"Rockaria!" is a song 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 ...

(ELO), written by

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

. It was the third track on the band's successful 1976 album ''

A New World Record ''A New World Record'' is the sixth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in October 1976 on United Artists Records in the U.S., and on 19 November 1976 on Jet Records in the United Kingdom. ''A New World Record'' ma ...

'', and was the second single from the album. On some CD pressings of ''A New World Record'', the title appears without the exclamation mark.

Recording

The

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

tic voice of Mary Thomas is featured on the track, particularly during the introduction. On the first

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

of the song, Thomas mistakenly began the vocal too early. However, Lynne elected to use that take, complete with her interjection, "Oops!", although the interjection is omitted from some later pressings of the album. Released as a single in 1977, it reached the Top Ten in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

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 dat ...

noted that the track "is rightly considered to be one of Jeff Lynne's finest achievements on record".

B-side

"Poker" is a song written and performed by

. The song first appeared on the band's LP '' Face the Music'' as the fifth track. At 3:34, it is the shortest song on the album. During recording,

Kelly Groucutt Kelly Groucutt (born Michael William Groucutt; 8 September 1945 – 19 February 2009) was an English musician, best known as the bassist and occasional vocalist for the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1974 and 1982. Early care ...

sang most of the song's lyrics (generally,

sang the vocals of ELO songs). The song twice appeared as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, first of "Rockaria!" in the UK, then in 1979 as the flip side of the US single version of "

Confusion In medicine, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion"

". "Poker rocks along with murderous intent, despite corn ball lyrics." – John Ingham (1975 – from a transcribed UK ''Face the Music'' album review of unknown origin)

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Jeff Lynne version

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released on a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name, as an iTunes Store exclusive bonus track.

References

{{Electric Light Orchestra singles 1976 songs 1977 singles Electric Light Orchestra songs Jet Records singles Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne