''Rock a Little'' is the third solo studio album by the American singer and songwriter

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

. Released in late 1985 while

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

were still on a lengthy hiatus following their album ''

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

'' (1982), ''Rock a Little'' hit the top 20 in its second week. The album peaked at No. 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America 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 ...

(RIAA) after just one month of its release for sales in excess of 1,000,000 units. The album was also certified Gold in the United Kingdom for sales in excess of 100,000 units. The album was ranked No. 41 in the best-selling albums of 1986 in the United States, although sales did not match Nicks' earlier albums, '' Bella Donna'' (1981) and '' The Wild Heart'' (1983) (which have sold in excess of four and two million copies in the US, respectively). ''Rock a Little'' produced the

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s " Talk to Me" (US No. 4), " I Can't Wait" (US No. 16), and the mainstay encore for Nicks' live shows "

Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You? "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and Keith Olsen off the 1985 album ''Rock a Little''. The song was also released as a single in 1986, peaking at No. 60 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboar ...

" (US No. 60). A fourth single, "Imperial Hotel", was released in Australia only.

Album history

Recording for her follow-up project to 1983's multi-platinum album '' The Wild Heart'' originally began in 1984. Selected songs were recorded, including "Running Through the Garden" and "Mirror Mirror". However, Nicks scrapped these recordings and parted ways with long-time producer and romantic interest

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

, and in late 1984 began work on what is now recognized as the ''Rock a Little'' project. "Running Through the Garden" would resurface in completed form in 2003 on the

album '' Say You Will''. The album is reputed to have cost $1million to record (according to Mick Fleetwood in his autobiography), and is seen as a watershed in the singer's career. Nicks' vocal style is distinctively huskier and nasal (many claim this was due to increasing cocaine abuse) than on previous recordings. It was later revealed that

Martin Page Martin George Page (born 23 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter and bassist. Page has collaborated with artists such as Paul Young, Starship (band), Starship, Robbie Robertson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Heart (band), Heart, Robbie William ...

and

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

had specially written the track "

These Dreams "These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their 1985 self-titled eighth studio album ''Heart''. It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

" for inclusion on the album, but Nicks turned it down. The track was then recorded by the band

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

and became their first number 1 hit in 1986.

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

and

David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...

also wrote "

Don't Come Around Here No More "Don't Come Around Here No More" is a song written by Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and David A. Stewart of Eurythmics. It was released in February 1985 as the lead single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' '' Southern Accents'' ...

" for the album, but after hearing Petty perform the vocals for her, she declined it as well, feeling she couldn't do the song justice.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

later released the song on their ''

Southern Accents ''Southern Accents'' is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at n ...

'' album. Nicks had recorded various other tracks prior to the album's release, including "Battle Of The Dragon", a moody and intricate contemplation of stormy relationships. Rather than include on her own album, it was featured on the movie soundtrack for ''

American Anthem ''American Anthem'' is a 1986 American sports drama film directed by Albert Magnoli and starring Mitch Gaylord and Janet Jones. The film was produced by Lorimar Motion Pictures and released in North America by Columbia Pictures. Plot Football ...

'', as well as on Nicks' 3-disc retrospective '' Enchanted'' in 1998. A duet with

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

drummer and former lover

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

titled "Reconsider Me" would also see the cutting room floor, and the rock ballad "One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star" was relegated to the B-side of the " Talk to Me" single. Many other discarded demos from the sessions have never seen the light of day, but a few, including "Greta" and "Love Is Like A River", were dusted off for Nicks' 1994 album, '' Street Angel''. The song "Thousand Days" was also relegated to a B-side. "Mirror, Mirror" was tried out again for 1989's '' The Other Side of the Mirror'', and was again revisited in 1994 for inclusion on ''Street Angel'', but ultimately the original ''Rock a Little'' version was only released on a cassette single of "Blue Denim" in 1994.

was originally brought in to produce the album and work on the demo recordings in 1984. However, he parted ways with Nicks midway through the recording sessions, claiming he did not like the direction in which Nicks wanted to take the album. It was later revealed that the two had been in a relationship for several years. Nicks' subsequent relationship with

member

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

produced the ballad "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You".

Keith Olsen Keith Alan Olsen (May 12, 1945 – March 9, 2020) was an American record producer and sound engineer, who worked with Magnum, Rick Springfield, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, the Grateful Dead, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, Heart, Santana, Saga, ...

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Betty Ford Clinic The Betty Ford Center (BFC) is a non-profit, residential treatment center for persons with substance dependence in Rancho Mirage, California. It offers inpatient, outpatient, and residential day treatment for alcohol and other drug addictions, as ...

at the tour's conclusion), the album did not achieve sales or chart positions expected of Nicks at that time. It entered the U.S. Billboard chart at No. 60, eventually peaking at No. 12 in its ninth week of release. The album spent 35 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, including 13 weeks in the Top 20.

Music videos

Promotional videos were shot for the singles " Talk to Me" and "I Can't Wait". In 1986 a 6-track VHS tape titled ''I Can't Wait'' was released in many territories, and featured the following promos: *"

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" is a song recorded by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and released as the first single from Nicks' debut solo album '' Bella Donna'' (1981). The track is the album's only song that was neither writ ...

" *" Leather and Lace" (Live, 1981 Bella Donna Tour) *"

Stand Back "Stand Back" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her second solo studio album '' The Wild Heart'' (1983). The song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1983 and reached number five on the ''Billboard'' Ho ...

" *"

If Anyone Falls "If Anyone Falls" is a song by American singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. It was the second single from her second solo studio album '' The Wild Heart'' (1983). The song peaked at number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number e ...

" *" Talk to Me" *" I Can't Wait" This release is notable for including a live solo performance of "Leather and Lace" from the last night of Nicks' 1981 Bella Donna Tour, which was cut from the VHS release of ''White Wing Dove: Stevie Nicks Live'', a 9-track edit of the same concert. The version was used as the song's music video, and was played on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in 1981. Five of these promos are included on the DVD supplement to Nicks' 2008 collection '' Crystal Visions — The Very Best of Stevie Nicks'', but the only DVD availability of the live version of "Leather and Lace" is the Australian release of

's Mirage Tour concert, for which all six videos of the ''I Can't Wait'' collection are included as a special bonus feature.

Tour

The US leg of the Rock a Little Tour kicked off in 1986 and concluded with a show at the famous

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the Western United States, western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, flyi ...

in Colorado, which was captured and released on video (and later on DVD) usually entitled ''Live at Red Rocks''. Evidence of Nicks' drug abuse is apparent in both performance and vocals, but the show is noticeably 'cleaned up' with re-shot close-ups, inserts and vocal overdubs. The video/DVD is also a shortened version of the actual setlist, clocking in at only 57 minutes, 15 of which are devoted to a very lengthy version of "Edge of Seventeen" though this was adjusted on the DVD release.

Track listing

Alternative versions and 12-inch releases

*"I Can't Wait" was released as a 12-inch single in an extended 6:00 rock version in many territories, but the UK release exclusively included a longer and different version of the album track "Rock a Little (Go Ahead Lily)" running at 5:12, currently unavailable on any other release. *"Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?" was also released in a 12-inch version in the UK, and included a 'dub' rock version of "I Can't Wait", clocking in at 5:50. *All 7-inch and 12-inch releases of " Talk to Me" included the non-album track "One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star", written by Nicks, which later appeared with a slightly truncated ending on her 1998 retrospective boxset, ''Enchanted''.

Personnel

* Stevie Nicks – lead vocals, synthesizers (8) *

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists E-mu Emulator II The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary m ...

(1),

Oberheim OB-8 The Oberheim OB-8 is a subtractive analog synthesizer launched by Oberheim in early 1983 and discontinued in 1985. As the fourth product in the OB-series of polyphonic compact synthesizers, the OB-8 was the successor to the OB-Xa. The number of ...

(1),

Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential (company), Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and John S. Bowen (sound designer), John Bowen in 1977, who used Microprocessor, m ...

(1), backing vocals (1, 8, 9, 10), synthesizers (2, 3, 4, 8), guitars (9) *Jamie Sheriff –

PPG Wave The PPG Wave is a series of synthesizers built by the German company Palm Products GmbH from 1981 to 1987. Background Until the early 1980s, the tonal palette of commercial synthesizers was limited to that which could be obtained by combining ...

(1), programming (1), synth string programming (2), E-mu Emulator programming (3, 11) *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano roc ...

– synthesizers (2) * Charles Judge – synthesizers (3, 4, 8, 9, 11), acoustic piano (11) *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin ...

– acoustic piano (4),

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

(5) *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

– keyboards (6), synthesizers (6),

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

(7) * Chas Sandford –

Ensoniq Mirage The Ensoniq Mirage is one of the earliest affordable sampler-synths, introduced in 1984 as Ensoniq's first product. Introduced at a list price of $1,695 with features previously only found on more expensive samplers like the Fairlight CMI, the M ...

(7), electric guitar (7), 6-string guitar (7), 12-string guitar (7), bass (7), drum machine (7) * Bill Cuomo – keyboards (10) *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

– guitars (1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11) * George Black – guitars (1, 3), bass (1), LinnDrum programming (1), backing vocals (1, 3, 8), synth bass (3, 8), drums (8) *

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy N ...

– guitars (2, 10) *

Les Dudek Les Dudek (born August 2, 1952, at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. In addition to his solo material, Dudek has played guitar with Steve Miller Band, The Dudek-Finnig ...

– guitars (3) *

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...

– guitars (4) * Mike Campbell – guitars (5) *

Kenny Edwards Kenneth Michael Edwards (February 10, 1946 – August 18, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist, mandolinist, and session musician. He was a founding member of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and a long-time collaborator wi ...

– bass (2) *

Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

– bass (4, 5, 6) *

Mike Porcaro Michael Joseph Porcaro (May 29, 1955 – March 15, 2015) was an American bass player known for his work with the rock band Toto. He retired from touring in 2007 as a result of being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was ...

– bass (10) * Steve Jordan – drums (2, 5, 6) *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Da ...

– drums (4) *

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

– drums (8, 9) *

Denny Carmassi Denny Carmassi (born April 30, 1947) is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands. Biography Carmassi was born into a family of drummers; his father, his uncle, and his brother each played the drums. Some of Denny's e ...

– drums (10) *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for Motown and move to ...

– percussion (4) *

David Kemper David Law Kemper (born 1947/8 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American rock drummer who was a member of the Jerry Garcia Band (1983–1994) and Bob Dylan's band (1996–2001). He was with the Jerry Garcia Band from 1983 until January 1994, when he w ...

– tambourine (9), percussion (11) *

Barney Wilen Bernard "Barney" Jean Wilen (4 March 1937 – 25 May 1996) was a French tenor and soprano saxophonist and jazz composer. Life Wilen was born in Nice, France; his father was an American dentist turned inventor, and his mother was French. He began ...

– saxophone (7) * Sharon Celani – backing vocals (1-10) *

Marilyn Martin Marilyn Martin (born May 4, 1954) is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1985 hit duet with Phil Collins, "Separate Lives", her only number one. Early life Marilyn Martin was born on May 4, 1954, in Tennessee but raise ...

– backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10) * Lori Perry-Nicks – backing vocals *

Maria Vidal Maria Elena Vidal (born August 1, 1960) is an American singer songwriter. She is known for her hit single "Body Rock", which reached No. 8 on the US Dance Charts, No. 48 on the Hot 100, No. 5 on the Springbok Charts in South Africa, and No. 11 i ...

– backing vocals (1, 2, 7, 8) * Carolyn Brooks – backing vocals (11)

Technical credits

* Dave Hernandez – engineer (1) * John Koverek – engineer (1, 3, 8, 9, 11), mixing (11) *

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

– engineer (2, 4), mixing (2, 4, 5, 7) * Gabe Veltri – overdub engineer (2, 7), engineer (3, 5, 6, 8) * Robert Feist – engineer (3, 9) * David Leonard – engineer (3) * Don Smith – overdub engineer (6), mixing (7) * Chas Sandford – engineer (7), mixing (7) * Gary Skardina – engineer (9) * Brian Foraker – engineer (10) * Dennis Sager – engineer (10) * George Black – mixing (1, 3) *

– mixing (1) *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mixing (1) * Rick Nowels – mixing (1, 3) *

Mick Guzauski Nathan "Mick" Guzauski is an American multi-platinum mixing engineer and sound engineer. His work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, easy listening, funk and hip hop. He won a 2002 Latin Grammy for Thalía's ...

– mixing (6) * Herńan Rojas – mixing (8) * Csaba Pectoz – mixing (9) *

– mixing (10) * Tom "Gondo" Gondolf – additional engineer * Tom Swift – additional engineer * John Agnello – assistant engineer * Carol Cafiero – assistant engineer * Mark Corbrin – assistant engineer * Dan Garcia – assistant engineer * David Glover – assistant engineer * Steve Hirsch – assistant engineer * Glen Holguin – assistant engineer * Jon Ingoldsby – assistant engineer * Bill Jackson – assistant engineer * Robin Laine – assistant engineer * Ray Leonard – assistant engineer * Paul Levy – assistant engineer * Casey McMackin – assistant engineer * Frank Pekoc – assistant engineer * Alex Schmoll – assistant engineer * Duane Seykora – assistant engineer * Paul Wertheimer – assistant engineer * Bruce Wildstein – assistant engineer * Ernie Wilkens – assistant engineer * Barry Diament – mastering

Production credits

* Debbie Caponetta – production coordinator * Beth Jacobson – production coordinator * Nina King – production coordinator * Tim McDaniel – production coordinator * Glen Parrish – personal manager * Michael Hodgson – art direction, design * Tony McGee – front cover photography * Herbert Worthington III – back cover photography, inner sleeve photography * Stevie Nicks – handtinting back photography * John Reed Forsman – additional photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* ''Rock a Little''at

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 ...

''Rock a Little''
at

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

{{Authority control 1985 albums Stevie Nicks albums Albums produced by Jimmy Iovine Albums produced by Keith Olsen Albums produced by Rick Nowels Modern Records (1980) albums