Rock & Roll (The Velvet Underground Song)

Rock & Roll (The Velvet Underground Song)

"Rock & Roll" (sometimes typed Rock 'n' Roll) is a song by The Velvet Underground, originally appearing on their 1970 album Loaded. The song was written by the Velvet's then-leader Lou Reed, who continued to incorporate the song into his own live performances years later as a solo artist.

The song recounts the advent of rock & roll, telling the story of a girl named Jenny whose "life was saved by Rock and Roll.”

The musical content of the song is a three-chord progression, typical of Rock and Roll compositions, except that whereas the order is usually the "1-4-5" major chords sequence, this one is the reverse, 5-4-1, namely C, B♭, and F. However, since the C chord is heard as the I chord, the progression is based around this tonic, thus the numerical harmonic analysis yields a 1-♭7-4 progression, the ♭7 major chord (B♭ major) indicates the Mixolydian mode. Examples of similar chord sequences include The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" and The Beatles "Hey Jude".

Harmonically, Reed adds the sixths to the B♭ and the F, making them B♭6 and F6. Reed would go on to make prominent use of an F6 in one of his most well-known songs, "Walk on the Wild Side", in which the F6 was one of only four chords in the song.

Unusually, the verse of "Rock & Roll" is five bars long, as opposed to the conventional four. Reed both plays and sings a syncopated rhythm throughout; his phrasing on the track demonstrates his lax, somewhat scat-like vocal approach.

The song also appears on the albums 1969: The Velvet Underground Live; Live MCMXCIII; Loaded: Fully Loaded Edition; American Poet; Another View; Rock 'n' Roll Animal; Live in Italy; Rock and Roll: an Introduction to The Velvet Underground.; Rock and Roll Diary: 1967–1980.