"Let's Have a Party" is a
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
song written by
Jessie Mae Robinson
Jessie Mae Robinson (née Booker, October 1, 1918 – October 26, 1966) was an American musician and songwriter, whose compositions included many R&B and pop hits of the 1940s and 1950s, including "Black Night", "I Went To Your Wedding", an ...
and recorded by
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
for the movie ''
Loving You''. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom under the title "Party" and peaked at #2 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
Wanda Jackson
Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...
recorded the song for her first album, ''Wanda Jackson'', released in 1958. The song was released as a single by Jackson in 1960 and entered the UK chart on 1 September of that year, spending eight weeks there and reaching #32; it also reached #37 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1960.
The Jackson version was later featured in the 1989 film ''
Dead Poets Society
''Dead Poets Society'' is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Robin Williams. Set in 1959 at the fictional elite conservative boarding school Welton Academy, it tells the story of an English t ...
''.
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
also recorded and released the song (under the title "Party") on his 1999 ''
Run Devil Run'' album. His original song "Run Devil Run", on the
album of the same name, also has a similar melody. A cover of "Let's Have a Party" by
Sonia
Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to:
People
* Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya)
:* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films
:* Sonia ...
was included on the 2010 remastered edition of her 1989 album ''
Everybody Knows''.
The song was included under the title "Party" in the Broadway musical ''
Million Dollar Quartet
"Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session ...
'', which opened in New York in April 2010. It was sung by Robert Britton Lyons, portraying
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 ...
, as well as by the company of the show, and was covered by Robert Britton Lyons and the company on the ''Million Dollar Quartet'' original Broadway cast recording.
In
T. Rex's 1972 concert film ''
Born to Boogie
''Born to Boogie'' is a 1972 British concert film about a concert at the Empire Pool starring T. Rex, Marc Bolan, Ringo Starr and Elton John. Directed by Starr himself, the movie was released on The Beatles' Apple Films label.
Content
'' ...
'',
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...
and
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
attempt to recite one of the lyrics from the song ("some people like to rock, some people like to roll, but movin' and a-groovin's gonna satisfy my soul"). However, they break into laughter each time.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
also played this song live during their live sets of "
Whole Lotta Love
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, ''Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was r ...
"; an example of this practice can be found on their live album ''
How the West Was Won''.
English
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
band
Mud
A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...
recorded the song for their 1975 album ''Mud Rock Volume 2''.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
band
Dr. Feelgood included the song on their 1978 album ''
Private Practice Private practice may refer to:
*Private sector practice
**Practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...
''.
Chart performance
Elvis Presley version
Wanda Jackson version
References
1957 songs
1960 singles
Elvis Presley songs
Wanda Jackson songs
Paul McCartney songs
Sonia (singer) songs
Songs written by Jessie Mae Robinson
Capitol Records singles
Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (American record producer)
Songs written for films
Music published by MPL Music Publishing
{{1950s-song-stub