Rock and Roll Is Dead

"Rock and Roll Is Dead" is the first single released from the 1995 Lenny Kravitz album Circus. It reached the top 20 in Canada, Finland, New Zealand, and Spain, but it underperformed in the United States, peaking at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Not to be confused with Rock & Roll Is Dead or Rock Is Dead.
"Rock and Roll Is Dead"
Single by Lenny Kravitz
from the album Circus
B-side
  • "Confused"
  • "Another Life"
  • "Is It Me, Is It You?"
ReleasedJuly 26, 1995
GenreHard rock
Length3:24
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Lenny Kravitz
Producer(s)Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz singles chronology
"Is There Any Love in Your Heart"
(1994)		 "Rock and Roll Is Dead"
(1995)		 "Can't Get You Off My Mind"
(1995)

Song information

"Rock and Roll Is Dead" is an uptempo rock song.

Kravitz on the meaning of "Rock and Roll Is Dead":

That song was completely misunderstood. A lot of people don't take [the song] that one layer deeper--they hear the title and chorus and take it at face value. They think I'm being serious when actually I'm a very big clown. But you have to know me to see that. I'm constantly cracking up and cracking everybody else around me up. People see my photos and think I labor over my image and I'm this cool, brooding artist. But I'm just having fun with it.

The same year that "Rock and Roll Is Dead" was released, Prince released a B-side called "Rock 'N' Roll Is Alive (And It Lives in Minneapolis)" for the single "Gold" from The Gold Experience album.

The song was covered by Mitsuki Aira on her debut album Copy.

Following its release, other artists have released songs of similar titles criticizing the demise of specific musical genres led by reckless artists, namely Marilyn Manson's 1999 "Rock Is Dead" and Nas' 2006 album and single Hip Hop Is Dead.

However, a song with same title in Russian ("Рок-н-ролл мёртв") was issued on 1982 album Radio Africa by Aquarium.

Chart performance

The song reached number 75 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. It was a top 10 hit in Finland, New Zealand and Spain, reaching numbers 10, eight, and five, respectively. In Canada, the song reached number 16. Elsewhere, the song reached the top 40 in Australia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

Music video

The music video for "Rock and Roll Is Dead" was storyboarded by Andrew Trovaioli and directed by Ruven Afanador. The video shows Kravitz performing the song with his band, as well as Kravitz with visual artistic related backgrounds.

Track listing
  1. "Rock and Roll Is Dead" – 3:22
  2. "Another Life" – 3:59
  3. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" (Live performance) – 4:00
  • Another version
  1. "Rock and Roll Is Dead" – 3:22
  2. "Another Life" – 3:59
  3. "Confused" – 6:48
  4. "Is It Me, Is It You?" – 3:51

Awards

Kravitz was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for this song in 1996, becoming Kravitz's third nomination in the mentioned category.

Charts
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[1] 26
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[2] 16
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[3] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[4] 10
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[5] 18
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] 40
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 8
Scotland (OCC)[8] 23
Spain (AFYVE)[9] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 24
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 22
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 75
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[13] 10
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[14] 4

References
  1. "Australian-charts.com – Lenny Kravitz – Rock and Roll Is Dead". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  2. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2781." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  3. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 8530." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  4. "Lenny Kravitz: Rock and Roll Is Dead" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  5. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (30.9. '95 – 6.10. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). September 30, 1995. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lenny Kravitz – Rock and Roll Is Dead" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  7. "Charts.nz – Lenny Kravitz – Rock and Roll Is Dead". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  8. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  9. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  10. "Swisscharts.com – Lenny Kravitz – Rock and Roll Is Dead". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  12. "Lenny Kravitz Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  13. "Lenny Kravitz Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  14. "Lenny Kravitz Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
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