Rock with the Caveman
{{short description|1956 single by Tommy Steele and the Steelmen}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Rock with the Caveman
| cover = Tommy Steele Rock with the Cavemen.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| type = single
| artist = Tommy Steele and the Steelmen
| album =
| B-side = Rock Around the Town
| released = {{start date|1956|10|12|df=yes}}{{Cite book|last=Bragg|first=Billy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5EBHDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT209|title=Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World|date=2017-05-30|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-32776-8|pages=209|language=en}}
| recorded = 24 September 1956{{Cite web|title=Rock with the Caveman|url=https://www.skidmore.edu/music/courses/britsong/caveman.php|access-date=2022-02-12|website=www.skidmore.edu|language=en}}
| studio = Decca Studios, London
| venue =
| genre = Rock and roll
| length = {{duration|m=1|s=53}}
| label = Decca
| writer = * Tommy Steele
| producer = Hugh Mendl
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Doomsday Rock
| next_year = 1956
}}
"Rock with the Caveman" is the debut single by Tommy Steele and the Steelmen, released in October 1956. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, making it one of the first British rock and roll records to chart.
Background and recording
Steele was discovered by Lionel Bart and along with Mike Pratt the three formed a group known as the Cavemen. After being seen by Decca Records' A&R representative Hugh Mendl, Steele was signed to Decca. "Rock with the Caveman" was originally a comedy number, described by Steele as "a joke, a spoof, the sort of thing Monty Python might have done".{{Cite book|last=Napier-Bell|first=Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gp4Xnbdt1YwC&pg=PA6|title=Black Vinyl, White Powder|date=2002|publisher=Ebury|isbn=978-0-09-188092-7|pages=6|language=en}} It was Steele's first recording, recorded at Decca Studios on 24 September 1956, produced by Mendl with engineer Arthur Lilley. Steele was backed by a number of well-known jazz session musicians, including pianist Dave Lee from Johnny Dankworth's band and tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott.
After the success of "Rock with the Caveman", Steele was dubbed "Britain's Elvis" and only a month later was voted one of the top-ten British singers in a New Musical Express poll.{{Cite web|last=Eder|first=Bruce|title=Tommy Steele Biography, Songs, & Albums|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tommy-steele-mn0000515856/biography|access-date=2022-02-12|website=AllMusic|language=en}} After his follow-up single "Doomsday Rock" failed to chart, Steele topped the chart with "Singing the Blues". A live version of "Rock with the Caveman", recorded at London's Conway Hall the night before Steele's twentieth birthday, features on his first album Tommy Steele Stage Show, released in March 1957.{{cite book |last1=Lassandro |first1=Sebastian |title=Tommy Steele: A Lifetime in the Spotlight |date=2021 |publisher=Fonthill Media |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMg3EAAAQBAJ |access-date=15 November 2022}}
Release and reception
The single was reported to have sold 25,000 copies in its first week of release.{{cite journal |last1=Gilmore |first1=Eddy |title=Britain's answer to Elvis to make more money than Prime Minister |journal=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |date=22 April 1957 |page=7 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/638349358/?terms=Tommy%20Steele&match=1 |access-date=27 November 2022}}
Writing under his Alley Cat pseudonym, Maurice Kinn of the NME felt "Rock with the Caveman" lacked "the essential authentic flavour" of American rock and roll and praised "Ronnie Scott's driving tenor-sax playing" as the record's best feature.{{cite journal |title=Tail Pieces by the Alley Cat |journal=NME |date=12 October 1956 |page=16 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/1956/NME-1956-10-12-S-OCR.pdf |access-date=16 November 2022}}
Among retrospective reviews, Bruce Eder of AllMusic considered "Rock with the Caveman" "a curiously bland, formulaic effort at rock & roll, its use of the word "rock" in the lyrics more than its style identifying it, though [Steele] and the band do play hard". Writing in The Times, Bob Stanley described the song as "charming and gawky, midway between a raucous tribute to rock’n’roll and a cartoonish parody".{{cite web |last1=Stanley |first1=Bob |title=How Tommy Steele, Britain's biggest pin-up, was savaged by the teenage mob |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/how-tommy-steele-britains-biggest-pin-up-was-savaged-by-the-teenage-mob-rsdvt6xzt |website=The Times |access-date=16 November 2022}}
Track listing
7": Decca / F 10795
- "Rock with the Caveman" – 1:53
- "Rock Around the Town" – 1:52
Personnel
According to Sebastian Lassandro;{{cite web |last1=Biggane |first1=Dan |title=Q&A – Tommy Steele biographer Sebastian Lassandro |url=https://www.vintagerockmag.com/2021/08/qa-tommy-steele-biographer-sebastian-lassandro/ |website=Vintage Rock |access-date=7 December 2022}}
- Tommy Steele – vocals, guitar
- Ronnie Scott – tenor saxophone
- Benny Green – saxophone
- Major Holley – upright bass
- Bert Weedon – electric guitar
- Dave Lee – piano
- Kirk Dunning – drums
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| Chart (1956)
!Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|13|artist=Tommy Steele|artistid=5819|rowheader=true|refname=uk}} |
| scope="row" |UK Record Mirror Top 20{{cite magazine|date=3 November 1956|title=The Second Ten|url=|magazine=Record Mirror|page=|accessdate=}}
|11 |