Rock and roll anthem

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A rock and roll anthem is a celebratory rock and roll song. The subject that the anthem celebrates can vary, although one common anthemic theme is the celebration of rock and roll for itself.

Chuck Berry probably wrote more of these than any other songwriter:

"School Days" (1956) "Hail, Hail Rock and Roll, deliver me from the days of old"
"Roll Over, Beethoven" (1956) -- "and tell Tchaikovsky the news"
"Rock and Roll Music" (1957) -- "got a back beat you can't lose it"
"Johnny B. Goode" (1958) -- "never ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play a guitar just like ringing a bell"
"Let it Rock" (1959)

The essence of the rock and roll anthem may be best captured in the Lieber and Stoller song "That is Rock and Roll", sung first by The Coasters in 1959:

You say our music's for the birds and you can't understand the words,

Well honey if you did, you'd really blow your lid, 'cause baby that is rock and roll

There are many others:

1954 "Rock Around the Clock" -- Bill Haley and his Comets -- cited by Dick Clark in 1981 as the "international anthem of rock and roll".
1957 "Jailhouse Rock" -- Elvis Presley, "Warden threw a party at the county jail, prison band was there and they began to wail."
1958 "Rock and Roll is here to stay" -- Danny and the Juniors
195? "Vive Le Rock and Roll" -- Bill Haley and Catarina Valente
1961 "It will stand" -- The Showmen
1962 "PFC Rhythm and Blues Jones" -- Ray Stevens, "I'm a lover not a fighter, I'm a BMI songwriter"
1964 "Do You Remember" -- The Beach Boys
1965 "My Generation" -- The Who
1965 "Do You Believe in Magic" -- The Lovin' Spoonful, who sang "It's like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll"
1966 "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" -- The Rolling Stones
1967 "Heavy Music" -- Bob Seger
1967 "I Dig Rock & Roll Music" -- Peter, Paul and Mary, ambivalent anthem by folk singers, "The message may not move me, Or mean a great deal to me"
1967 "Rock and Roll Woman" -- Buffalo Springfield
1970 "Had Me A Real Good Time" -- The Faces
1971 "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- The Who
1971 "Rock and Roll" - Led Zeppelin
1971 "American Pie" -- Don McLean
1972 "God Gave Rock and Roll To You" -- Argent (later covered by Petra and Kiss)
1972 "Rock and Roll Lullaby" -- B. J. Thomas
1972 "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" -- Blue Öyster Cult
1972 "Rock and Roll Part 2", Gary Glitter, instrumental anthem
1972 "Rock and Roll" -- Lou Reed, Mitch Ryder and his band Detroit, (successor to the Detroit Wheels)
1973 "Stay With Me" -- The Faces
1973 "I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)" -- Moody Blues
1974 "Life is a Rock (and the Radio Rolled Me)" -- Reunion
1974 "Long Live Rock" -- The Who
1974 "Rock On" -- David Essex
1974 "Rock and Roll Heaven" -- The Righteous Brothers
1974 "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" -- Rick Derringer
1974 "It's Only Rock and Roll (but I like it)" -- The Rolling Stones
1975 "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" -- Kim Fowley
1975 "Rock Show" -- Paul McCartney and Wings
1975 "Rock and Roll All Nite" -- first hit for Kiss, recorded live
1976 "Rock and Roll Band" -- Boston
1976 "Anything That's Rock and Roll" -- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
1976 "Rock and Roll Heart" -- Lou Reed
1976 "Rock N' Roll Singer" -- AC/DC
1976 "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)" -- AC/DC
1977 "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" -- Ian Dury & the Blockheads, updating the grand old slogan, "Wine, women & song!"
1977 "We Will Rock You" -- Queen
1977 "Blank Generation" -- Richard Hell an anthem of nihilism
1977 "Hot Legs" -- Rod Stewart
1977 "Let There Be Rock" -- AC/DC
1978 "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll" -- Rainbow
1979 "Old Time Rock and Roll" -- Bob Seger
1979 "Hey Hey, My My (Out of the Blue)" -- Neil Young
1980 "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" -- Billy Joel
1980 "Rock 'n' Roll" -- Human League
1980 "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" -- AC/DC
1981 "I Love Rock N' Roll" -- Joan Jett
1981 "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" -- AC/DC
1983 "The Heart of Rock and Roll" -- Huey Lewis & the News
1983 "Rock of Ages" -- Def Leppard (featuring the classic opening words, "Gunter glieben glauchen globen")
1984 "Rock You like a Hurricane" -- Scorpions
1984 "Let's Go Crazy" -- Prince
1984 "I Wanna Rock" -- Twisted Sister
1985 "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." -- John Mellencamp
1985 "Vive Le Rock" -- Adam Ant
1987 "Paradise City" -- Guns N' Roses
1989 "Rockin' in the Free World" -- Neil Young
1992 "The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" -- Brian Wilson
1995 "Punk Rawk Show" -- MxPx

In addition to those which celebrate rock and roll, other rock anthems that have celebrated other subjects have included:

1965 "My Generation" -- a youth anthem by The Who
1968 "Born to be Wild" -- a celebration of freedom by Steppenwolf.
1969 "Volunteers of America" -- Jefferson Airplane
1969 "We Can Be Together" -- Jefferson Airplane
1974 "Teenage Rampage" by Sweet. ("Come join the revolution, get yourself a constitution, and join the revolution now. Recognize your age it's a teenage rampage, turn another page on the teenage rampage now" - Anthem to teenage oppression and general teen years."
1975 "Blitzkrieg Bop" -- The Ramones
1975 "God Save The Queen" -- The Sex Pistols
1976 "Anarchy In The U.K." -- The Sex Pistols
1977 "We Are The Champions" -- Queen, a song that glorifies winners and is popular in sport events
1983 "Down Under" -- Men at Work, an Australian anthem
1984 "Born in the U.S.A." -- Bruce Springsteen, an anthem for Vietnam veterans
1991 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" -- Nirvana (band), a popular anthem for teenage youth in the nineties
1998 "Prisoner of Society" -- The Living End
2002 "Rock 'N' Roll is Bitchin'" by Reel Big Fish

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