Up on the Roof (song)

"Up on the Roof"
Single by The Drifters
B-side	"Another Night With the Boys"
Released	1962
Writer(s)	Gerry Goffin and Carole King
The Drifters singles chronology
"Sometimes I Wonder" (1962) "Up on the Roof" (1962) "On Broadway" (1963)

James Taylor and Carole King perform "Up on the Roof" together in 2010 during their Troubadour Reunion Tour.

"Up on the Roof" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded in 1962 by The Drifters. Released at the tail end of that year, the song became a big hit in early 1963, reaching number five on the U.S. pop singles chart and number 4 on the U.S. R&B singles chart.

Content

In addition to the hit appeal of the "second Drifters" lineup, "Up on the Roof" epitomized the urban romantic dream as presented by New York City Brill Building writers:

When this old world starts getting me down,

And people are just too much for me to face—

I climb way up to the top of the stairs

And all my cares just drift right into space ...

Personnel

The personnel from The Drifters' recording were

• Jimmy Nottingham, Jimmy Sadler (trumpet)
• Jimmy Cleveland, Frank Sarraco (trombone)
• Carole King, Ernie Hayes (piano)
• Al Casamenti, Don Arnone, Bob Bushnell (guitar)
• George Duvivier (bass)
• Gary Chester (drums)
• Bobby Rosegarden (strings)
• George Devens (percussion)

Reception and legacy

The 1980 Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll described "Up on the Roof" as "in every way a remarkable pop song for 1962," and in particular said of the above lyric, "From the internal rhyme of 'stairs' and 'cares' to the image of ascending from the street to the stars by way of an apartment staircase, it's first-rate, sophisticated writing."

In 2004, The Drifters' "Up on the Roof" was named number 113 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

The song was featured extensively in the 1992 episode of Reading Rainbow entitled "Tar Beach." The episode focused on urban rooftops and used the song in both a video segment and during the end credits.

Other recordings

The Drifters' version was not a hit in the United Kingdom; however, a recording by English variety show entertainer Kenny Lynch, released at almost the same time, was hitting number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. Leeds singer Julie Grant followed it with another rendition, posting modestly on the UK Singles Chart at number 33 in 1963.

Goffin-King babysitter and song recipient Little Eva included it as a track on her only LP offering, LLLLLoco-Motion, in late 1962. The song has been recorded by other artists numerous times since, including by The Cryan' Shames (1968, a very minor hit at number 85 on the U.S. pop singles chart), Laura Nyro on Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970, an even more minor hit at number 92 on the U.S. pop singles chart, but nonetheless Nyro's only appearance there), Carole King herself on the 1970 album Writer, Tony Orlando and Dawn (on several 1970s albums), Ike and Tina Turner on the 1973 album Let Me Touch Your Mind, James Taylor on Flag (1979), Neil Diamond on the appropriately titled Up On The Roof: Songs From The Brill Building (1993), The Nylons on their 1993 "Best Of" compilation, Kenny Rankin, Billy Joe Royal, Peter Cincotti, Robson and Jerome, and II D Extreme. The song is still performed by Rockapella at many of their concerts, and appears on the live album In Concert (2001).

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

Of these, the best known in the U.S. is Taylor's; it was released as a single, charting modestly into the Top 30 of the U.S. pop singles chart in 1979. Rearranged around Taylor's trademark acoustic guitar playing and vocal accents and interjections, it became a concert staple of his, 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.

The best known of these in the UK is that of Robson & Jerome; recorded in 1995 and released as a double A side along with their version of "I Believe," it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. Its arrangement hewed close to The Drifters' original; the accompanying music video showed the duo cavorting atop a midtown Manhattan skyscraper.

References

Preceded by "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio

UK Singles Chart number-one single Robson and Jerome version double A-side with "I Believe" 5 November 1995

Succeeded by "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson