Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy
| "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Single sleeve | ||||
| Single by Bad Company | ||||
| from the album Desolation Angels | ||||
| B-side | "Crazy Circles" | |||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Studio | Ridge Farm Studios, Surrey, England | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:15 | |||
| Label | Swan Song | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Paul Rodgers | |||
| Producer(s) | Bad Company | |||
| Bad Company singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" on YouTube | ||||
"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" is a song by English rock supergroup Bad Company. The track was written by vocalist Paul Rodgers, and released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album Desolation Angels (1979).
The song is one of many Bad Company's best known and has become a staple of classic rock radio.
Background
"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" was inspired by a guitar synthesizer riff that Paul Rodgers had come up with. While not the band's highest charting single in America, it is their best selling, having been certified Gold by the RIAA.[1]
Reception
Cash Box said "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" has a "stout beat and heavy fuzz guitar sound and excellent singing" as well as "solid" production.[2] Democrat and Chronicle critic Jack Garner said it "contains the most varying material yet from the band, indicating continued growth and maturity on their part."[3] Allmusic reviewer Mike DeGagne commented on Rodgers' "vocal passion" on the song.[4] Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine regarded it as one of the band's best "big, brawny arena rockers" and noted that it's a "quintessential classic rock staple."[5]
In 2016, Classic Rock Magazine ranked the song at number nine on their list of Bad Company's 10 best songs.[6]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" | 3:15 |
| 2. | "Crazy Circles" | 3:31 |
Chart performance
The song was peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1979, ultimately climbing to number 54 for the Billboard Year-End singles chart in that year.[7]
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - April 23, 2010: Bad Company certified singles". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 3, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
- ^ Garner, Jack (April 11, 1979). "Bad Company – but good music". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 20C. Retrieved 2022-06-21 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ DeGagne, Mike. "Desolation Angels". Allmusic. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy: The Very Best of Bad Company". Allmusic. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
- ^ Dome, Malcolm (July 13, 2016). "The Top 10 Best Bad Company Songs - Classic Rock". Classic Rock. Team Rock. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1979
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". RPM. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ "Bad Company - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending June 16, 1979". Archived from the original on 5 February 2011. Retrieved 2018-04-05.Cash Box magazine.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
- ^ "Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 29, 1979. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved 2018-04-03.