(The) Rock and Roll Waltz
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| "(The) Rock and Roll Waltz" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Kay Starr | ||||
| Released | 1955 | |||
| Format | 45 RPM, 78 RPM | |||
| Recorded | 1955 | |||
| Genre | Vocal Music | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Writer(s) | Shorty Allen, Roy Alfred | |||
| Kay Starr singles chronology | ||||
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"(The) Rock and Roll Waltz" is a popular song. The music was written by Shorty Allen and the lyrics by Roy Alfred in 1955.
As the title suggests this novelty song[1] is a waltz in triple metre, but it also contains a bass riff that is reminiscent of typical boogie woogie and rock and roll riffs.
The song is told from the point-of-view of a teenager who comes home early from a date, and catches her parents attempting to dance to one of her rock and roll records; only, having no frame of reference, the couple tries to waltz to the music.
The Kay Starr recording of the song, made in 1955, reached the #1 position on the Billboard chart in 1956, staying there for six weeks. The recording was released by RCA Victor as catalog number 47-6359. It was Kay Starr's first recording of great significance for RCA Victor after leaving Capitol Records. She had a number of lesser chart entries on RCA in 1955 including "Good and Lonesome" and "Turn Right". She thought it was a joke when the A&R staff at RCA Victor picked it for her; it was so different from what she was used to recording. Although it was a #1 hit and a million seller, and she has come to love the song with the passage of time, it was never a song people requested her to sing at any live performance in the days of its popularity.
Another version was later recorded by Ann-Margret in the early 1960s.
[edit] See also
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1950s
- List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)
- List of number-one singles of 1956 (U.S.)
