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Rockaria!

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"Rockaria!"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album A New World Record
B-side"Poker"
Released4 February 1977[1]
StudioMusicland Studios, Munich
GenreRock and roll orchestral pop symphonic rock
Length
LabelJet
SongwriterJeff Lynne
ProducerJeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Livin' Thing"
(1976) 		"Rockaria!"
(1977) 		"Do Ya"
(1977)
A New World Record track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Tightrope"
  2. "Telephone Line"
  3. "Rockaria!"
  4. "Mission (A World Record)"
Side two
  2. "So Fine"
  3. "Livin' Thing"
  4. "Above the Clouds"
  5. "Do Ya"
  6. "Shangri-La"
Music video
"Rockaria!" on YouTube

"Rockaria!" is a song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), written by Jeff Lynne. It was the third track on the band's successful 1976 album A New World Record, and was the second single from the album. On some CD pressings of A New World Record, the title appears without the exclamation mark.

Lyrics and music

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"Rockaria!" is one of two hard rock 'n' roll songs on A New World Record, the other being "Do Ya".[2] Hartford Courant critic Henry McNulty described the riffs as being "a little bit Gene Vincent and a little bit Little Richard."[3] Allmusic critic Donald A. Guarasco described it as "a stunning tune that combined symphonic swells, operatic vocals, 50's styled guitar riffs and a Beatles-esque melody into one delirious pop song."[4]

The lyrics of "Rockaria!" are about an opera singer who learns to become a rock singer.[3][2] The opening line is sung in German in operatic fashion and translates as ""far, far away the music is playing."[2][5] Lynne sings this line in English later in the song.[5] The lyrics allow Lynne to have fun with ELO's concept of combining rock music with some classical music instruments.[2] The chorus references Wagner, Beethoven, Puccini and Verdi, while the final verse mentions Chuck Berry.[4][5]

Recording

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The operatic voice of Mary Thomas is featured on the track, particularly during the introduction.[2][5] On the first take of the song, Thomas mistakenly began the vocal too early.[5] However, Lynne elected to use that take, complete with her interjection, "Oops!", although the interjection is omitted from the single and from most appearances on compilation albums.[5]

Released as a single in 1977, it reached the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart.[6] AllMusic noted that the track "is rightly considered to be one of Jeff Lynne's finest achievements on record".[7]

Reception

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Released as a single in 1977, it reached the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart.[6]

McNulty described "Rockaria!" as "one of the most musically explosive songs ELO ever produced."[3] Toronoto Star critic Peter Goddard said that it has "a greater scope than most rock tunes, but [it] never lose[s] the basic rock feeling[8] Reviewing the single, Evening Herald said that it "storms along in great style."[9] Santa Barbara News-Press critic Bill Milton complained that the rock and classical elements don't always jell.[10] Houston Post critic Bob Claypool called it "overinflated", describing it as being "basically a steal from Little Richard's 'I'm Ready' with quasi-operatic effects thrown in."[11]

ELO biographer Barry Delve called "Rockaria!" "one of ELO's best hard rockers; successfully blending opera, a full orchestra and choir" as well as "a cheeky backwards nod to Beethoven's fifth symphony" played on the piano by Richard Tandy.[2] Guarasco felt that it "could very well be the most impressive of the group’s recordings" and that "the novelty of the sound and the imagination poured into "Rockaria" should have made the song a hit in America."[4] He also said that the song is "rightly considered to be one of Jeff Lynne’s finest achievements on record."[4]

B-side

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"Poker" is a song written and performed by Electric Light Orchestra. During recording, Kelly Groucutt sang most of the song's lyrics (generally, Jeff Lynne sang the vocals of ELO songs).

The song first appeared as the fifth track on the band's LP Face the Music.[12] The song twice appeared as a B-side, first of "Rockaria!" in the UK, then in 1979 as the flip side of the US single version of "Confusion".

Personnel

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Chart positions

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 10
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 7
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 26
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 28
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 23
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 9

Year-end charts

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Chart (1977) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[18] 59

Jeff Lynne version

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Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his home studio. It was released on Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra, a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name,[19] as an iTunes Store exclusive bonus track.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Delve, Barry (2021). Electric Light Orchestra: Every Album, Every Song. Sonicbond. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9781789521528.
  3. ^ a b c McNulty, Henry (31 October 1976). "Electric Light Incandesces". Hartford Courant. p. 11F. Retrieved 2025-09-13 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d Guarasco, Donald A. "Rockaria!". Allmusic. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Van der Kiste, John (2017). Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song. Fonthill. p. 41. ISBN 9781781556009.
  6. ^ a b c "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  7. ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Rockaria!". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012.
  8. ^ Goddard, Peter (13 November 1976). "Music: The Hollywood treatment lavished on Beatles' tunes". Toronto Star. p. F5. Retrieved 2025-09-15 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Singles...Singles...Singles". Evening Herald. 23 February 1977. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-09-15 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Milton, Bill (20 November 1976). "Electric Light Orchestra - latest super rock ensemble". Santa Barbara News-Press. p. 40. Retrieved 2025-09-13 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Claypoool, Bob (23 March 1977). "Music: Electric Light Orchestra". Houston Post. p. 5B. Retrieved 2025-09-15 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Van der Kiste, John (2017). Electric Light Orchestra: Song by Song. Fonthill. p. 39. ISBN 9781781556009.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Rockaria!" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Rockaria!" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  17. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Rockaria!" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Kent Music Report No 183 – 26 December 1977 > National Top 100 Singles for 1977". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.
  19. ^ "Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra". Elo.biz. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  20. ^ "Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra (Deluxe Edition) (Rerecorded) by Electric Light Orchestra". iTunes. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
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