Rock of All Ages

From Wikipedia:

“Rock of All Ages” is a song written by Tom Evans, Pete Ham and Mike Gibbons that was first released on Badfinger’s 1970 album Magic Christian Music. It was also released as the b-side to Badfinger’s hit single “Come and Get It“. The song was originally used as part of the soundtrack for the 1969 film The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. The song was produced by Paul McCartney.

Writing and recording

Evans told how the song originated:

There’s a disco scene in The Magic Christian film where they had “Respect” by Aretha Franklin playing and we had to cover that with our song. We really didn’t know what to do, do a “soul” thing or whatever. Well the time came for the recording and we didn’t have a song together. McCartney comes in and says “Well, what’ve you got?” And we said “We don’t really know.” So he said “Well, what do you know that’s really exciting?” I said “Well, we can do ‘Long Tall Sally’ in G”. And he goes “G, okay!”

So we started to make up a song similar to “Long Tall Sally” in G. We just did the backing track. When it came time to do the vocal I was just floundering over it. He started to sing with me and we both kind of made it up. There’s a great take of me and him singing it together. I said “You’ve got to use that on the record, please use that on the record.” He said, “No, you go down and do it properly.”

Badfinger manager Bill Collins told a similar story:

To do “Rock of All Ages [McCartney] one day asked me what the boys do when they rave it up. I said “They’re pretty good at “Long Tall Sally” so when he met us in the studio, he looked at young Tommy and said “I hear you’re a bit of a raver on “Sally”; let’s try that. Without ever making any demands on anybody, he just sat down at the piano, started into a bit of a 12-bar, and pulled the boys into it. Once they got rolling, he stood up and said “I’ve got to do some shopping for my missus; knock out some lyrics while I’m gone.” They did, and actually, we finished the whole backing track in less than an hour.

Music and lyrics

In addition to taking the lead vocal, Evans, who had been Badfinger’s rhythm guitarist, had to play bass guitar because of the absence of Ron Griffiths, who had been the band’s bassist. Evans felt insecure about it, saying “I was playing the bass, but not very well. And Paul said ‘Just play the one note we’re gonna need, be simple.” McCartney played piano on the final recording and Ham played guitar.

Badfinger biographer Robert Day-Webb compared Evans’ vocal performance to those of McCartney on such Beatle songs as “Long Tall Sally“, “I’m Down” and Helter Skelter“. Webb also says that McCartney “does his best Jerry Lee Lewis impression” on the piano.

The lyrics contain a line that proved sadly prophetic in light of the band’s subsequent money problems relating to their management contract with Stan Polley: “You’re taking all my money and I guess you think it’s funny, but I don’t.”

Reception

Badfinger biographer Dan Matovina called “Rock of All Ages” a “superb rocker” and a “winner”, saying that “its snazzy blocks of rhythm pour over Tom’s doubled wailing vocals.” Matovina also praised McCartney’s keyboards. Badfinger biographer Robert Day-Webb also called “Rock of All Ages” a “superb rocker”, as well as a “breathlessly exciting rock song” and a “real gem”, describing it as “a rollicking, good-time rock number featuring an absolutely throat-shredding performance from Tom.” Rolling Stone critic John Mendelsohn felt that it sounded like an adaptation of the Beatles’ song “I Saw Her Standing There“. Roger Kaye of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram described it as an “early FM rock radio staple.” […]

Two different stereo mixes of “Rock of All Ages” were released. On the single version, Paul McCartney’s piano is placed in the right channel, while on the album version it is centered. Additionally, the album version fades out around 10 seconds earlier than the single version.

Lyrics

Variations

Officially appears on

Going further

Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989

With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.

Buy on Amazon

The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 – 73

In this first of a groundbreaking multivolume set, THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1: 1969-73 captures the life of Paul McCartney in the years immediately following the dissolution of the Beatles, a period in which McCartney recreated himself as both a man and a musician. Informed by hundreds of interviews, extensive ground up research, and thousands of never-before-seen documents THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1 is an in depth, revealing exploration of McCartney’s creative and personal lives beyond the Beatles.

Buy on Amazon