Up On The Roof - Music

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Up on the Roof

Carole-King - Writer

Up On The Roof Is A Song Written By Gerry Goffin And Carole King And Recorded In 1962 By The Drifters. Released At The Tail End Of That Year The Song Became A Big Hit Reaching #5 On The U.S. Pop Singles Chart And #4 On The U.S. R&B Singles Chart. In Addition To The Hit Appeal Of The "second Drifters" Lineup Up On The Roof Epitomized The Urban Romantic Dream As Presented By New York City Brill Building Writers When This Old World Starts Getting Me Down And People Are Just Too Much For Me To Face—
I Climb Way Up To The Top Of The Stairs
And All My Cares Just Drift Right Into Space... The 1980 Rolling Stone Illustrated History Of Rock & Roll Described Up On The Roof As "in Every Way A Remarkable Pop Song For 1962 " And In Particular Said Of The Above Lyric "From The Internal Rhyme Of 'stairs' And 'cares' To The Image Of Ascending From The Street To The Stars By Way Of An Apartment Staircase It's First-Rate Sophisticated Writing." In 2004 The Drifters' Version Was Named #113 On Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time List. It Is One Of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll. The Drifters' Version Was Not A Hit In The United Kingdom However A Recording By English Variety Show Entertainer Kenny Lynch Released At Almost The Same Time Was Hitting #10 On The UK Singles Chart. Leeds Singer Julie Grant Followed It With Another Rendition Posting Modestly On The UK Singles Chart At #33 In 1963. Goffin-King Babysitter And Song Recipient Little Eva Included It As A Track On Her Album Llll-Little Eva! The Complete Dimension Recordings In Late 1962. The Song Has Been Recorded By Other Artists Numerous Times Since Including By The Cryan' Shames 1968 A Very Minor Hit At #85 On The U.S. Pop Singles Chart Laura Nyro On Christmas And The Beads Of Sweat 1970 An Even More Minor Hit At #92 On The U.S. Pop Singles Chart But Nonetheless Nyro's Only Appearance There Carole King Herself On The 1970 Album Writer Tony Orlando And Dawn On Several 1970s Albums James Taylor On Flag 1979 Neil Diamond On The Appropriately Titled Up On The Roof Songs From The Brill Building 1993 Kenny Rankin On His Early Family Album Billy Joe Royal Peter Cincotti Robson And Jerome And Tuck & Patti A Gift Of Love . Of These The Best Known In The U.S. Is Taylor's It Was Released As A Single Charting Modestly Into The Top 30 Of The U.S. Pop Singles Chart In 1979. Rearranged Around Taylor's Trademark Acoustic Guitar Playing And Vocal Accents And Interjections It Became A Concert Staple Of His Often With A Starlit Urban Dreamscape Presented Behind The Stage Halfway Through The Number As His Band Played Unison Ascending Notes To Echo The Song's Theme. It Was Included On His 1993 LIVE Album And His 2000 Greatest Hits Volume 2 Compilation And Was Played At The Concert For New York City Following The September 11 2001 Terrorist Attacks Where He Introduced It As Representing His And The Writers' Positive Feelings For The City. The Best Known Of These In The UK Is That Of Robson And Jerome Recorded In 1995 And Released As A Double A Side Along With Their Version Of I Believe It Reached Number One On The UK Singles Chart. Its Arrangement Hewed Close To The Drifters' Version As Did The Accompanying Music Video Which Showed The Duo Cavorting Atop A Midtown Manhattan Skyscraper In A Subtle Nod To The Original "music Video". Selected Versions Of This Song Up On The Roof - The Drifters 1962 Up On The Roof - Carole King 1970 YouTube Video Up On The Roof - Laura Nyro 1970 Up On The Roof - James Taylor 1979 Up On The Roof - Neil Diamond 1993