"Rockin' All Over the World" is a rock

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

written by

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was the lead s ...

, formerly of

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

. It made its debut on Fogerty's second solo album in 1975. It was also released as a single, spending six weeks in the US top 40, peaking at #27.

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...

recorded their own, heavier arrangement of Fogerty's song for their 1977 album '' Rockin' All Over the World''. In July 1985 Status Quo opened

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

with "Rockin' All Over the World".

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as '' Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has ...

considered the song a good choice for the album's lead single, although he claimed that it was "little more than the formulaic CCR sound with the title repeated over and over, like a chant." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' exclaimed "Good news for rock and roll fans. John Fogerty is back, capturing all the deceptively simple magic frantic feel that made

Creedence Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, r ...

a groundbreaking rock group in the '60s," praising the vocals, instrumentals and the title. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said that "every kid in town should sit up and take note of the simple drive, and cutout all that complicated crud."

Status Quo version

During the recording of Status Quo's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

to the song,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

Alan Lancaster Alan Charles Lancaster (7 February 1949 – 26 September 2021) was an English musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Status Quo, playing with the band from 1967 to 1985, with brief reunions in 2013 and 2014. As we ...

was living in Australia. He had refused to return to the UK for the recording, so he was replaced by a dummy with a

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

in the video. Quo's version was their 8th UK top ten hit, peaking at #3. At

, Status Quo began their set (and thus the event itself, being the opening band) with "Rockin' All Over the World" which first became an unofficial anthem for the event when the BBC used it to advertise their TV coverage.

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

performed a portion of the song at

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

, with lead singer

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...

singing the chorus during the song "

In My Place "In My Place" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their second album, '' A Rush of Blood to the Head''. The track is built around thumping drums and chiming guitars. It was ...

", after much was made of Status Quo's absence from the concert in the British media. The song has found widespread usage in the sports world. In 1988, to support

Sport Aid Sport Aid (also known as Sports Aid) was a sport-themed campaign for African famine relief held in May 1986, involving several days of all-star exhibition events in various sports, and culminating in the Race Against Time, a 10 km fun run held sim ...

, Status Quo re-recorded the song as "Running All Over the World" with slightly amended lyrics. It reached #17 in the UK Singles Chart. In the 21st century, Status Quo's 1977 rendition has become both an anthem of English football and European football more broadly, including as German side

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

's post-goal track (a song played over the PA system whenever a goal is scored by the home team). The song is played over the PA system after England international matches, to which the crowd sings along. It is also popular as a crowd chant, with both original and modified lyrics, at various clubs around England, including

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

(modified) and

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

(original). Another re-recorded version by Status Quo - a cover of the original 1977 record - appeared on their album '' Riffs'' in 2003. The song was reprised once again, in 2014, for Status Quo's thirty-first studio album, '' Aquostic (Stripped Bare)'', as an acoustic arrangement. It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance of the album at London's '' Roundhouse'' on 22 October, the concert being recorded and broadcast live by

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

as part of their ''In Concert'' series.

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1975 songs 1975 singles 1977 singles John Fogerty songs Status Quo (band) songs Songs written by John Fogerty Song recordings produced by John Fogerty Song recordings produced by Pip Williams Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Asylum Records singles Vertigo Records singles