Some songs take on a life of their own, long after they’re written, and that was certainly the case for the 1973 David Essex classic “Rock On.”
Originally, Essex intended for “Rock On” to be played during the end of the movie That’ll Be the Day, which he was starring in with Ringo Starr and Keith Moon. (Essex was also an actor, known for playing Jesus in the London production of Godspell in 1971.) Unfortunately, the movie’s producer, David Puttnam, thought the song was “too weird” for the film…but that was just as well for Essex, because he used the track to land a record deal with CBS.
As Essex explained to Circus in 1976, despite the initial interest “Rock On,” CBS wanted to release a different song as the lead single from his album (also titled Rock On).
“We did a deal with CBS and they actually wanted to push the flipside, which was a more conventional song, but I said ‘No, I’ve had three years of people telling me what I should do,'” Essex said. “But when ‘Rock On’ came out I was actually surprised it did so well. It was very sweet success because it was exactly what I wanted — the song, the production, the attitude — it’s one of my favorite records, no matter whether I recorded it.”
A sweet success, indeed: “Rock On” was the biggest hit Essex would ever have in the U.S., where it peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. In a 1991 interview, Essex said the song “crystalized and taught a lot of things to me because it was such a different record, such a different production, such a different song to anything that has ever been out. It was totally out on its own.”
Another actor/musician, The Young and the Restless star Michael Damian, had even better luck with “Rock On” when he covered the song years later. Damian, who grew up listening to the song, recorded his own version in his home studio with his brothers Tom and Larry, according to Songfacts.
Though Damian’s record label wasn’t interested, when Tom and Larry got jobs working on the 1989 movie Dream a Little Dream (starring Corey Feldman and Corey Haim), they played the track for director Mark Rocco. Rocco ended up liking the song so much, he included it in the movie, and when it was released as a single it went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
That was Damian’s only big hit, but it wasn’t the last time “Rock On” would be covered. In 2006, Def Leppard recorded their own take on the tune for Yeah!, their tribute to ’60s and ’70s rock bands. It went on to become one of their live concert staples.
Related: This Iconic ’80s Rock Band’s Only #1 Hit Wasn’t the Song You’d Expect
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