"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" is a song by English

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 ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...

. The track was written by vocalist

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

, and released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album '' Desolation Angels'' (1979). The song is one of many Bad Company's best known and has become a staple of

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

radio.

Background

"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" was inspired by a

guitar synthesizer A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partner ...

riff that Paul Rodgers had come up with. While not the band's highest charting single in America, it is their best selling, having been certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" has a "stout beat and heavy fuzz guitar sound and excellent singing" as well as "solid"

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

. ''Democrat and Chronicle'' critic Jack Garner said it "contains the most varying material yet from the band, indicating continued growth and maturity on their part."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Mike DeGagne commented on Rodgers' "vocal passion" on the song. Allmusic critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

regarded it as one of the band's best "big, brawny arena rockers" and noted that it's a "quintessential classic rock staple." In 2016, ''

Classic Rock Magazine ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 60, ...

'' ranked the song at number nine on their list of Bad Company's 10 best songs.

Track listing

Chart performance

The song was peaked at number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1979, ultimately climbing to number 54 for the ''Billboard'' Year-End singles chart in that year.

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1979 This is a list of '' Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to ...

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Bad Company Bad Company songs 1979 singles 1979 songs Songs written by Paul Rodgers Swan Song Records singles Electronic rock songs