"Long Live Rock" is a 1972 single by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, written by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

. A different version of the song was performed by

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 week ...

's character in the film ''

That'll Be the Day "That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widesprea ...

'' (a film which featured Who drummer

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

). The original Who recording of the song was not released until the 1974 rarities album ''

Odds & Sods ''Odds & Sods'' is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK and Track/MCA in the US in October 1974. Ten of the recordings on original eleven song album were previously unreleased. ...

''. It was subsequently released as a single in 1979.

Background

"Long Live Rock" was to have been included in '' Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock!'', a 1972 Who album which was also to have had an accompanying television special, before the album was shelved. Pete Townshend said of the song: The lyrics of the song describe a concert at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

Release

Following its appearance on ''Odds & Sods'', the song saw a 1974 single release in Israel, Italy (where it was backed with "

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") and Japan (where it was backed with "Put the Money Down"). "Long Live Rock" also was featured during the credits of the seminal 1979 Who documentary, '' The Kids Are Alright''. Following this appearance, the song was released as a single in Britain, America, and many other countries. The single reached number 48 in Britain, as well as number 54 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number 66 on the Cashbox charts. A live version recorded by The Who at the

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was released on their album '' BBC Sessions''.

References

1974 singles The Who songs Songs written by Pete Townshend 1972 songs Track Records singles Polydor Records singles Songs about rock music {{1970s-single-stub