"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" is a song by British rock band

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

. It was written by vocalist

Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...

and released as the first single from the group's 1979's studio album, '' Desolation Angels''. It is one of Bad Company's best-known songs and has become a staple of

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

radio.

Background

"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" was inspired by a

guitar synthesizer A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnership) such as ...

riff that Paul Rodgers had come up with. While not the band's highest charting single in America, it is their best selling, having been certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

RIAA 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 ...

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" has a "stout beat and heavy fuzz guitar sound and excellent singing" as well as "solid" production. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it "a hard rocker with a sure shot at AOR and Top 40 play" and praised Rodgers' lead vocals as being "inspired". ''Democrat and Chronicle'' critic Jack Garner said it "contains the most varying material yet from the band, indicating continued growth and maturity on their part."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

reviewer Mike DeGagne commented on Rodgers' "vocal passion" on the song. AllMusic critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

regarded it as one of the band's best "big, brawny arena rockers" and noted that it's a "quintessential classic rock staple". In 2016, ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' ranked the song at number nine on their list of Bad Company's 10 best songs, praising Ralphs' "curt, sharp uitarsolo" and the "clipped rhythmic accompaniment" from drummer

Simon Kirke Simon Frederick St George Kirke (born 28 July 1949) is an English musician who was the co-founder, drummer, and only continuous member of the rock Supergroup (music), supergroup Bad Company. Prior to forming Bad Company he was the drummer and ...

and bassist Boz Burrell. ''Classic Rock History'' critic Janey Roberts rated it as Bad Company's eighth best song. ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' critic Matt Wardlaw rated it as Bad Company's fourth best song, saying that it "is probably one of the best songs ever written about what it's like living life as a star in the music business."

Track listing

Chart performance

The song peaked at number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1979, ultimately climbing to number 54 for the ''Billboard'' Year-End singles chart in that year. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1979

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Bad Company 1979 songs 1979 singles Bad Company songs Songs written by Paul Rodgers Swan Song Records singles Electronic rock songs