Jock Rock, Volume 2: How does the Jock series hold up today?

Jock Rock, Volume 2 hit the shelves in October 1995, 11 weeks after July’s Jock Jams, Volume 1. The timing of each all but presaged which half of ESPN’s Jock series was hot and which was fizzling and falling with the leaves.

The new-and-improved Jock Jams would spawn four more branches of its brand on the tree. Each of those sequels came out in succeeding calendar years through 1999. By that point, Jock Rock re-emerged from a four-year absence with a more contemporary compilation.

This is not to say JRV2 was a waste. It just had the misfortune of closing out the shorter-lived side of the experiment. The majority of its tracks still pervaded PA systems at sporting events to one extent or another for the rest of the 1990s.

A few songs from the album still have a respectable position in that regard today. Each of the first three that appear in full or in part were among Billboard’s top 100 all-time sports songs in 2017.

The second Jock Rock also started a custom that carried on for the rest of the Jock series. Whereas each of the first volumes had organs, cheerleaders and crowd noise as interstitials, each Jock Rock and Jock Jams sequel also had the voices of popular ESPN (or, for JJV5, Fox Sports) personalities. In this case, it was Dan Patrick touting the compilation as “Simply en fuego” and Chris Berman calling a touchdown rush.

If nothing else, Jock Rock, Volume 2 valiantly fought to sustain its flame all the way to its end. Here is how every track credited to a recording artist fared in the short or long run as a game-day anthem.

“Sirius”

Just about everyone wanted to be like the Bulls in the ’90s. The easiest way to emulate Chicago’s NBA dynasty was to play the Alan Parsons Project’s repetitive riff while introducing one’s starting lineup.

Not all, but plenty of teams in all sports at all levels did just that. Even if it is not for every night, the practice still lingers at times, particularly during full-roster introductions on opening day.

Though no longer the model for success, the epicenter of the tradition has understandably held on to it. After all, how else have this century’s Bulls been able to establish any common threads with their MJ-led forebears?

Meanwhile, Billboard declares “Sirius” “Still probably the GOAT player introduction song.”

 

 

“Rock and Roll All Nite”

After Patrick’s catchphrase and an abbreviated “Final Countdown” from an uncredited Europe, we go to this pump-up contribution from Kiss. (Both “The Final Countdown” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” cracked Billboard’s sports-specific 100.)

At the time of the compilation, “Rock and Roll All Nite” was one of the younger Jock Rock tunes. It was a sprightly 20 years of age, and came from a still-active band. Add its tempo and lyrical message, and you had an option for those who wanted a game-starting alternative to “We Will Rock You” or “Get Ready for This.”

The song’s place in sports was prominently embedded for the balance of the decade. So much so that the NHL altered the bridge’s lyrics for a Stanley Cup playoff ad campaign. “You drive us wild, we’ll drive you crazy” became “We’ll drive you wild, you’ll get Cup crazy.”

Whether it needed/wanted to or not, Kiss gave its song a boost of athletic association early in this century, playing it at the Salt Lake Olympics closing ceremonies. And as the group prepares to walk into the sunset this year, its all-round nostalgic value is bound to spike.

 

It still does not sound out of place at a game or party. The band even played it live at the Kings-Ducks Dodger Stadium game in 2014.

“Respect”

The late Queen of Soul found her way to the ESPN production with one of her most recognizable songs. It never not got much arena airplay, but those who frequented sporting events in the wake of JRV2 stood a decent chance of hearing it once or twice. Still, compared to most of its Jock series peers, “Respect” has retained prevailing connotations unrelated to sports.

“Wooly Bully”

Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs had produced one of the regal tunes of 1965. With that said, three decades had passed by the time this resurfaced via Jock Rock.

If the group was to be featured on the oldies-oriented sector of the series, this was a more sensible pick than the softer, slower-paced “Li’l Red Riding Hood.” Nevertheless, it never seared on modern PA-system playlists the way it did in his heyday on Billboard. The best thing it ever had going for it was being a de facto theme song for NHL blueliner Jason Woolley, who retired in 2007.

“Hold On! I’m Comin’”

Where visiting pitching changes in baseball had “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” home swaps had this. The titular hook could put a light spin on a situation that has a reliever, aka fireman, racing out of the bullpen.

Other than that, Sam & Dave did not have much of a place in a quickly crowding stadium DJ’s collection. With the passage of time, fresher songs suiting the specialized situation keep pouring in, vying for a turn.

“Low Rider”

Released the same year as “Rock and Roll All Nite,” War’s song about a car did have a life as a short break-in-the-action filler for a time. Beyond that, its unremarkable tempo relegated it to sporting obscurity around the turn of the century.

“Great Balls of Fire”

After a short Ray Castoldi rendition of “The Addams Family Theme,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ magnum opus kicks in.

The unmistakable musical and lyrical opening can explain why “Great Balls of Fire” defied its age (it came out in 1957) and established a more prominent playlist position. In the wake of the compilation, if you heard no other JJV2 tracks in person at a game or in the background during a telecast, you likely heard this one.

In some venues, particularly in the minor leagues, it still creeps out of the morgue on occasion. Much earlier in this century, it was used at a Triple-A ballgame for an eye-rollingly easy finish-the-lyrics contest.

“Get Ready”

A Rare Earth cover released in 1970, this marks the midway point of the album. But before it got lost in the abyss of modern-music domination, “Get Ready” was most sensible as an early pregame tune. With its straightforward directive (“Get ready, ’cause here I come”), it was a decent warm-up for when fans were waiting for players to emerge and for Michael Buffer to do his thing.

“I Want You Back”

A decade after his death, Michael Jackson leaves Americans collectively ambivalent about his legacy. Fairly or unfairly, that stretches back to his day as the baby lead singer of the Jackson 5.

Going on 50 years of age this year, “I Want You Back” was always another middling Jock Rock song in terms of sports play. It arguably saw less action in those settings than fellow Jackson 5 hit, “ABC,” which never appeared in ESPN’s series.

If and when anyone was or is comfortable using Jackson’s output, his adulthood solo hits have been the way to go. For example, “Beat It” made/makes a sound choice for visiting penalties or ejections. Artist’s legacy aside, that has a more crowd-riling tempo than “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” could ever pray for.

“Nobody but Me”

The Isley Brothers, who saw “Shout” land on Volume 1, do come back for the second Jock Rock. But not through this song, for a Human Beinz cover made the cut instead, following Berman’s signature touchdown call.

Intentionally or not, that placement served up a not-so-subtle hint as to when this song worked best. When someone is feeling too old school for “Unbelievable” of Jock Jams fame, this hits the spot for a productive, eye-pleasing play.

“Cool Jerk”

Named after and referencing a short-lived popular dance move of its time in the mid-1960s, this would have appealed to sports fans of a certain age easily. It had that much going for it alone in the wake of JRV2, even if it could not compete with the energizing effortlessness of “YMCA” or “Gonna Make You Sweat.”

But other entertainment crossovers shortly before and shortly after ESPN’s compilation gave the Capitols song extra recognition. Frank McCallister sang it during a silver-screen shower in 1992, and Cool Whip parodied it in TV ads.

If only for a while, that helped “Cool Jerk” as another middle-tier choice to perk up ticketholders who were there for the experience as much as the game, if not more so.

“Devil With The Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly”

A Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels cover of a Li’l Richard creation, this has not even garnered much play in Detroit. (This author would know, having spent some of his boyhood in Michigan and heard an agonizing plethora of local oldies that were never fit for a sporting event.)

If only someone had done a more energetic cover, and if only that had caught a DJ’s attention during former Team USA goaltender Molly Schaus’ hockey career.

“Twist & Shout”

Following Ryder, the last interstitial of the first two Jock Rock albums pertains to bowling. That snippet then gives way to this Isley Brothers song, all but signaling this portion of the Jock series’ surrender. (And Volume 2 was off to such a strong start, as Billboard would surely concur.)

“Twist & Shout” did fill a few stoppages of play when the ’90s were still alive, but not much and not for long.

“Louie Louie”

Animal House had long given this old college-party anthem its second wind before it found its way to arenas. Multiple appearances on The Simpsons could not have hurt the Kingsmen’s cause either.

But these days, the college and athletic connotations of “Louie Louie” are mostly confined to pep-band music sheets. That is still more than most of the song’s JJV2 teammates can boast.

 

“We Are the Champions”

Given its origin as a joint track with “We Will Rock You” on Queen’s News of the World, this gives decent symmetry to Jock Rock’s old identity. While the track listing does not wind down in champion-like fashion, one would be remiss to exclude this song.

At the time of Jock Rock, it was already a long-established staple for trophy presentations. In addition, it was coming off theme-song status at the U.S.-hosted 1994 Men’s World Cup plus the closing credits of two Mighty Ducks movies.

And where else do you put a song about a completed victory besides the ending? If the original Jock Rock felt like taking a ceremonious lap and a bow before ceding everything to Jock Jams, that was its right.

And it is not as if this song has vanished from victory parties at any point since. The latest NBA, Stanley Cup and World Series champions have all blared it.