"Rock 'n' Roll Is King" is a song written and performed by

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...

(ELO) released as a single from the 1983 album ''

Secret Messages ''Secret Messages'' is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album t ...

''. With this song the band returned to their rock roots. It features a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

solo by

Mik Kaminski Michael Kaminski (born 2 September 1951) is an English musician. He is best known for playing violin in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1973 and 1979 and touring from 1981 to 1986, as well as being a member of Electric Ligh ...

. The song went through many changes during recording and at one point was going to be called "Motor Factory" with a completely different set of lyrics. The single proved to be ELO's last UK top twenty hit single, and reached No. 19 in the US in August 1983. In an interview in the ''King of the Universe''

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

, Dave Morgan, who was with ELO at the time, described his involvement with the recording as such:

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1983 singles 1983 songs Electric Light Orchestra songs British rock-and-roll songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne Songs about rock music Jet Records singles {{1980s-rock-song-stub