"Rock You" is a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

song written by Bob Halligan, Jr., and the first track from Helix's 1984 album '' Walkin' the Razor's Edge''. It is best known for its call and response

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

of "Gimme an R, O, C, K." It peaked at number 27 on the RPM Pop Chart in Canada, although it received much higher levels of play on Canadian rock radio stations, but no national rock track chart exists for Canada for this time period.

Helix versions

Songwriter Bob Halligan offered the band "Rock You" while they were looking for extra material for '' Walkin' the Razor's Edge'' in 1984. "Rock You" was road tested in concert, played for the first time at the Alrosa Villa in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Helix vocalist

Brian Vollmer Brian Vollmer (born June 30, 1955) is the lead singer and only remaining original member of Canadian hard rock group Helix. Since the band's inception in 1974, Vollmer had gone from lead singer to ''de facto'' leader of the band, weathering numero ...

claims that he wrote a new verse for the song but was denied a co-writing credit. The track was produced by the band with Rodney Mills, who was brought in due to his earlier mixing work with

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...

. A brand new acoustic studio version was recorded and released in 2010 on the band's '' Smash Hits...Unplugged!'' CD. This version was produced by Aaron Murray, Sean Kelly and Vollmer. The chorus of "Rock You" has lent itself to Vollmer's

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, ''Gimme An R!'', as well as many Helix T-shirts and merchandise.

Labatt's Blue version

Prior to the album or the single's release, Helix struck a deal with the Labatt Brewing Company to use the music with new lyrics for a beer commercial. A clip of that version can be heard on the DVD '' 30 Years Of Helix: No Rest For The Wicked''.

Music video

The music video for "Rock You", filmed in a quarry in Toronto, Ontario, is perhaps best known for the image of guitar player Brent Doerner emerging from the water to play his guitar solo.BRENT DOERNER interview by Michael A. Ladano - "If You Don't Write Good Songs, It Ain't Gonna Fly Baby"
/ref> The video is available on the Helix DVD '' S.E.X. Rated''. The uncensored version of the video was banned from

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 ...

for nudity.

Live versions

Four live versions of "Rock You" have been officially released by the band. A contemporary live recording was released on the promotional EP ''Live At The Marquee'', and the 2009 Rock Candy reissue of '' Walkin' the Razor's Edge''. A 1991 recording appeared on 1998's '' half-ALIVE''. It was filmed in 2004 for the live DVD ''

30th Anniversary Concert ''30th Anniversary Concert'' is a DVD release by Canadian hard rock band Helix. It is a live concert recorded on July 17, 2004 at the Brantford, Ontario Sanderson Centre. It is a complete concert and it features appearances from band members pas ...

'', and another live version was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

from the 2005

Sweden Rock Festival The Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since 6 June 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, from southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to de ...

In popular culture

On the Canadian television program Trailer Park Boys, "Rock You" was the subject of discussion among the main characters. This was based on the call-and-response

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

of the song, "Gimme an R, O, C, K," where the crowd responds with each letter. You can find the discussion here on Wikiquote. On the DVD of Season 3, there is a deleted scene featuring

and the Trailer Park Boys, using the "Gimme an R" lyric in another joke. In the spin-off series Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series, this song is referenced multiple times, and played shortly in the season one finale.

Personnel

- lead vocals * Brent "The Doctor" Doerner - guitars, vocals * Paul Hackman - guitars, vocals * Daryl Gray - bass guitar, vocals * Greg "Fritz" Hinz - drums

Charts

Sum 41 version

Sum 41 Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...

covered this Helix song for the soundtrack to the movie '' FUBAR''. The soundtrack featured classic Canadian rock songs covered by current Canadian rock artists.

Personnel

* Steve Jocz - Vocals * Jason "Cone" McCaslin - Bass * Dave "Brownsound" Baksh - Guitar * Deryck Whibley - Drums

Helix/Sum 41 controversy

After Sum 41's version of "Rock You" was released,

and Glen "Archie" Gamble were to meet Sum 41 at a ''FUBAR'' promotional event, only to find the Sum 41 members uninterested in meeting or talking to them. Later that day on a television broadcast, Sum 41 stated that Helix were "rock gods" and claimed to be fans. This snubbing caused Vollmer to refer to them as "Scum 41" on occasion.

References

{{Sum 41 songs 1984 singles Sum 41 songs Songs written by Bob Halligan Jr. Helix (band) songs 1984 songs Capitol Records singles