Rockaria!

"Rockaria!"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album A New World Record
B-side	"Poker"
Released	February 1977 (UK)
Format	7"
Recorded	1976 Musicland Studios, Munich
Genre	Rock and roll, rock opera, art rock
Length	3:14 (LP) 3:10 (UK single)
Label	Jet Records
Writer(s)	Jeff Lynne
Producer	Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Livin' Thing" (1976) "Rockaria!" (1977) "Do Ya" (1977)

"Rockaria!" is a song by Electric Light Orchestra. It was the third track on the band's successful 1976 album A New World Record and was the second single from the album. Featuring the operatic voice of Mary Thomas during the introduction, she flubbed the first take by starting the vocals too early. However, Jeff Lynne elected to use the take (complete with her interjection, "Oops!") anyway. During live performances, the 'aria' was provided by the band's bassist Kelly Groucutt, illustrating his wide-ranging vocal talents.

The song itself is a unique fusion of rocking blues, glam rock, opera and power pop. According to the lyrics, a woman is obsessed with the operatic masterworks of Wagner, Beethoven, Puccini and Verdi and the singer's intent is to show her how to rock and roll. By the end of the song, however, the twist becomes that the opera singer has proven that she actually can rock 'n' roll with the best of them and that she has a few tricks to teach to the singer.

The title of the song is not used within the lyrics, thus it is often mispronounced, usually as rhyming with mamma mia. It is actually a fusion of two different words, rock and aria, thus giving rock-ahr'-ia.

On some CD pressings of A New World Record, it appears without the exclamation point.

Chart positions

Chart (1977)	Peak Position
Austrailian ARIA Singles Chart	10
Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40	7
Dutch Top 40	28
UK Singles Chart	9

B-side

Poker

"Poker" is a song written and performed by Electric Light Orchestra.

The song first appeared on the band's LP, Face The Music as track #5, It is the shortest song in length at 3:34, off the Face The Music LP. During recording, Kelly Groucutt sang most of the song's lyrics, (Normally, Jeff sung the vocals.)

The song twice appeared as a B side, first in the UK then in 1979 as the flip side of the US single version of Confusion.

"Poker rocks along with murderous intent, despite corn ball lyrics." John Ingham (1975 - from a transcribed UK Face The Music album review of unknown origin)