Up On The Roof (song) - Other Recordings

Other Recordings

In the UK the Drifters' version of "Up on the Roof" failed to reach the Top 50 being trumped by two local cover versions, one of which was sung by Julie Grant and produced by Tony Hatch: Hatch would later be inspired to write Petula Clark's iconic hit "Downtown" which was originally envisioned as being in the style of the Drifters with whom Hatch hoped to place it. However the Julie Grant version of "Up on the Roof" was itself bested on the UK chart by the version by Kenny Lynch which reached #10 while Grant's version peaked at #33.

Other early recordings of the song were made by Little Eva (album LLLLLoco-Motion/ 1962) and Jimmy Justice (album Smash Hits From Jimmy Justice/ 1963). Also Richard Anthony wrote French lyrics for the song which he recorded as "Sur le toit" for his 1963 EP entitled En Écoutant La Pluie.

New Jersey-based garage band the Sidekicks remade "Up on the Roof" to serve as B-side for their 1966 regional hit "Suspicions" (#55) with the track being included on the band's album Fifi the Flea. Another garage band the Cryan' Shames remade "Up on the Roof" for their 1967 album A Scratch in the Sky: released as a single the track reached #85 nationally in the spring of 1968 largely on the strength of local success in the band's hometown of Chicago.

Laura Nyro made a rare recording of a non-original song when she recorded "Up on the Roof" for her 1970 album Christmas and the Beads of Sweat for which the track served as single affording Nyro her sole Hot 100 appearance with a #92 peak. Nyro's version slows down the song's tempo and also omits the lyrics sung to the first of the original's three bridge sections. Also in 1970 Carole King herself recorded "Up on the Roof" for her solo recording debut Writer from which it was issued as a single without evident result.

James Taylor's remake of "Up on the Roof" was issued as the first single from his 1979 album release Flag and evidenced the eclipsing of Taylor's impact as a mainstream hitmaker by peaking at #28 in July 1979 (the lead single from Taylor's precedent album JT: a remake of "Handy Man", had peaked at #4.) Although Taylor would reach #11 in 1981 with his duet with J. D. Souther entitled "Her Town Too", "Up on the Roof" would remain Taylor's final Top 40 hit as a soloist. Rearranged around Taylor's trademark acoustic guitar playing and vocal accents and interjections, his version of "Up on the Roof" became a concert staple, often with a star-lit urban dreamscape presented behind the stage halfway through the number as his band played unison ascending notes to echo the song's theme. It was included on his 1993 live album (LIVE) and his 2000 Greatest Hits Volume 2 compilation, and was played at The Concert For New York City following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, where he introduced it as representing his and the writers' positive feelings for the city. Taylor and King performed the song together, switching back and forth from one's arrangement to the other, as the first encore during their 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour shows.

"Up on the Roof" had its most successful UK incarnation via a 1995 remake by Robson & Jerome released as a double A-side coupled with their remake of "I Believe." Its arrangement hewed close to The Drifters' original; the accompanying music video showed the duo cavorting atop a midtown Manhattan skyscraper. The single reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and has sold 890,000 copies in the UK. In addition "I Believe"/ "Up on the Roof" reached #3 in Ireland and was a minor hit in the Netherlands at #45.

"Up on the Roof" has also been recorded by Anita Harris (album Cuddly Toy/ 1969), Kenny Rankin (album Family/ 1969), Dawn (album Candida/ 1970), the Lettermen (album Reflections/ 1970), Ike and Tina Turner (album Let Me Touch Your Mind/ 1973), the Grass Roots (album The Grass Roots/ 1975), Viola Wills (album If You Could Read My Mind/ 1980), the Nylons (album The Nylons / 1983), the Cover Girls (album We Can't Go Wrong/ 1989), Neil Diamond (album Up On The Roof: Songs From The Brill Building/ 1993), Peter Cincotti (album On the Moon/ 2004), Tuck & Patti (album A Gift of Love/ 2004), Marcia Hines (album Marcia Sings Tapestry & the Hits of Carole King/ 2010), Frank Ifield, Billy Joe Royal, and II D Extreme on their self title debut in 1993 and reaching #13 on the R&B Billboard music chart. Also Viola Wills' disco remake of the song appeared on Belgium's Dutch charts reaching #23 in September 1980. "Up on the Roof" is still performed by Rockapella at many of their concerts, and appears on the live album In Concert (2001).

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band covered the song live in 1975 during the initial Born To Run tour.

Clifford of The Muppets performed the song on a 1997 episode of Muppets Tonight.