Saturday Night (Bay City Rollers song)

"Saturday Night" is a song recorded by the Scottish pop rock band Bay City Rollers. It was written and produced by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. The tune is an upbeat rock number with a memorable hook, in which the word "Saturday" is spelled out in a rhythmic, enthusiastic chant.

"Saturday Night"
Dutch single of 1974 re-recording
Single by Bay City Rollers
from the album Rollin'
B-side"Marlena"
Released29 June 1973 (UK)[1]
August 1975 (US)[2]
Recorded1973
GenreBubblegum, glam rock, rock n roll[3]
Length2:56
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
Producer(s)Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
Bay City Rollers singles chronology
"Love Me Like I Love You"
(1975)		 "Saturday Night"
(1973)		 "Money Honey"
(1976)
Music video
"Saturday Night" (TopPop, 1976) on YouTube

The original version of the song was recorded and released in the UK in 1973 but did not hit the charts. The original version was sung by Nobby Clark. At the end of 1975, "Saturday Night" was released in the US and hit the number-one spot in January 1976. It was the first Billboard #1 of the US Bicentennial year. The song had been re-recorded for the Rollers' 1974 UK album Rollin' with lead vocals by Les McKeown, Nobby's replacement. The single also reached number one on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart listing on 10 January 1976.[4] This is the band's sole No. 1 hit in the United States.

In 2019, the song was used in Netflix's Umbrella Academy series.

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13] Gold 75,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Students at the Lochiel, Glenwood, and South Carvolth Schools in Canada covered the song in 1976. This rendition later appeared on The Langley Schools Music Project album, Innocence & Despair.

The song was covered by English rock band Ned's Atomic Dustbin for the Mike Myers 1993 romantic comedy film So I Married an Axe Murderer. The song also appears on the soundtrack album.

Japanese punk rock band Hi-Standard released a fast-paced cover of the song on their 1996 debut album Growing Up.

Two covers have been aired as the opening theme song for the pre-game show of Hockey Night in Canada: Canadian hard rock band Monster Truck covered first for the 2017–2018 season[15] while Jane's Party and Shawnee Kish covered the second for the 2021-2022 season.[16]

Sampling

The 'Hey! Ho! Let's Go' chant in "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones was, according to Tommy Ramone, inspired by "Saturday Night".[17]

Down With Webster's "Saturday Night" and Simple Plan's "Saturday" interpolate the opening "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night" chant.[18][19]

Credits and personnel
  • Production – Bill Martin & Phil Coulter (track A), Phil Wainman (track B)

References
  1. "Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night".
  2. "Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night".
  3. Read, Maddy (August 22, 2021). "Bubblegum pop: 'Commercialized, computerized and easy to sing to'". The Crimson White. Retrieved 2023-03-15. Tracks that cemented their places in history as a part of the first wave of bubblegum pop include "Saturday Night" by Bay City Rollers, "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies and "Indian Lake" by the Cowsills.
  4. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6474a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  6. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 14, 1976" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  7. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  8. "Bay City Rollers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Bay City Rollers"
  10. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  12. Billboard 25 December 1976: TIA-6
  13. "Canadian single certifications – Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  14. "American single certifications – Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  15. "Monster Truck Release Bay City Rollers' Cover of 'Saturday Night'; Hear the Truck throughout the 2017-2018 Hockey Night In Canada Season". 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  16. @ListenHarderPR (February 25, 2022). "Toronto pop-rock quartet @JanesPartyBand, in collaboration with Shawnee Kish, are the latest rocking band to cover the theme song for Hockey Night In Canada" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. "The Story Behind The Song: Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones". 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  18. "Single Review: Saturday // Simple Plan". 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  19. "Down With Webster rocks Hockey Tonight". CBC. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
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