Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay

Album: At The Hop (1958)
Charted: 19
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Songfacts®:

  • In 1958, rock and roll was only a few years old, and it was in trouble. Elvis was in the Army, and rockers like Little Richard and Chuck Berry had fallen out of favor. This song affirms that rock music is no passing fad, which proved correct as the genre flourished over the next three decades.

    An irony is that Danny & the Juniors were not a rock band - they sang doo-wop, a style that had been around quite a while.
  • This was written by group member David White, who went on to a successful career writing for other artists, including Chubby Checker ("The Fly") and Lesley Gore ("You Don't Own Me").
  • This was the follow-up single to "At The Hop," which was a #1 hit for the group. It managed just a #19 chart placing, and the group faded fast, with just a few more minor hits in the '60s.
  • This song is often used for nostalgia purposes in movies. It appears in Grease (1978), American Hot Wax (1978) and Christine (1983).
  • Neil Young alludes to this song in his 1979 track "My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)," where he sings, "Rock and roll is here to stay" in almost a mocking manner, as he goes on to express disillusionment with fame.

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