"Eagle Rock" is the debut single by Australian rock band
Daddy Cool, released in 1971 on the
Sparmac
Sparmac (Sparmac Productions) was an Australian independent record production company and recording label of the early 1970s, best known for its association with the successful Australian rock band Daddy Cool.
The company was established ca. 19 ...
record label. It went on to become the best-selling Australian single of the year, achieving gold status in eleven weeks, and remaining at
No. 1 on the national charts for a (then) record ten weeks.
[ NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.] "Eagle Rock" also spent 17 weeks at the No. 1 spot on the Melbourne Top 40 Singles Chart. The song was re-released by Wizard Records in 1982, and reached No. 17 on the Australian singles chart.
In New Zealand, the song has charted three times. In 1971 it reached No. 17, in 1986 it was in the charts for ten weeks, reaching No. 19, and in 1990 it was No. 1 for four weeks, staying in the charts for 15 weeks and achieving gold status.
Guitarist, vocalist and the song's writer
Ross Wilson was living and performing in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
when he wrote the song.
He explained his inspiration for the song:
"Eagle Rock" was a 1920s black dance performed with the arms outstretched and the body rocking from side to side. "Doing the eagle rock" is also a metaphor for sexual intercourse. The 1913 song "
Ballin' the Jack
"Ballin' the Jack" (or sometimes "Balling the Jack") is a popular song from 1913 written by Jim Burris with music by Chris Smith. It introduced a popular dance of the same name with "Folks in Georgia's 'bout to go insane." It became a ragtime, pop ...
" has the line "Stretch your lovin' arms straight out in space / Then do the Eagle Rock with style and grace".
The accompanying promotional video, directed by
Chris Löfvén
Chris Löfvén (born 4 April 1948) is an Australian film maker. He is best known for directing the feature film '' Oz'' (1976) and for directing a number of video clips, including " Eagle Rock".
He started making films when he was about 12.
He ...
, shows the band in locations around
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
In May 2001,
Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
(APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the
Best Australian Songs of all time, as decided by a 100-strong industry panel, "Eagle Rock" was declared second behind the
Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...
' "
Friday on My Mind
"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group the Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching no. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, no. 1 ...
".
In 2010, "Eagle Rock" was added to the
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
's
Sounds of Australia
The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...
registry.
In January 2018, as part of
Triple M
Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations.
The network dates back to th ...
's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Eagle Rock" was ranked number 21.
Influence
English musician
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
toured Australia during 1972 and was so inspired by "Eagle Rock" that, with lyricist
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...
, he wrote "
Crocodile Rock
"Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France (it was listed as "Strawberry Studios" in the album's credits), where John and his team had previou ...
".
The cover of John's 1973 album ''
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' is the sixth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was ''Goodbye Yellow Brick R ...
'', which featured "Crocodile Rock", has a photo of Taupin wearing a "Daddy Who?" promotional badge. Taupin is also seen wearing Daddy Cool memorabilia on albums ''
Tumbleweed Connection
''Tumbleweed Connection'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John. It was recorded at Trident Studios, London, England in March 1970, and released in October 1970 in the United Kingdom and January 1971 in the United Stat ...
'' and ''
Honky Chateau
Honky (also spelled honkie or sometimes honkey) is a derogatory term used to refer to White people, predominantly heard in the United States.
The first recorded use of "honky" in this context may date back to 1946, although the use of "honky-ton ...
''.
In 1998,
Australia Post
Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...
issued a special-edition set of twelve
stamps
Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to:
Official documents and related impressions
* Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail
* Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods
* Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...
celebrating the early years of Australian Rock 'n' Roll, featuring Australian hit songs of the late 1950s, the 1960s and the early 1970s. One of the songs featured in the collection was "Eagle Rock".
In 2005, it appeared as backing music on commercials for "Victoria - The Place to Be".
It was also used in the opening scenes of the 2005 horror movie ''
Wolf Creek'',
in the 2011 Australian film ''
Red Dog'' and in the television series ''
Dossa and Joe
''Dossa and Joe'' is a 2002, bittersweet television comedy series, created, and co-written by Caroline Aherne of the Royle Family. Peter Herbert served as co-writer.
Made by Granada Australia, for the BBC, the Sydney-based series centres on a w ...
''.
Since the early 1990s, "Eagle Rock" has been played at home games for the Sydney-based
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
team and is unofficially the club's theme song. The song was also played to the crowd after Manly's Grand Final wins in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. Ross Wilson actually performed the song as part of the pre-game entertainment at the
1996 ARL Grand Final
The 1996 ARL premiership (also known as the 1996 Optus Cup due to sponsorship from Optus) was the 89th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be administered by the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Twenty team ...
in which Manly won their 6th rugby league premiership.
The song is also played at
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
games at
Optus Stadium
Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Burswood. It was completed in late 2017 and officially opened on 21 January 2018. The s ...
in the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
and the Eagles'
Rick 'The Rock' Eagle mascot character is also named after the song. The song was also played at the
MCG
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
after the Eagles victory in the
2018 AFL Grand Final
The 2018 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Collingwood Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018. It was the 123rd annual grand final of the Australian ...
.
Tradition
The song is also the basis of a tradition practiced among a small group of Australians for decades. Whenever the song is played at an event or a public bar, they (particularly the males) congregate on the dance floor where they unstrap their belts and hobble around singing the song with their trousers around their ankles.
Ross Wilson of Daddy Cool, although perplexed about the origin of the practice has observed,'... I suppose it's got the silliness that was part of the charm of Daddy Cool.'
It is commonly attributed to a group of mining engineering students, who at the time were residents of St John's College within the University of Queensland campus. St John's has had the eagle as its mascot since its founding in the early 20th century which lends support to their claim that they began the practice. In "St Leo's, the memory" (1992) by Michael A. Head, the author comments on the heated confrontations that occurred during his time at St Leo's college (a neighbouring residential college) between the residents of each college relating to this issue.
The Clubs and Societies manual for the University of Queensland, has "Founders of the Eagle Rock Tradition" noted with the information for the UQ Mining and Metallurgy Association (MAMA).
In 2010, Ross Wilson played at the UQ Union Oktoberfest event and prior to performing the Eagle Rock, thanked "UQ Engineers" for coming up with the tradition. In 2011, in a pre-recorded video message to the attendees of the UQ Engineering Undergraduate Society Ball, he also credited "UQ Engineering Students" as founding the tradition.
The policy of the University of Queensland's
Student Union
A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...
states that no individual can be removed from the university pub, the Red Room, for dropping their pants whilst "Eagle Rock" is being played.
Video
The promotional film clip for "Eagle Rock" was shot on 16mm black-and-white film in 1971 by 23-year-old Melbourne filmmaker Chris Löfvén. It shows the band in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
locations including
South Melbourne
South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...
,
St. Kilda's Aussie Burger Bar opposite
Luna Park
Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...
and live shots from the 1971 Myponga Festival held in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
.
A rarely seen experimental colourised version of the film clip was found and restored by the
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
(NFSA). in 2013.
The newly discovered version features a 37-second section using colour filters printed onto colour film stock. This particular print, though never intended for screening, was possibly seen by teenage audiences of
0-10 Network
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
(now Network Ten) pop music program ''Happening 71'' throughout 1971.
Good Old Eagle Rock’s Here to Stay – Restoring an iconic Oz rock film
on ''nfsa.gov.au''
Track listing
All tracks written by Ross Wilson unless otherwise indicated.
7-inch vinyl
# "Eagle Rock" – 4:09
# "Bom Bom" (Ross Wilson, Ross Hannaford
Ross Andrew Hannaford (1 December 1950 – 8 March 2016) was an Australian musician, active in numerous local bands. He was often referred to by his nickname "Hanna". Widely regarded as one of the country's finest rock guitarists, he was best kn ...
) – 2:33
12-inch vinyl
# "Eagle Rock – 4:07
# "Daddy Rocks Off" – 4:34
# "Bom Bom" (Wilson, Hannaford) – 2:34
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Personnel
Daddy Cool members
* Wayne Duncan
Wayne Duncan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Jonathon Sammy-Lee. He made his first screen appearance as Wayne during the episode broadcast on 4 February 1993. Wayne becomes a chemistry teacher at ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals
* Ross Hannaford
Ross Andrew Hannaford (1 December 1950 – 8 March 2016) was an Australian musician, active in numerous local bands. He was often referred to by his nickname "Hanna". Widely regarded as one of the country's finest rock guitarists, he was best kn ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals
* Ross Wilson – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
* Gary Young – drums, backing vocals
Additional personnel
* Robie Porter
Robert George Porter (4 June 1941 – 16 December 2021) was an Australian country and pop-rock musician, producer and record label owner.
Beginning in 1959, he performed under the stage name Rob E.G. and recorded lap steel guitar instrum ...
– piano, steel guitar
A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
* Jeremy Noone – saxophone (later became a member of Daddy Cool)
* Dave Brown – horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
Additional credits
* Robie Porter – producer
* Roger Savage – engineer
Parodies
Australian comedian and singer Kevin Bloody Wilson
Kevin Bloody Wilson (born Dennis Bryant; 13 February 1947) is an Australian musical comedian who performs comical songs with his heavy Australian English accent and often including sexual themes. He has won one ARIA Music Award.
Early career ...
wrote a parody of the song, "Me Beer's Cut Off", for his 2009 album '' Excess All Areas''.
References
External links
* Listen to a clip of "Eagle Rock" and read more about the song o
Australianscreen online
* "Majestic Fanfare" was added to th
Sounds of Australia
registry in 2010
{{authority control
1971 songs
1971 debut singles
APRA Award winners
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Daddy Cool (band) songs
Songs written by Ross Wilson (musician)
Wizard Records singles