Bad Company – Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy

In 1979 this song was out I was at our town’s Dime Store…remember Dime Stores? They had a .50-cent single bin. I looked around and I saw a Rock And Roll Fantasy single just picked it up and bought it…not paying attention to the band.

I played the single at home and it was The Kinks Rock and Roll Fantasy… a totally different song but it soon became one of my favorites by the Kinks…so I won in that deal. This Bad Company song has been worn out by radio but I still will listen when it comes on.

Paul Rodgers has one of the best voices in rock and blues. So good in fact that one band came looking for him when their singer passed away. The Doors searched for Rodgers after Jim Morrison had died but Rodgers was living off the grid in England and they couldn’t find him. He didn’t know about it until years later when Doors guitarist Robby Krieger told him. The Doors were all Free fans.

The song was written by Paul Rodgers about rock and roll escapism. The band was all burned out from their 1977 tour and they took a two-year break until 1979 when they released the Desolation Angels album. It became one of their most successful albums along with their last top 10 album.

This song was quite successful as was the album Desolation Angels. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard Album Charts, #6 in Canada, #10 in the UK, and #32 in New Zealand in 1979.

The song peaked at #13 on the Billboard 100 and #16 in Canada.

They were on Led Zeppelin’s record label…Swan Song. It would be the last huge year on the label when Led Zeppelin released In Through The Out Door along with this Bad Company album. John Bonham would pass the following year and the label died in 1983. Bad Company was far and away the most successful band on the label not including Zeppelin.

When clearing out the offices in 1983…unheard demos by Iron Maiden and Heart were found.

Paul Rodgers: “I discovered quite recently that I was lined up to join The Doors, which blew my mind. Robby Krieger told me that the Doors were all fans of Free, and after Jim Morrison’s death, they came to England looking for me. The thing is, at that time, I had buried myself in the country, working on things, and they couldn’t get a hold of me. My jaw actually dropped like in a cartoon when Robby told me this.”

Paul Rodgers: “I don’t think you should ever bring politics and stuff that surrounds you every day – all that depressing stuff – into music, people want to go and see groups to get away from all that. I know I do. The lights, the atmosphere… they can forget everything else.”

Rock ‘n’ Roll Fanstasy

Here comes the jesters, one, two three
It’s all part of my fantasy
I love the music and I love to see the crowd
Dancin’ In the aisles and singin’ out loud

Here comes the dancers one bye one
Your mama’s callin’ but you’re havin’ fun
You find you’re dancin’ on a number nine cloud
Put your hands together now and sing It out loud

Its all part of my rock ‘n roll fantasy
Its all part of my rock ‘n roll dream
Its all part of my rock ‘n roll fantasy
Its all part of my rock ‘n roll dream

Put up the spotlights one and all
And let the feelin’ get down to your soul
The music’s so loud you can hear the sound
Reachin’ for the sky and churn In up the ground

Its all part of my rock ‘n roll fantasy
Its all part of my rock ‘n roll dream
Its all part of my rock ‘n roll fantasy
Its all part of my rock ‘n roll dream

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

28 thoughts on “Bad Company – Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy”

  1. Love Bad Company and Rodgers as a singer. (He’s fallen on some hard health times lately.) Even once did a post on him. Not one of my favorites though. I’ll take Can’t Get Enough, Movin’ On or Bad Company (a fave of my wife’s) any time.

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    1. This is the first post I’ve done on them in years. The Doors info took me by surprise.
      i just read about his health…that was terrible with what he went through…amazing he can still talk let alone sing.

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      1. Yes, I mentioned the Doorsl thing in my post. But until you mentioned it, I’d completely forgotten. I’ll have to go back and read my own posts someday. Truthfully, as good a singer as Rodgers is, Morrison was about as replaceable as John Lennon.

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      2. I didn’t find out until last week…I totally missed that. Oh yea I agree. Singing wise…he would have done fine…but writing? Hell no…he was the opposite of Morrison in that respect.

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      3. Oh, I wasn’t even thinking about Morrisons writing. I was thinking of his mystique, his charisma, danger, and shamanastic aura. That was a large part of their appeal.

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      1. I ran down to Peaches records and bought ‘Desolation Angels’ post haste. Love the line, “you’re mama’s callin’ but you’re having fun” as it was autobiographical at the time….

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  6. A rock classic – ooh, and another for Randy to add to his current feature of songs about ‘rock and roll’! Hard to imagine Rodgers with the Doors, but it might have been quite good really.

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    1. It is a classic…I love the opening.
      I just found that out about The Doors…I was wondering why they never looked for another singer…or even considered one…well they did. It would have completely changed them….because I don’t see Rodgers writing lyrics like “Lets swim to the Moon”

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      2. Yea I can’t see Rodgers….and what a voice he has…but I couldn’t see him writing anything NEAR Jim Morrison…”Johnny was a schoolboy
        When he heard his first Beatles song
        “Love Me Do”, I think it was
        And from there, it didn’t take him long” would not work in the Doors.

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    1. Yes I did! I really like that Kinks song a lot. I do like this ok or I wouldn’t have posted it…but it’s the Doors connection that threw me off and made me want to post something just to get that in.

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    1. I’m so sorry Randy! I didn’t connect the dots until Dave told me. You know the only reason I did a Bad Company song? It was finding out that they wanted Rodgers after Morrision died…I just picked a song at random!

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      1. LOL no worries we are bound to have cross over and I kind of stepped on Dave’s toes a bit with my series. Having said that I get lot’s of inspiration from you and Dave and the people I follow.

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  10. This was very insightful , especially as i just got introduced to rock and roll music. My very first concert on rock and roll was louder than life concert last year. cant wait to attend the one for this year

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