Rock and Roll (Gary Glitter song)

"Rock and Roll", also known as "The Hey Song", is a song performed by British glam rocker Gary Glitter that was released in 1972 as a single and on the album Glitter. Co-written by Glitter and Mike Leander, the song is in two parts: Part 1 is a vocal track reflecting on the history of the genre, and Part 2 is a mostly instrumental piece. Both parts were popular in Britain, and the single went to #2 on the British charts. In concert, Glitter merged both into one performance.

In the US, the instrumental portion (Part 2) attracted most of the attention; it hit #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The US mono 45, which is mixed different from the LP, clocks in at 3:10, while it runs 2:58 on the US LP. In France; Part 1 was the successful side, reaching #1. In the UK, "Rock and Roll" was one of over 20 hit singles for Glitter.

Use in sporting events
Part 2 of the song has often been played at various sporting events in Canada and the United States, particularly when the home team scores (or wins). It was played first in a sport setting at Kalamazoo Wings hockey games in 1974 when Kevin O'Brien, the public relations and marketing director, started using it during games. When he went to work for the Colorado Rockies hockey team in 1976, he brought the song with him. After the demise of the Colorado Rockies, the Denver Nuggets and Denver Broncos picked up the tradition and are the first NBA and NFL teams to play the song during games.

The nickname "The Hey Song" refers to fact that the only intelligible word in Part 2 is the exclamation of "hey", punctuating the end of several instrumental phrases and repeated three times at the song's chorus. At sporting events, fans often insert their own "hey", or sometimes other chanted syllables.

In 1999 Glitter was convicted of possessing child pornography in England, and in 2006 of child sexual abuse charges in Vietnam. After the second conviction was upheld in court, the NFL asked teams to stop playing the song. Glitter was dismayed by this result as he is a fan of the San Diego Chargers and had choreographed some of the team's cheerleading cadences in 1989.

The NFL has allowed a cover version of the song by the Tube Tops 2000 to be played. Other professional and college teams in the US and Canada have discontinued using the song.

In popular culture and sampling
Part 2 of this song has been used in the soundtrack to many movies, including:


 * Reality Bites (1994)
 * D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
 * Sudden Death (1995)
 * Happy Gilmore (1996)
 * Eddie (1996)
 * Donkey Kong Land 2 video game commercial, (1996)
 * The Full Monty (1997)
 * Small Soldiers (1998)
 * Any Given Sunday (1999)
 * The Beautiful Game (1999)
 * Bedazzled (2000)
 * The Replacements (2000)
 * Sugar & Spice (2001)
 * Lizzie McGuire episode "One of the Guys" (2001)
 * Moonlight Mile (2002)
 * Like Mike (2002)
 * Meet the Fockers (2004)
 * Ni tú Ni Nadie (2004)
 * The Longest Yard (2005)
 * Ice Princess (2005)
 * Semi-Pro (2008)
 * Four Christmases (2008)
 * South Park episode "Elementary School Musical" (2008)
 * "Causa y Efecto" (2009)