Song of the Week: Helix - Rock You

If not maybe their biggerst, at least "Rock You" was the very first hit bu the Canadian hard rockers Helix. Song was ritten by Bob Halligan, Jr., and the first track from Helix's 1984 album Walkin' the Razor's Edge. It is best known for its call-and-response refrain of "Gimme an R, O, C, K." When published, it only reached number 32 in Canada on the Billboard AR chart on August 4, 1984. Next month it was number 101.

Songwriter Bob Halligan offered the band "Rock You" while they were looking for extra material for Walkin' the Razor's Edge in 1984. It was road tested in concert, played for the first time at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. Helix vocalist Brian Vollmer claims that he wrote a new verse for the song but was denied a co-writing credit.

Later a new acoustic studio version was recorded and released in 2010 on the band's Smash Hits...Unplugged! CD. The chorus of "Rock You" has lent itself to Vollmer's autobiography, Gimme An R! (price on the amazon is $68.99!!!, as well as many Helix T-shirts and merchandise.



The music video for "Rock You", filmed in a quarry in Kitchener, Ontario, is perhaps best known for the image of guitar player Brent Doerner emerging from the water to play his guitar solo. The video is available on the Helix DVD S.E.X. Rated.