Friday June 12, 2020 “Life is a Rock” Reunion

It’s frivolous Friday and this tune is certainly frivolous but it's also pretty clever.

 “Life is a Rock” was co-written by Norman Dolph who also produced the Velvet Underground’s first album, now that’s real juxtaposition.  Joey Levine handled the lead vocals for this song but was effectively just the studio voice for a fictitious band, just as he was for several other memorable (?) songs like “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” and “Chewy Chewy” during the forgettable, brief bubblegum phase of music.

 These lyrics are a fast patter of 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s disc jockeys, musicians, songwriters, record labels, song titles and lyrics, broken only by the chorus, and you may even notice that there are several references to previous Song of the Day tunes.

Pay attention, there’s a lot to take in here and if you listen to the outro at the end of the song, should you get that far, it melody-checks The Four Tops, Three Dog Night, Sly & the Family Stone and Stevie Wonder songs.

 Stay safe and well... and frivolous.

B.B. Bumble and the Stingers, Mott the Hoople, Ray Charles Singers

Lonnie Mack and twangin' Eddy, here's my ring we're goin' steady

Take it easy, take me higher, liar liar, house on fire

Locomotion, Poco, Passion, Deeper Purple, Satisfaction

Baby baby gotta gotta gimme gimme gettin' hotter

Sammy's cookin', Lesley Gore and Ritchie Valens, end of story

Mahavishnu, fujiyama, kama-sutra, rama-lama

Richard Perry, Spector, Barry, Archies, Righteous, Nilsson, Harry

Shimmy shimmy ko-ko bop and Fats is back and Finger Poppin'

 Life is a rock but the radio rolled me

Gotta turn it up louder, so my DJ told me (whoa whoa whoa whoa)

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me

At the end of my rainbow lies a golden oldie

 FM, AM, hits are clickin' while the clock is tock-a-tickin'

Friends and Romans, salutations, Brenda and the Tabulations

Carly Simon, I behold her, Rolling Stones and centerfoldin'

Johnny Cash and Johnny Rivers, can't stop now, I got the shivers

Mungo Jerry, Peter Peter Paul and Paul and Mary Mary

Dr. John the nightly tripper, Doris Day and Jack the Ripper

Gotta go Sir, gotta swelter, Leon Russell, Gimme Shelter

Miracles in smokey places, slide guitars and Fender basses

Mushroom omelet, Bonnie Bramlett, Wilson Pickett, stop and kick it

 Life is a rock but the radio rolled me

Gotta turn it up louder, so my DJ told me (whoa whoa whoa whoa)

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me

At the end of my rainbow lies a golden oldie

 Arthur Janov's primal screamin', Hawkins, Jay and

Dale and Ronnie, Kukla, Fran and Norma Okla

Denver, John and Osmond, Donny

JJ Cale and ZZ Top and LL Bean and De De Dinah

David Bowie, Steely Dan and sing me prouder, CC Rider

Edgar Winter, Joanie Sommers, Osmond Brothers, Johnny Thunders

Eric Clapton, pedal wah-wah, Stephen Foster, do-dah do-dah

Good Vibrations, Help Me Rhonda, Surfer Girl and Little Honda

Tighter, tighter, honey, honey, sugar, sugar, yummy, yummy

CBS and Warner Brothers, RCA and all the others

 Life is a rock but the radio rolled me

Gotta turn it up louder, so my DJ told me (whoa whoa whoa whoa)

Life is a rock but the radio rolled me

At the end of my rainbow lies a golden oldie

 Listen--remember, they're playing our song!

Rock it, sock it, Alan Freed me, Murray Kaufman, try to leave me

Fish, and Swim, and Boston Monkey,

Make it bad and play it funky.

(Wanna take you higher!)