"Rock 'n' Roll Is King" is a song written and performed by

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

(ELO) released as a single from the 1983 album ''

Secret Messages ''Secret Messages'' is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album t ...

''. With this song the band returned to their rock roots. It features a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

solo by

Mik Kaminski Michael Kaminski (born 2 September 1951) is an English musician. He played violin in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1973 and 1980 and toured with the band from 1981 to 1986. He was a member of Electric Light Orchestra Pa ...

. The song went through many changes during recording and at one point was going to be called "Motor Factory" with a completely different set of lyrics. The single proved to be ELO's last UK top twenty hit single, and reached No. 19 in the US in August 1983. In an interview in the ''King of the Universe''

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

, Dave Morgan, who was with ELO at the time, described his involvement with the recording as such:

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1983 singles 1983 songs Electric Light Orchestra songs British rock-and-roll songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne Songs about rock music Jet Records singles {{1980s-rock-song-stub