"Seven Nights to Rock" is a classic
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
song written by Buck Trail,
Henry Glover
Henry Bernard Glover (May 21, 1921 – April 7, 1991) was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the most successful and influential black executives. He gai ...
, and Louis Innis.
It was originally recorded by
Moon Mullican
Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...
on January 26, 1956,
and has been covered by a number of diverse artists.
History
It was originally recorded by
Moon Mullican
Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...
on January 26, 1956
with
Boyd Bennett
Boyd Byron Bennett (December 7, 1924 – June 2, 2002) was an American rockabilly songwriter and singer.
His two biggest hit singles, both written with John F Young and performed by him (Boyd) were "Seventeen (Boyd Bennett song), Seventeen" ...
and His Rockets providing additional backing instruments, and was released as a single on March 3 of that year by
King Records. This release was not commercially successful
but was influential and the song went on to be covered by numerous artists. The original Moon Mullican version has appeared on several compilation albums, including one named after it in 2004.
Covers
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,[The Rose of England
The Rose of England is Child ballad 166 and Roud Folk Song Index 4001. It is an account of Henry VII of England claiming the throne from Richard III of England, frequently allegorically. It may be the oldest ballad on the Battle of Bosworth, an ...]
'';
BR5-49 recorded it for their 1998 album ''Big Backyard Beat Show''; a recording by
The Refreshments appears on their 2006 compilation album ''It's Gotta be Both Rock 'n' Roll''; and
The Connection released it as the feature song of an
EP Seven Nights to Rock in 2012, and shortly afterwards it was named "Coolest Song In The World" by Steven Van Zandt at his Sirius-XM radio station, Little Steven's Underground Garage. A live recording of "Seven Nights to Rock" is the closing track to
Brian Setzer
Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...
's album ''Rockabilly Riot! Live from the Planet''. Both
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
and
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
have used the song as a staple at live performances.
References
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Songs about rock music
Songs about nights
1956 songs
1956 singles
Songs written by Henry Glover
Moon Mullican songs
Nick Lowe songs
Rockabilly songs