I Dig Rock and Roll Music
"I Dig Rock and Roll Music" | ||||
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Single by Peter, Paul and Mary | ||||
from the album Album 1700 | ||||
B-side | "The Great Mandella (The Wheel of Life)" | |||
Released | August 1967 | |||
Genre |
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Length | 2:31 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Peter, Paul and Mary singles chronology | ||||
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"I Dig Rock and Roll Music" is a 1967 song by the American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, written by Paul Stookey, James Mason and Dave Dixon.
Background
Credited to Stookey-Mason-Dixon, the song's lyrics reference contemporary rock artists including the Mamas & the Papas, Donovan, and the Beatles. The song parodies and satirizes the vocal style of the Mamas & the Papas in the first verse, Donovan in the second verse and the Beatles in the third verse.[1][2] Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic commented that the song "simply celebrates the simple joy of pop music at the time."[3]
In an interview with the Chicago Daily News in 1966, a year before the song's release, Mary Travers expressed contempt for the emergence of the folk rock genre: "(It's) so badly written. ... When the fad changed from folk to rock, they didn't take along any good writers."[4]
The line "When the words don't get in the way, yeah" and especially the phrasing of "yeah" is a reference to the line "Every other day, every other day, every other day of the week is fine, yeah" from the Mamas & the Papas' song "Monday, Monday".[citation needed]
The line about Donovan and "his crystal images" refers to the mention of "crystal spectacles" in "Epistle to Dippy". The song is also noted for its psychedelic feedback effects, miming the volume swell on the electric guitar from Donovan's 1966 song "Sunshine Superman". The backing vocal effect in the verse parodying the Beatles reflects "Yellow Submarine".[citation needed] The backing band on the recording was The Paupers, a rock band from Toronto.
Cash Box said the song is "a rollicking trip with a sense of humor."[5]
Chart history
The song was a hit single for the group and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] In Australia, the song reached No. 4.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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References
- ^ John Shepherd (8 July 2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: VolumeII: Performance and Production. A&C Black. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-8264-6322-7.
- ^ Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society, 1954-1984. Popular Press. 1987. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-87972-369-9.
- ^ Greenwald, Matthew. Song Review by Matthew Greenwald at AllMusic. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- ^ "Obituary: Mary Travers, 72; Member of Folk Group Peter, Paul and Mary". The Washington Post. September 17, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 12, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ David F. Lonergan (2005). Hit Records, 1950-1975. Scarecrow Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-8108-5129-0.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1967-10-21. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ^ "Flavour of New Zealand, 3 November 1967". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 7, 1967". Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- ^ Musicoutfitters.com
External links
- Peter, Paul & Mary - I Dig Rock and Roll Music on YouTube
- v
- t
- e
- Peter, Paul and Mary
- Moving
- In the Wind
- A Song Will Rise
- See What Tomorrow Brings
- The Peter, Paul and Mary Album
- Album 1700
- Late Again
- Peter, Paul and Mommy
- No Easy Walk to Freedom
- In These Times
- The Best of Peter, Paul and Mary: Ten Years Together
- Songs of Conscience and Concern
- In Concert
- Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too
- "Lemon Tree"
- "If I Had a Hammer"
- "Puff, the Magic Dragon"
- "500 Miles"
- "Blowin' in the Wind"
- "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
- "Stewball"
- "Tell It on the Mountain"
- "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
- "When the Ship Comes In"
- "San Francisco Bay Blues"
- "Early Morning Rain"
- "I Dig Rock and Roll Music"
- "Too Much of Nothing"
- "Day Is Done"
- "Leaving on a Jet Plane"
- "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"
- "And When I Die"
- "Boa Constrictor"
- "El Salvador"
- "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
- "This Land Is Your Land"
- "Light One Candle"