Jock Rock 2000: How does the Jock series hold up today?

Jock Rock 2000 was Jock Rock in name only. Its track listing hardly resembled those of its predecessors from five and four years prior.

It also was not quite Jock Jams. If anything, it furthered the ESPN Jock series’ transition into more mainstream pop content. Instead of manufacturing the bulk of its songs’ popularity, it would relax and run household-name tunes that, in the ears of the powers-that-be, suited a sports setting.

To that point, by the time it hit the shelves in June 1999, two of Jock Rock 2000’s tracks had already appeared on the first installment of Now That’s What I Call Music! the previous fall. Six months later, a third one appeared on Now 3. The not-so-niche Barenaked Ladies and Puff Daddy and the seemingly ageless Elvis Costello are there as well.

With that said, in terms of lasting resonance in the public-address pipeline, Jock Rock 2000 is hit-and-miss. Some of its 15 songs have fostered a legacy of obscurity from the start. But five of them are on a list of 100-plus in-game staples collected by Game Ops Commander based on input from “industry professionals from the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and major colleges all across North America.”

Two of those Game Ops selections bookend the compilation’s lineup of full-length musical tracks, which we now review as follows.

“Firestarter”

Prodigy, whose lead singer Keith Flint died far too soon in March, firmly wedged its work into the sporting conscience with this turn-of-the-century tune-up tune. Together with the album’s “Let’s Get It On” directive by boxing referee Mills Lane, it is like a latter-day Michael Buffer/2 Unlimited collaboration. Not a bad touch for ESPN to open its fifth and final modern-heavy Jock album.

For what it’s worth, sportsannouncing.com also recommends this, along with one other Jock Rock 2000 tune, for the start of a power play or for when a rally is in order.

Peak of the pregame or otherwise, “Firestarter” still logs respectable action across the continent’s playlists. In many cases, though, it is strictly an instrumental edit.

“It’s All About the Benjamins”

The title expression comes up in sports-business chat, but the song itself has never been widespread at the games. One’s best bet of hearing Puff Daddy and the late Notorious B.I.G. over a PA system is via Jock Jams, Volume 4’s “Mo Money Mo Problems.”

“Flagpole Sitta”

Harvey Danger famously had misgivings about letting its work appear on a prominent compilation. The Ringer touched on this as it related to Now That’s What I Call Music last fall during the album’s 20th anniversary.

“Flagpole Sitta” found its way there anyway, and whether the group had the same qualms about Jock Rock 2000, it got there too. Today it resonates as a well-liked ’90s song in general, but not so much in sports settings. It comes up now and then, like at Chicago Blackhawks or Los Angeles Kings games, but only sporadically.

 

“Semi-Charmed Life”

A full decade and more after Third-Eye Blind peaked with this song, it was still playing in its entirety during intermissions at amateur hockey games. So there’s that.

“One Week”

The Barenaked Ladies in general have established themselves as contributors to athletic playlists. With its last of hesitation to dive into the fast-paced lyrics, “One Week” has proved especially hard to shake off. It can and will still hit without warning at abrupt, random stoppages of play.

Not a bad way for a 20-year-old former Billboard chart-topper to keep a measure of mojo after all this time.

“Ready to Go (Rock Version)”

The main instruments, the rhythm and the omission of the second bridge are the two chief distinctions between this spin on the Republica song and the original from Jock Jams, Volume 3.

Either one fulfills its purpose as one of the pre-game show’s finishing touches. That was true in the last quarter of the ’90s, and it is still the case today.

“Machinehead”

Evergreen and versatile are the two operative terms here. When Billboard featured this among its top 100 sports songs in 2017, it got Minnesota Twins and Timberwolves vice president of marketing and events Tim Miller to vouch for it.

Miller told the magazine, “If we only have 30 seconds to play something, we put LEDs on the board and then I play 'Machinehead' by Bush. It’s a driving song that says ‘Everybody make some noise,’ and everybody freaks out for 15 seconds, and then the batter walks into the box. We try to time it out where we can get enough people engaged, so a song like that is a classic.”

It certainly works for those brief stoppages. As Billboard’s own staff assesses, it is also common “Before the puck drops on the third period.” But in many places, it has also run in its entirety during pre-game warmups deep into this decade.

 

“The Rockafeller Skank”

Perhaps its presence on Now! 3 contributed to this song’s feel of a set-in-time 1998-99 hit. It had bountiful steam for those years and the first few that followed, only to seem dated afterward.

But while it may not be fodder for sports video-game soundtracks like it once was, it still surfaces at real games. It is also one of Jock Rock 2000’s five songs on the aforementioned Game Ops Commander list, even if it does not match the present-day force of the others.

“Oh Yeah, All Right”

Local H had already been together for a decade when it came out with this hit. Fresh off their 1998 studio album, Pack Up the Cats, it jumped to the Jock series, but did not make many ripples.

It is neither the most popular Local H song nor a well-remembered, let alone still well-played track on the public-address circuit. One exception is the Pittsburgh Pirates, who list it among their 28 run-scoring songs.

Then again, that means there are 27 other songs reserved for that situation. Do the math.

“Peppyrock”

The New York Rangers, whose home arena was the epicenter of the Jock series, still occasionally crank out this otherwise obscure BTK tune. Other than that, your best bet to hear it is likely through a re-screening of 1998’s Never Been Kissed.

 

“Block Rockin Beats”

The L.A. Kings cued up this Chemical Brothers tune on January 10 and March 7 of last season. Meanwhile, sportsannouncing.com expressly suggests it for punctuating a block in a volleyball game.

“Zoot Suit Riot”

Like Harvey Danger, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies earned a spot on the first U.S. Now album with this song. Yet that mainstream boost, combined with its Jock Rock 2000 invitation, could not give it a prominent position on playlists at professional games.

“Walk This Way”

The original version of this Aerosmith song was a contemporary of Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” and Low Rider’s “War,” two of Jock Rock, Volume 2’s “younger” tracks. Somehow or other, Aerosmith missed out on the series’ classic-rock/oldies-heavy phase.

But more than a decade after the original, the band enlisted Run-D.M.C. to collaborate on a cover. Another 13 years passed, and the new “Walk This Way” found its way to the contemporized Jock Rock.

And yet, to induce deeper head-scratching, the original Aerosmith-only cut of this song seems to have garnered more sound-system action. From elite scholastics to the higher-end pros, it typically pipes out while fans are still filing in and players have yet to emerge for warm-ups.

“Can’t Wait One Minute More”

It is the penultimate track of the entire Jock series, and a loop of its chorus would be perfect for the final minute of action. Specifically, when the home team is harboring a lead and play stops after the PA announcer makes the customary courtesy call.

Whether the lead is substantial or small, logically safe or brittle, the home crowd is at a point where they cannot wait to celebrate. Why this CIV song has never gained traction, let alone through this perfect designation, is impossible to justify.

“Pump It Up”

If you regularly watched Hockey Night In Canada in the wake of this compilation, you likely heard it in the background during telecasts from Toronto. The Air Canada Centre made it a staple in its rotation of random stoppage-of-play songs through at least the final year before the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

That should come as little surprise considering “Pump It Up”’ was on the 1997 Canadian compilation Contact 3! The Third Period. What is more impressive, though, is how the song was nearly two decades old by then, is more than twice as old now and still going strong compared to most of its Jock peers.

Unlike the Run D.M.C. partial cover of “Walk This Way,” “Pump It Up” is a genuine token throwback tune on Jock Rock 2000. Yet for those who did not know better, it was as timeless as the career of its artist, Elvis Costello.

More importantly, it had (and still has) the right rhythm and oomph for the canned-music pipeline. And it still makes it way to the occasional NHL playlist.

The last track overall after this song has Lane telling an imaginary prizefight loser, “Son, there’ll be other days.” Sounds like there have been plenty of those for “Pump It Up” on the PA system.

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.

Jock Rock, Volume 1: How does the Jock series hold up today?

ESPN’s Jock series lived fast, died young and left a solid, influential legacy. To those first two points, 2019 witnesses both the 25th anniversary of the series’ start and the 20-year mark of its ending.

From 1994 to 1999, ESPN produced at least one compilation of established or suggested sports sound-system staples. Concomitant with Jock Rock 2000, Fox Sports held the rights to Jock Jams, Volume 5 to close that hot streak in 1999.

For the next eight weeks, we will review all eight albums from that span.

Apart from 2001’s All Star Jock Jams and 2003’s Stadium Anthems, the niche genre subsequently faded from mainstream discography. But canned music at games was on the rise leading up to the icebreaker that was Jock Rock, Volume 1. We have long since learned it is not going anywhere as a practice.

Besides the steady turn of the tide from predominantly organ to primarily taped music, 1994’s New York sports scene created a timely atmosphere for this series. Madison Square Garden’s two chief tenants, the Rangers and Knicks, had each gone to their respective playoff finals. If not for an NHL lockout, the Blueshirts’ banner night would have happened in October, the same month Jock Rock, Volume 1 hit the shelves.

Come what may, early in his protracted tenure as MSG’s music director, Ray Castoldi was embracing the change in sports music. He was instrumental in the album’s production, selecting the borrowed tracks and contributing some organ interstitials.

Six weeks after the compilation’s release, he told the New York Times’ Douglas Martin, “If you catch the moment with the right music, it can pump up the energy level of the entire team. And the right music can be confusing and disorienting to opponents.”

Added Monica Lynch, president of the partnering record company Tommy Boy, in the same report, “It’s so simple, Neanderthal really. Basically, you’ve got a captive audience of people who really enjoy being whipped into a frenzy.”

The frenzies would only get more fevered and acquire a greater breadth of enabling tracks in the years ahead. Lynch’s word choice of “Neanderthal” is striking given how primitive Jock Rock, Volume 1 looks today.

Of course, that is inevitable, and it reflects the early evolution of public-address disc-jockeying at arenas. The first Jock Rock, like most high-profile sporting playlists of its time, was short and stocked with older songs. There are only a few surprising omissions, such as the Troggs’ “Wild Thing,” which this author can clearly recall hearing during multiple TV timeouts at one November 1994 Providence Bruins game.

Come what may, after a snippet of the late Rangers vocalist John Amirante’s Star-Spangled Banner, an abrupt buzzer signals it’s game time for Jock Rock. Here is what ensues, and how it has fit into the sporting scene, then and now.

 

 

“We Will Rock You”

You don’t even need the lyrics to kindle a crowd with this Queen classic. A half-minute of the stomp-stomp-clap rhythm can usually fill a brief break in the action on its own.

But with or without vocals, “We Will Rock You” has sustained its effect long after losing its regal position on sporting playlists. It rightly leads off the full-length tracks of Jock Rock, Volume 1 because it was an unavoidable staple in the early days of canned music.

Adding to its athletic connotations, the song was just coming off inclusion in 1992’s The Mighty Ducks and 1994’s D2. The latter’s release preceded Jock Rock by seven months. Also in October 1994, the IHL’s Chicago Wolves began operation, and would use “We Will Rock You” as their opening faceoff song for years to come.

With or without reinforced interest in the band via biopics, this song is still welcome in today’s crowded cue. The only difference a quarter-century later is a one-shift limit per game.

“Blitzkrieg Bop”

Another straightforward hook makes the rest of this Ramones song optional. With written cues on the big screen, “Hey! Ho! Let’s go!” can easily be customized as “Hey! Ho! Go (Team)!” with any monosyllabic squad name or shorthand version of the name. I.e. “Hey! Ho! Go Caps!” for the Washington Capitals.

As another testament to its staying power, “Blitzkrieg Bop” came back in 2003 as part of Stadium Anthems. In fact, ESPN’s one-off attempt at reviving its musical compilations recycled each of Jock Rock, Volume 1’s first three tracks. Although the third has long been ruined for reasons the next capsule will explain.

“Rock and Roll (Part 2)”

As a universal goal or victory song, this instrumental riff with a few “Hey!” chants in the chorus was right there with “We Will Rock You” in canned music’s primordial period. It sustained its widespread, straightforward status for more than a decade after the Jock series.

But after artist Gary Glitter’s conviction on horrendous sex crimes, this has no place at the stadium or arena today. Not in a canned cue, not on an organist or pep band’s music sheet, maybe not even in cover form. That is all there is to say at this point.

“Mony Mony”

The presence of “Bang the Drum All Day” proves that Jock Rock had no rule against featuring songs produced after 1980. With that in mind, it is strange that Billy Idol’s cover of “Mony Mony” does not make the cut.

Instead, the far less energized Tommy James and the Shondells original bats cleanup on the track list. Those who went to enough games at enough different venues in the latter half of the 1990s probably heard it at least once. But for self-explanatory reasons, both then and now, you are more likely to hear Idol’s take.

 

 

“Shotgun”

This Junior Walker & The All Stars tune is the only full-fledged Jock Rock, Volume 1 track without its own Wikipedia page. As another testament to its legacy, it saw far less (but some) PA action than its Jock cohabitants even when the series was hot.

“I Got You (I Feel Good)”

Those who arranged the track order on this album knew what they were doing when they made it follow “He Shoots, He Scores!” Using the tie-ins with Madison Square Garden, that interstitial simply consists of the Rangers’ distinctive goal horn.

Overall, the better-known Brown got less play than Glitter with this easy choice of response to a score or victory. With that said, there was a time leading up to this compilation’s release when some arenas still found ways to use it more than once per game.

In those days, it made ample sense especially because of the song’s frequent use in advertising. But today’s crowded, contemporized in-game presentation landscape has all but drowned Brown’s voice out. It should, however, get priority any time a team wants to have a Retro Night.

“Tequila”

This is an oldie young millennials likely first learned through another loose association with sports movies. In a rather revolting scene from The Sandlot, this quick instrumental tune (with only the title twice exclaimed as the lyrics) runs its rapid course. The 1993 film preceded this album by 18 months.

It is also worth noting that Kurt Browning, who figure skated for the host country at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, made this a staple in his performances. And that was when canned music was barely emerging as a practice for team sporting events.

With all that said, this 1958 Champs single is more than twice as old now as it was then. Most, if not all, mainstream arenas have long swept it the way of the Sandlot kids’ vomit.

 

“Dance to the Music”

Like “Shotgun,” this product of Sly and the Family Stone was always less prominent on playlists across the sporting universe. But it was not absent everywhere, and the titular command at the start was an easy to get kids grooving in the stands.

These days, the song’s best bet for in-game inclusion is a Jumbotron presentation of Shrek’s karaoke party.

“Born to the Wild”

Long synonymous with motorcycle adventures, Steppenwolf’s magnum opus sustained respectable legs in a sporting context. It has one of the more pulsating rhythms of all the Jock Rock, Volume 1 tracks and a catchy titular hook.

Beyond the original artist’s version, this song also has a place in the Mighty Ducks trilogy. The third and final movie, released in 1996, has the Eden Hall Academy pep band playing it during Dean Portman’s striptease.

“What I Like About You”

After a “Dee-fense!” interstitial, the Romantics set a solid tone for Side 2 of the cassette. A borderline ’80s song (it was released as a single in 1979, but the full album emerged in 1980), this is, not surprisingly, more energized than most of its Jock Rock teammates.

One can cue up this song’s beginning at a stoppage of play and keep it going for as long as the break lasts. Since 2007, the same has held true for a cover version by Poison.

 

 

“Shout”

For a variety of reasons, this Isley Brothers original is not as memorable as the Otis Day cover from Animal House. But those who needed to use what they had did just that when it came to playing “Shout” at a game.

“Takin’ Care of Business”

Depending on what a given ’90s kid was exposed to first, Jock Rock made one think of Office Depot or vice versa.

Given Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s Canadian roots, this song found a natural home alongside “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” and “Roll on Down the Highway” at the Great White North’s amateur hockey venues. In major junior, it is a long-standing standard for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.

Below the 49th parallel, it has enjoyed protracted associations with baseball’s New York Mets and basketball’s Charlotte Hornets. And in minor pro hockey, back when canned selections were sparse and someone wanted to be be different, it was not unheard for a DJ to use this as a goal song.

“Bang the Drum All Day”

Curiously known as an NFL touchdown song, particularly for the Green Bay Packers, this 1983 Todd Rundgren product is the baby track on Jock Rock, Volume 1.

More broadly, like the majority of its teammates, “Bang the Drum All Day” has been inevitably lost in an ever-rising crowd of sound-system tracks. But during its heyday late in the last century, it was one of the better fits. It had just enough oomph and speed to meet the mood, and still could during nostalgia-themed promotional events.

“Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”

This Steam song will hit its golden anniversary come November, which means it was approaching silver at the time of Jock Rock. And for nearly two decades before that, it already had athletic attributes thanks to Chicago White Sox organist Nancy Faust.

When all in-game music at professional venues still came from the organ, Faust slyly cued this up when the visitors made a pitching change. After the original version hit ESPN’s compilation, DJs played it for that occasion or for game misconducts to an opposing player. In addition, college fans are especially known to chant the hook, infusing “Hey (opponent’s name), goodbye!”in the waning moments of a sure victory.

Context counts, so for an otherwise boring-sounding track, partial credit is due. And for this somewhat short list of oldies to start the Jock series, this was an okay segueway to the final-buzzer interstitial and the Sportscenter theme.