Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?

"Rock and Roll Radio" redirects here. For the radio program, see CKUT-FM.

"Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?"
UK picture sleeve
Single by Ramones
from the album End of the Century
Released	May 16, 1980
Recorded	1979
Genre	Punk rock, rock and roll
Length	3:50
Label	Sire
Producer	Phil Spector
Ramones singles chronology
"Baby I Love You/High Risk Insurance" (1980) "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?/I Want You Around"(1980) "I Wanna Be Sedated/The Return of Jackie and Judy"(1980)

"Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" was the second single by American punk rock band the Ramones from their fifth studio album, End of the Century. It was released on May 16, 1980. This song and the album itself marked a complete change in the Ramones' sound. This was partially due in an attempt to reach commercial success and to the work of their new producer, Phil Spector.

While most Ramones songs were based on three chords and a memorable melody, "Rock 'n' Roll Radio" is a complex song, based on many of the 50's pop songs the band grew up listening to. A piano, trumpet, horn, saxophone, and synthesizer are used along with the standard guitar, drums, and bass. As was common in 1950s rock & roll, the saxophone is the lead instrument rather than the guitar. The opening and closing parts of the song sample a radio tuning into a rock 'n' roll radio channel hosted by a DJ (voiced by Sean Donahue) and the song also contains the saxophone playing of Steve Douglas

The song has become one of the Ramones' most enduring songs. Because of the nature of many different instruments used in the track, while performing live the band replaced the saxophone with the bass guitar as lead instrument.

There is no title track for the End of the Century album. The album title comes from a famous couplet in this song: "It's the end, the end of the seventies/It's the end, the end of the century.". The verse was also used for the title of the 2003 documentary about the group, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones.

Lyrical content

This song states the Ramones' philosophy for forming a band in the first place. The repeated couplet "We need change, we need it fast/Before rock's just part of the past/'Cause lately it all sounds the same to me" was a direct statement. The Ramones sought to return rock and roll to its most basic roots, abandoning movements such as late '60s psychedelic rock and early '70s pop.

Many of the band's influences are mentioned in the song, including Murray the K, John Lennon, Jerry Lee Lewis, T. Rex, The Barbarians (whose drummer, Victor "Moulty" Moulton, is mentioned by his nickname), Alan Freed, as well as musical variety TV and radio shows such as Hullabaloo, Shindig!, Upbeat, and The Ed Sullivan Show. The song claims that rock and roll is dying, and it needs change if it wants to survive.

Pop Culture References

In homage to the Ramones song, a radio show entitled "Rock 'n Roll Radio" was created in 2005 on WESU Middletown 88.1FM, a radio station in Connecticut.

The song was covered by Melbourne band Painters and Dockers and played during their live sets in the 1980s. Australianised lyrics included "Do you remember JO'K, Normie Rowe and GTK?". A live version was played on commenity radio stations such as 3BBB Ballarat and 3RRR Melbourne.

Also covered by Australian band The Porkers included on their 'Perfect Teeth' single and also on the 'ROCK' compilation cd on Chatterbox Records. The Porkers version also included 'JO'K' in the lyrics, a tribute to Aussie king of rock Johnny O'Keefe who penned the song 'Wild One'.

The song was also covered by Kiss and appears on the Ramones tribute album We're a Happy Family.

Jesse Malin performed a version of the song on his 2008 covers album On Your Sleeve.

On their 21st Century Breakdown tour, Green Day used the song as part of their entrance music.

Track listing

U.S. 7" Single

1. "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" (Ramones) - 3:50
2. "Let's Go" (Ramones) - 3:02