"Cleveland Rocks" is a rock song by Ian Hunter from his 1979 album ''

You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic ''You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic'' is the fourth solo studio album by Ian Hunter. The album featured members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as the backing band. Allmusic considers the album to be Hunter's best. Hunter says th ...

''. The song is seen as a de facto anthem in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. The song was played every Friday at 5:00 PM on Cleveland radio station

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...

beginning in 1979 and is used as a victory song for the city's sports teams. In recognition of "Cleveland Rocks", Hunter was given the key to the city by Cleveland mayor

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran fo ...

on June 19, 1979. A cover of the song by The Presidents of the United States of America was used as the theme song for ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalize ...

''.

Origins

The song was inspired in part by the songwriter's desire to counteract the poor reputation of a city for which he had some affection. Hunter states on his web site, "the inspiration for 'Cleveland Rocks' goes back to the old days when people used to make fun of Cleveland. Cleveland was 'uncool' and LA and NYC were 'cool'. I didn't see it that way. Lotta heart in Cleveland." The song was first released in 1977 under the title "England Rocks" on a single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, predating the release of the "Cleveland" version by two years. Hunter has maintained, however, that Cleveland was the original subject of the song, stating on his web site, "I originally wrote 'Cleveland Rocks' for Cleveland. I changed it later to 'England Rocks' because I thought it should be a single somewhere and Columbia wouldn't release it as a single in the U.S. (too regional). 'Cleveland Rocks' is Cleveland's song and that's the truth."Ian Hunter - The Horse's Mouth
/ref> A live version of "Cleveland Rocks" appears on Hunter's 1980 album '' Welcome to the Club'' and on the soundtrack to the 1987 film '' Light of Day'', a movie with

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

and Michael J. Fox that is based in Cleveland. The "England Rocks" version appears on the compilation albums '' Shades of Ian Hunter: The Ballad of Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople'' and ''The Very Best of Ian Hunter'', as well on the CD re-issue of Hunter's 1977 album '' Overnight Angels''. The original version also serves as an unofficial tribute to the history of rock and roll, as at the beginning of the song, it has an archival sample of Cleveland

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

introducing his show on WJW, ''The Moondog Show'', before suddenly seguing into the intro to "Cleveland Rocks". (Freed had been deceased for fourteen years at the time of the release of "Cleveland Rocks".) Freed's show on WJW launched several rock and roll acts in the early days of the genre, and would form part of the basis of opening the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in Cleveland sixteen years later. Hunter performed "Cleveland Rocks" in the pregame ceremonies of Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals at

Quicken Loans Arena Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also se ...

—the first NBA Finals game played in the state of Ohio.

Reception

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' said, "The man who launched a thousand poseurs (along with Bowie about the most influential figure of the mid-seventies) returns with a furious, huge production of a number which isn't a million miles away from his " All the Way from Memphis" classic."

Cover versions

The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

in 1997 by The Presidents of the United States of America as the opening theme of the television program ''

'', a situation comedy set in Cleveland. It accompanied a lavish opening sequence in which the cast lip-synced the song while performing elaborate choreography. The band covered the entire song with the exception of the portion that said "find a place, grab a space, and yell and scream for more.” Only part of the covered portion was used for the ''Drew Carey'' theme. At the beginning of the recording,

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, '' The Drew Carey Show'', an ...

(a native of Cleveland) can be heard saying "Hey!" and then laughing, and at the end shouting "Ohio!" to an echoing effect. The latter soundbite appears in both the theme song and the full-length version of the song, and is a direct remake of the original, which has a similar "Ohio!" soundbyte at the end. The song is a track on the album ''

Cleveland Rocks! Music from The Drew Carey Show ''Cleveland Rocks! Music from The Drew Carey Show'' is a soundtrack for the ABC television series '' The Drew Carey Show'', released on May 19, 1998, by Rhino Records. The album has 24 tracks of songs that have appeared in the show and performanc ...

'' as well as on the band's compilation '' Pure Frosting''. This version is traditionally played after a home win for either the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

. Although it was never played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

, Carey had the Browns fans chant "Cleveland Rocks!" when the team returned to playing in the city in 1999. Hunter's original version would later open a ''Drew Carey'' "mistakes" episode. For the final season of ''Drew Carey'', the theme song was performed in a different musical style for each episode (as were the previous two themes, " Moon Over Parma" from the first season and " Five O'Clock World" from the second).

References

{{authority control Songs written by Ian Hunter (singer) 1979 songs Comedy television theme songs Music of Cleveland