I Love Rocky Road
"I Love Rocky Road" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic about a man's obsession with rocky road ice cream. It is a parody of the 1981 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' cover version of the British band Arrows' 1975 song, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", originally sung and written by Alan Merrill.
"I Love Rocky Road" | ||||
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Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
from the album "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
B-side | "Happy Birthday" | |||
Released | July 5, 1983 | |||
Recorded | March 14, 1982 | |||
Genre | Comedy rock, hard rock, parody | |||
Length | 2:33 | |||
Label | Scotti Brothers | |||
Songwriter(s) | Alan Merrill, Jake Hooker, "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||
Producer(s) | Rick Derringer | |||
"Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"I Love Rocky Road" on YouTube |
Track listing
- "I Love Rocky Road" – 2:35
- "Happy Birthday" – 2:26
Music video
The music video was the directorial debut of Dror Soref and parodies the "I Love Rock 'n Roll" music video, with these differences from the original:
- It takes place in an ice cream parlor, rather than a tavern.
- It was shot in color rather than black and white.
- It was videotaped rather than filmed.
- In "I Love Rock 'n Roll", Joan Jett says "Ow!" twice. In "I Love Rocky Road", Weird Al says "Ow!" in reaction to an ice cream-induced brain freeze; the second time, he says "Ow!" in reaction to a kid biting his leg.
- Dr. Demento makes a cameo appearance as a cashier.
- While Al is playing his accordion, the cover photo for the single can be seen.
- Yankovic wears a black leather jacket with the I Love Lucy logo, referencing Yankovic's first music video, "Ricky".
- When Yankovic sings the line "If I get fat and lose my teeth, that's fine with me," he smiles to reveal all his teeth appear to have either fallen out or are rotten.
The "ice cream" used in the video is actually mashed potatoes, since real ice cream would melt under stage lights.[1]
Chart positions
Chart (1983) | Peak Position |
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U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles | 106 |
U.S. Cashbox Top 100 | 78 |
Rerecording
In 2022, for the film WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, Yankovic rerecorded the track as well as four others. In the film, Yankovic first plays the song in a bar. Different from the album version, it starts out with just Yankovic and the accordion, and near the end of the first verse Jim Kimo West, Steve Jay, and Jon Bermuda Schwartz spontaneously join in on guitar, bass, and drums. After the song is finished, Dr. Demento, who was in the audience, comes up to Yankovic and asks to be his agent, to which Yankovic says yes.
References
- Weird Al Photo Gallery Archived 2009-04-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 6, 2012.