloth or paper tissue used at the table for wiping the mouth and fingers while eating. It is usually small and folded, sometimes in intricate designs and shapes. Etymology and terminology ...

in the dining room of a hotel in

Perranporth Perranporth ( kw, Porthperan) is a seaside resort town on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 1 mile east of the St Agnes Heritage Coastline, and around 8 miles south-west of Newquay. Perranporth and its long beach f ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, in 1971. A demo was cut with Rossi playing guitar and bass, with Terry Williams on drums. The group changed the arrangement from a slow

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

song, doubling the tempo, and recorded it mostly live using their stage gear and amplifiers. On the single release, the song fades out, while the album version is about thirty seconds longer and has a conclusive ending. The song became one of the opening numbers in Quo's live setlist for over 25 years. It was the second number played at their

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

gig in 1985 and it inspired

Apollo 440 Apollo 440 (also known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are a British electronic music group formed in Liverpool in 1990. The group has written, recorded, and produced five studio albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as ...

's 1999 single "

Stop the Rock "Stop the Rock" is a song by British electronic music group Apollo 440 from their third studio album, ''Gettin' High on Your Own Supply'' (1999). Released on 16 August 1999, it was the group's breakout single. Composition and recording The son ...

". The song was reprised, in 2014, for the band's thirty-first studio album '' Aquostic (Stripped Bare)''. It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance of the album at London's '' Roundhouse'' on 22 October, the concert being recorded and broadcast live by

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

as part of their ''In Concert'' series.

Singles

* 1973: "Caroline" (Rossi/Young) (3.43) / "Joanne" (Lancaster) (4.06) 45 rpm Vinyl 7", Vertigo / 6059 085 Germany, United Kingdom * 1985: "Caroline" / "Down Down" 45 rpm Vinyl 7", Old Gold / OG 9566 United Kingdom

Album tracks

* 1973, on the vinyl album '' Hello!'' - track 5, 4:16. * 2014, on the album '' Aquostic (Stripped Bare)'', track 8, 3:13 (acoustic version) * 2015, on the CD album '' Hello!'', CD1, track 5, 4:16; the 2015 re-issue bonus disc has four different versions: original demo fast, original demo slow, mono version and stereo version.

Charts

Original Release

Live Version

Certifications

References

Status Quo (band) songs 1973 singles 1982 singles Songs written by Francis Rossi Songs written by Bob Young (musician) 1973 songs Vertigo Records singles {{1970s-single-stub