"Good Old Rock 'n' Roll", also known as "The Dave Clark Play Good Old Rock 'n' Roll", is a medley by British band

the Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

, released as a single in November 1969. It was a top-ten hit in the UK, peaking at number 7 on the Singles Chart in January 1970.

Medley

The A-side comprises seven songs: "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll", originally by Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys; "

Sweet Little Sixteen "Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. His performance of it at that year's Newport Jazz Festival was included in the documentary film ''Jazz on a Summ ...

", originally by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

; "

Long Tall Sally "Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard. Richard recorded it for Specialty Records, which released it as a single in March ...

", originally by

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

; "

Chantilly Lace Chantilly lace is a handmade bobbin lace named after the city of Chantilly,"Chantilly" ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. France, in a tradition dating from the 17th century. The famous silk laces were introduced in the 18th cent ...

", originally by

the Big Bopper Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of wh ...

; "

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (sometimes rendered "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On") is a song written by Dave "Curlee" Williams and sometimes also credited to James Faye "Roy" Hall. The song was first recorded by Big Maybelle, though the best-k ...

", best known for the version by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

; "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues, country and po ...

", originally by

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

; and " Lucille", originally by Little Richard. The B-side comprises two songs, "

Reelin' and Rockin' "Reelin' and Rockin'" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. It was originally recorded in 1957 and released as the B-side of "Sweet Little Sixteen". Recording The song was recorded on December 29-30, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. * Chuck Be ...

" and "

Memphis Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

", both originally by Chuck Berry. The single had audience screams dubbed in and the album version of the A-side was over half the time shorter. In the US, a single was also released as "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll". However, this single is equivalent to the follow-up medley "More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll".

Reception

Reviewing for ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Derek Johnson wrote that the single is not the "official follow-up to "

Put a Little Love in Your Heart "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is a song originally performed in 1969 by Jackie DeShannon, who composed it with her brother Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday. In the U.S., it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching number 4 on the Hot 100 ...

" – but a special 'bonus' release". He described it as a "great Christmas party disc for the young-at-heart", but that it "would have been better without the dubbed-in audience screams".

Personnel

* Dave Clark – drums * Mike Smith – vocals, piano, organ *

Lenny Davidson Leonard Arthur 'Lenny' Davidson (born 30 May 1944 in Enfield, Middlesex, England) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for the Dave Clark Five. Career Davidson was born in Enfield as one of three children. H ...

– guitar *

Rick Huxley Richard Huxley (5 August 1940 – 11 February 2013) was an English musician who was the bassist for the Dave Clark Five, a group that was part of the British Invasion. Biography Born at Livingstone Hospital, Dartford, Kent, he joined t ...

– guitar,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

Denis Payton Denis Archibald West Payton (11 August 1943 – 17 December 2006) was an England, English musician who played tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, guitar and harmonica in the rock and roll band the Dave Clark Five. Biography Payton was born in ...

– saxophone

Charts

References

{{authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles The Dave Clark Five songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles