"Saturday Night" is a song recorded by the Scottish
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
band
Bay City Rollers. It was written and produced by
Bill Martin and
Phil Coulter
Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009.
Coulter ha ...
. The tune is an upbeat pop rock number with a memorable hook, in which the word "Saturday" is spelled out in a rhythmic, enthusiastic chant.
The original version of the song was recorded and released in the UK in 1973 but did not hit the charts. The original version was sung by Nobby Clark. At the end of 1975, "Saturday Night" was released in the US and hit the number-one spot in January 1976. It was the first
''Billboard'' #1 of the
US Bicentennial year. The song had been re-recorded for the Rollers' 1974 UK album ''
Rollin''' with lead vocals by
Les McKeown
Leslie Richard McKeown (12 November 195520 April 2021) was a Scottish pop singer. He was the lead singer of the Bay City Rollers during their most successful period in the 1970s.
Early life
McKeown was born in Broomhouse, a suburb close to the ...
, Nobby's replacement. The single also reached number one on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Canadian Singles Chart listing on 10 January 1976.
This is the band's sole No. 1 hit in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
In 2019, the song was used in Netflix's ''
Umbrella Academy '' series.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Cover versions
Students at the Lochiel, Glenwood, and South Carvolth Schools in Canada covered the song in 1976. This rendition later appeared on
The Langley Schools Music Project album, ''Innocence & Despair''.
The song was covered by English rock band
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Ned's Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in November 1987. The band took their name from an episode of radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show''. The band is unusual for using two bass-players in their ...
for the Mike Myers 1993 romantic comedy film ''
So I Married an Axe Murderer''. The song also appears on the soundtrack album.
Japanese punk rock band
Hi-Standard
Hi-Standard (stylized as Hi-STANDARD) is a Japanese punk rock band formed in 1991 by bassist and lead vocalist Akihiro Nanba, guitarist and vocalist Ken Yokoyama, and drummer Akira Tsuneoka. The release '' Making the Road'' sparked sold-out Jap ...
released a fast-paced cover of the song on their 1996 debut album
Growing Up.
Two covers have been aired as the opening theme song for ''
Hockey Night in Canada
CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...
'': Canadian hard rock band
Monster Truck
A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...
covered first for the 2017–2018 season
while Jane's Party and
Shawnee Kish
Shawnee Kish is a Mohawk singer-songwriter from Canada.Jane Stevenson"Two-spirit Indigenous artist Shawnee Kish sees music as 'medicine'" ''Toronto Sun'', June 20, 2021. She is most noted as a Juno Award nominee for Contemporary Indigenous Artist ...
covered the second for the 2021-2022 season.
Sampling
The 'Hey! Ho! Let's Go' chant in "
Blitzkrieg Bop
Blitzkrieg Bop is a song by American punk rock band, Ramones, released in February 1976 as their debut single in the United States. It appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album, ''Ramones'', released two months later.
The song, w ...
" by the
Ramones was, according to
Tommy Ramone
Thomas Erdelyi (born Tamás Erdélyi; January 29, 1949 – July 11, 2014), known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was a Hungarian American record producer and musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones for ...
, inspired by "Saturday Night".
Down With Webster
Down With Webster is a Canadian rap rock band from The Beaches area of Toronto who signed with Universal Motown in April 2009.
Down with Webster was originally formed for a middle school talent show. The band released their first official EP, ' ...
's "Satuday Night" and
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1999. The band's lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guita ...
's "Saturday"
interpolate the opening "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night" chant from the Bay City Rollers song.
Credits and personnel
* Production – Bill Martin & Phil Coulter (track A), Phil Wainman (track B)
References
External links
*
*
Ned's Atomic Dustbin cover*
{{Authority control
1973 singles
1975 singles
1976 singles
Bay City Rollers songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles
Songs written by Bill Martin (songwriter)
Songs written by Phil Coulter
1973 songs
Arista Records singles