Roll Away the Stone

{{for|the Kelly Joe Phelps album|Roll Away the Stone (album)}}{{for|the Leon Russell song|Leon Russell (album)}}

{{Distinguish|Roll Away Your Stone}}

{{short description|1974 single by Mott the Hoople}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Roll Away the Stone

| cover = Roll Away the Stone (cover art).jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Mott the Hoople

| album = The Hoople

| B-side = Where Do You All Come From?

| released = *November 1973 (UK)

• 1974 (US)

| recorded = July 1973

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

• Glam rock{{cite web |title=Dale Griffin, drummer - obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12108757/Dale-Griffin-drummer-obituary.html |website=The Telegraph |date=19 January 2016 |access-date=25 April 2021}}
• pop rock{{cite book|first=Bob |last=Stanley|title=Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop|chapter= Deluxe and Delightful: Glam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9emZAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7|date=13 September 2013|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-28198-5|page=343}}

| length = {{duration|m=3|s=02}}

| label = Columbia

| writer = Ian Hunter

| producer = Mott the Hoople

| prev_title = All the Way from Memphis

| prev_year = 1973

| next_title = The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll

| next_year = 1974

| misc = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|MFGZMIMoCkc|"Roll Away the Stone"}}}}

}}

"Roll Away the Stone" is a song written by Ian Hunter, recorded by English rock band Mott the Hoople, and released as a single on the CBS label.{{cite web |title=Mott The Hoople - Roll Away The Stone|url=https://www.discogs.com/Mott-The-Hoople-Roll-Away-The-Stone-/release/564403 |website=Discogs.com |access-date=14 September 2019}} On the first version, recorded before Mick Ralphs left the band, Ralphs plays lead guitar and one of the Thunderthighs handles the bridge voice. It was re-recorded by the band for their 1974 album The Hoople, with Ariel Bender on lead guitar and English vocalist Lynsey de Paul singing the vocal bridge.{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Rob |title=The Story Behind The Song: Roll Away The Stone by Mott The Hoople |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-roll-away-the-stone-by-mott-the-hoople |website=Classic Rock |date=13 May 2014 |access-date=8 October 2016}}

It reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in December 1973, spending five weeks in the top 10.{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |edition=19th |year=2006 |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |location=London |page=381 |isbn=1-904994-10-5}} The band performed the song on the BBC Television show Top of the Pops on 15 November 1973.{{Citation |title=Mott The Hoople - Roll Away the Stone - Top Of The Pops 15-11-1973 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJWcQ_L7MAo |access-date=2023-04-10 }}

Cash Box said that "Hunter's unique, far reaching vocals are stronger than ever and the rest of the group backing him musically is up to the task."{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=6 July 1974|page=16|access-date=11 December 2021|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-07-06.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}} Record World called it Mott the Hoople's "biggest rocker since their label debut" and said that the "Easter-themed love epistle should sha-la-la itself to monumental status."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=July 13, 1974|accessdate=2023-03-15|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/74/RW-1974-07-13.pdf}}

In 1986, the song was used as a background song on the 1974 edition of the BBC TV series The Rock 'n' Roll Years, for the news clips relating to the two general elections in the United Kingdom that year. It also featured in the 2015 film The Diary of a Teenage Girl,{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3172532/|title=The Diary of a Teenage Girl|website=IMDb.com|access-date=14 September 2019}} as well as on the soundtrack album.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Diary-Of-A-Teenage-Girl-Soundtrack/release/7472150|title=Various - The Diary Of A Teenage Girl Soundtrack|website=Discogs|access-date=14 September 2019}}