Rock This Bitch

Song infobox
Name = Rock This Bitch


Artist = Ben Folds
Album = Ben Folds Live
Released = October 8, 2002
track_no = 14
Recorded = March 2 - July 6, 2002
Genre = Piano rock
Length = 1:17
Writer = Ben Folds
Hawt = Very
Label = Sony
Producer = Mark Chevalier,
Ben Folds
Chart position =
prev = "Tiny Dancer"
prev_no = 13
next = "Philosophy"
next_no = 15

"Rock This Bitch" is a series of improv songs that have been performed live by the pianist Ben Folds.

The song originated from a show at the Vic Theatre, Chicago on 3 October, 2001 when a fan shouted "Rock This Bitch!" at Folds, who then proceeded to improvise a song; "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna rock this bitch". This song became well-known amongst fans after "Rock This Bitch" was released on the 2002 live album "Ben Folds Live" and fans began to request it at every show.

Over the years, a large number of different versions of this song have been performed covering a whole array of musical styles. The joke eventually wore out on Folds, and he temporarily retired the song after performing it with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Perth, as seen on the "Ben Folds and WASO" live DVD (December 2005). Because of the nature of the performance, Folds had to shout out the chord changes during the song, leaving the orchestra members somewhat bemused.

Folds has since stated that he has tired of playing Rock This Bitch. Further requests are typically ignored. Recently at a concert in Milwaukee on March 12, 2006 he declined to "rock this bitch" and instead played a humorously vulgar improvisation of Billy Joel's song "Piano Man".

Folds has not completely retired the song, however. In his performance with the Sydney Symphony in the Sydney Opera House on September 7, 2006, Folds compared the recently-deceased Steve Irwin to nature photographer Ansel Adams and agreed to play Rock This Bitch in tribute to him. Folds conducted the orchestra while singing "We're gonna rock, rock, rock this bitch for the coolest motherfucker that ever has been/Gonna rock, rock, rock this bitch, rock this bitch for Steve Irwin/Hollywood stars and politicians, if you put your money where your mouth is/If you made a difference like Steve Irwin/We'd miss you like we miss him".

Rock This Bitch has made occasional appearances during shows since, sometimes without prompting, such as "Rock This Bitch in Dublin" on January 21, 2007. During Folds' gig at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on January 28th 2007, yet another incarnation was played. "Rock This Wolverhamptonian Bitch" referenced the local populace and their 11 Wolverhamptonian fingers and their 11 Wolverhamptonian toes.

At his gig in Cologne on February 6th, 2007 Ben played a very special version which included the story of astronaut Lisa Nowak, who drove 900 miles in diapers to kidnap her rival for the affections of fellow astronaut William Oeferlein. At another recent gig at Assumption College in Massachusetts, on March 24, 2007, Folds performed "Rock This Bitch." On March 25, 2007, at Muhlenberg College, after many shouts from the audience to "rock this bitch", Ben did a new variation of the song. He first asked the crowd to pronounce the name of the college and then sang to the crowd "Rock this bitch, Muhlenberg."

When performing at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Folds did a version of "Rock This Bitch" dedicated to Anna Nicole Smith's child, Danielynn.

One of his most distinctive versions of the song was played at the Rochester Institute of Technology, a college with a high percentage of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. As there is a sign language interpreter at nearly every event, Ben asked the interpreter on hand to repeatedly swear in sign language. It led to an all-silent rendition of the song, with the band miming out playing their instruments while the audience imitated the interpreter.

The song was again, supposedly retired at Bonaroo in 2008. However, on the bonus CD 'I Made It Up On Stage' that accompanied the super-deluxe version of Folds' 2008 release 'Way To Normal', several references to the song are included, with one of the improvised songs entitled 'Rockit Digitally' which consists of a single-note electronic version of the song.