Rock On

Album: Fight Like Hell (2016)
Charted: 62
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Tucker Beathard is the son of Nashville songwriter Casey Beathard, whose credits include Kenny Chesney's "The Boys of Fall," George Strait's "Love Is Everything" and Eric Church's "Homeboy." Casey came up with the latter song's idea after hearing Tucker say, "come on, homeboy" to a friend.
  • This was released as Tucker Beathard's debut single, after signing with Dot Records, an imprint of Big Machine Records. He co-wrote the song with his father, as well as Marla Cannon-Goodman. Tucker explained that "Rock On" was chosen specifically to set the tone for his career.

    "It was important to me when deciding on the first single that the song was one that I felt would show who I am as an artist, musician and songwriter," he said. "I'm a bit of an introvert, but writing songs and performing them is my way of expressing myself, and I hope it resonates with people."
  • Tucker Beathard admitted the anger in this song really appeals to him. "Where I get satisfaction in 'Rock On' is the chorus has that teenage angst, like the p---ed-off-ness... that makes you want to punch a wall or something, and that could be for anything or anybody telling you you can't do something," he told ABC Radio.
  • Tucker Beathard penned the song in 2014 when he was 19. He told Radio.com in 2016 the lyrics aren't autobiographical, as he has yet to meet the woman whom he wants to put a "rock on."
  • Marla Cannon-Goodman, a longtime friend and writing partner of Casey Beathard, contributed to the penning of the song. She told The Boot the collaboration came about after Casey played her a demo of Tucker singing one of his song. "I was shocked," she recalled. "I said, 'Casey, he sounds like you, but he's cooler than you.' I said, 'I really want to write with him. I'd love to.'"

    "I called Tucker, and I was like, 'I would love to write with you,' and he said, 'I would love that," Cannon-Goodman continued. "So we started writing … I absolutely love that kid."
  • Casey Beathard also had a hand in writing the song. Cannon-Goodman recalled: "This was the only time Tucker and I wrote with anybody besides just the two of us. Tucker had the idea, and I was like, 'This is a brilliant idea.' It was so much fun."

    She added: "The one line in it that cracks me up every time I hear it is, 'I saw your hashtag diggin' on some new dude.' It was a line Casey spit out, and me and Tucker both looked at him like, 'What do you know about hashtags?'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.