Rock On by Michael Damian

About

Originally a top 5 hit for David Essex in the US and the UK in 1973, Michael Damian’s 1989 cover of “Rock On” topped the US pop chart and was also successful in Germany and New Zealand. Damian had recorded it in April of 1988, but it sat unused for nine months because several record labels turned it down. It wasn’t until his older brothers, who were asked to write music for the then-upcoming Corey Haim/Corey Feldman film Dream A Little Dream, dug a cassette of the song out of a closet and played it for director Mark Rocco. After hearing Rocco said, “This is cool. We’re going to put this in the movie”. After the song’s rise to #1 in the US, Essex said he was “flattered that so many people still relate to the song. Michael Damien’s version is a lot more poppy than the way I originally recorded it. But … I liked the way he did the song”. Damian’s cover did not chart in the UK, but in a strange coincidence Essex’s own 1989 remake of “Rock On” did briefly chart in the UK three months before Damian hit #1 in the US with his version.