I love power pop, and today’s classic song of the day is a near-perfect example of that genre. The song is “That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” and it was written and initially recorded by Eric Carmen, formerly of the Raspberries. The song was made into a hit in 1977 by teen idol Shaun Cassidy, little brother of bigger teen idol David.
Young Mr. Cassidy released his cover of “That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” in July of 1977. (In the U.S., that is; in Europe, he released the single a year earlier, in June of 1976.) Cassidy’s version went all the way to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the Cash Box Top 100. The single certainly satisfied the cravings of his rather rabid fanbase, which consisted primarily of teen and pre-teen girls. He was very photogenic.
Eric Carmen released his original version of “That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” in 1976 on his self-titled debut solo album, but it only got a single release in select countries—and, unfortunately, not the U.S. So you might not know his version, even though it’s demonstrably superior to Cassidy’s cover.
Mr. Carmen, the undisputed king of power pop, put a bit more power in his release while young Shaun, true to his nature, put a little more pop in his. Like I said, it’s subtle, but Carmen’s version is the better one. It’s a great tune nonetheless, a near-perfect piece of power pop. As the lyrics say:
Well, come on, everybody
Get down, get with it
Come on, everybody
Get down, get with it
Come on, everybody get down
That’s rock and roll
