Rock A Doodle Doo

Album: Appetizers (1973)
Charted: 15
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In spite of her obvious talents as a songwriter coupled with a five-octave vocal range, Linda Lewis managed to achieve little more than a cult following in a career spanning four decades.

    Released in 1973, "Rock-A-Doodle-Doo" (or "Rock A Doodle Doo") was about as good as things got for her singles-wise. Although not her first release, it was her first self-penned single. Backed by "Reach for The Truth" it was produced by the lady herself and her future first husband, Jim Cregan.

    It might be described as a girly love song. In March 2007, when she appeared on a South of England radio station, the host pointed out that the first line contained a mondegreen of which she had previously been unaware. A listener from Doncaster had phoned in and said "When you come out of school" sounded like "When you come out Tesco."

    This is not the case on the live version, which was recorded in Japan; this somewhat superior take contains a decent lead guitar solo.

    The original runs to around 3 minutes 23 seconds and was released on Raft, but a promotional copy was put out by Reprise, apparently with a different B-side: "Sideway Shuffle" and "Play Around." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments: 1

  • Zabadak from London, EnglandLinda sang backing vocals on Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" album...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Tanita Tikaram

Tanita TikaramSongwriter Interviews

When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.