Tag: Rollin’ On

They have become one of my favorite 60s rock bands. The biggest reason is their lead singer + guitarist…Steve Marriott.

If the Small Faces would have had a good or even decent manager they might have had a longer career and be more remembered today. They had a couple of great songwriters, Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. A superb drummer with Kenney Jones and keyboard player Ian McLagan

In my opinion, they had the best singer of any band at that time with Marriott. Other singers like Paul Rodgers and Robert Plant have said they both owed a debt to Marriott. The pure energy he gave off live is incredible. If I could build a rock band from scratch with anyone I wanted…Steve Marriott would be my singer…plus he was a great guitarist. Keith Richards wanted him to replace Mick Taylor when he left the Stones.

I always thought America had a skewed view of Small Faces. The only two songs played in America were Lazy Sunday and Itchycoo Park. One of them sounds like a music hall song and the other psychedelic. I like them but they were a driving band with a harder edge than either of those songs. Rollin’ Over is not their best song but I always have liked it. It was the B-Side to Lazy Sunday.

This song was off their biggest album Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. It’s a rocking song that reminds me of what was to come in Marriott’s Humble Pie and the later Faces. It was written by Marriott and Lane as was most of their songs. Listen to this song and All or Nothing and see the difference between the two hits in America.

The album peaked at #1 in the UK and #159 on the Billboard 100. The reason they didn’t hit more in America? Their manager Don Arden would not pay for them to tour here per Kenney Jones. During their peak in the UK, Arden paid the band just £20 a week (around $50 at that time) plus a clothing allowance. Kenney Jones said they have just recently received some of the royalties that were stolen from them by Arden.

Rollin’ Over

Goodbye sunshine, I’m on my way
I’ll be long time gone by the break of day
Tell everyone that I’m gonna find it
There ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me

Rollin’ over
Rollin’ over (save all your lovin’ ’til I get home)
Rollin’ over (ooh, the sweetest lovin’ sunshine that I’ve ever known)
Tell everybody I’m gonna find it
There ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me

Rollin’ over, shak-do-way
Wah-wah-doo, yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over)
Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)
Yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over)
Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)
Yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over and over)
Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)
Yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over)
Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)
Yeah-yeah-yeah
Shak-do-way