Up on the Roof (song)

"Up on the Roof"
Side A of the US single
Single by The Drifters
from the album Our Biggest Hits
B-side	"Another Night with the Boys"
Released	September 17, 1962
Genre	R&B soul pop
Length	2:33
Label	Atlantic Records
Songwriter(s)	Gerry Goffin and Carole King
Producer(s)	Leiber and Stoller
The Drifters singles chronology
"Sometimes I Wonder" (1962) "Up on the Roof" (1962) "On Broadway" (1963)

James Taylor and Carole King perform "Up on the Roof" together in 2010 during their Troubadour Reunion Tour.

"Up on the Roof" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded in 1962 by The Drifters. Released late that year, the disc became a major hit in early 1963, reaching number 5 on the U.S. pop singles chart and number 4 on the U.S. R&B singles chart. In the UK it was a top-ten success for singer Kenny Lynch, whose version was also released in 1962.

Content

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 ...

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947–1974.

• Rudy Lewis – lead vocals
• Tommy Evans, Gene Pearson, Charlie Thomas – backing vocals
• Don Arnone, Bob Bushnell, Al Casamenti – guitars
• Ernie Hayes, Carole King – keyboards
• George Duvivier – bass
• Gary Chester – drums
• George Devens, Bobby Rosengarden – percussion
• Jimmy Nottingham, Jimmy Sedler – trumpets
• Jimmy Cleveland, Frank Sarraco – trombones
• Bert Keyes, Garry Sherman – arrangements

Background

Gerry Goffin cited "Up on the Roof" as his all-time favorite of the lyrics he had written. Carole King suggested that he write lyrics for the tune, which had occurred to her while she was out driving; with King suggesting "My Secret Place" as the title, Goffin kept King's suggested focus of a haven, modifying it with his enthusiasm for the movie musical West Side Story, which contained several scenes set on the rooftops of Upper West Side tenements.

Reception and legacy

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."

The melodic title riff was used in the Drifters version of "Under the Boardwalk", which is heard before the chorus of the song.

In April 2010, The Drifters' "Up on the Roof" was named number 114 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.

Other recordings

In the UK the Drifters' version of "Up on the Roof" failed to reach the Top 50, being surpassed by two British cover versions, sung by, respectively, Julie Grant and Kenny Lynch. The Kenny Lynch version, which largely replicated the Drifters' original, was the more successful, reaching number 10 in the UK. The Julie Grant version, which reached number 33 in the UK, reinvented the song as a Merseybeat number; its producer Tony Hatch would later be inspired to write Petula Clark's hit "Downtown", which was originally envisioned as being in the style of the Drifters, with whom Hatch hoped to place it.

Laura Nyro recorded "Up on the Roof" for her 1970 album Christmas and the Beads of Sweat and a single, affording Nyro her sole Hot 100 appearance with a number 92 peak. Nyro's version slows down the song's tempo and also omits the lyrics sung to the first of the original's three bridge sections. Also in 1970, Carole King herself recorded "Up on the Roof" for her solo recording debut Writer, from which it was issued as a single.

James Taylor, who had played guitar on Carole King's cover of "Up on the Roof" and had duetted it with her at her Carnegie Hall concert of June 18, 1971, remade "Up on the Roof" for his 1979 album release Flag. Cash Box said that the song "is perfectly suited to Taylor's tender tenor." Issued as the album's lead single, Taylor's version of "Up on the Roof" peaked at number 28 in July 1979. Rearranged around Taylor's acoustic guitar playing and vocal accents and interjections, his version of "Up on the Roof" became a concert staple, often with a star-lit urban dreamscape presented behind the stage halfway through the number as his band played unison ascending notes to echo the song's theme.

"Up on the Roof" had its most successful UK incarnation via a 1995 remake by Robson & Jerome released as a double A-side coupled with their remake of "I Believe." Its arrangement hewed close to The Drifters' original; the accompanying music video showed the duo cavorting atop a midtown Manhattan skyscraper. The single reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and has sold 890,000 copies in the UK. In addition, "I Believe"/ "Up on the Roof" reached number 3 in Ireland and number 45 in the Netherlands.

"Up on the Roof" has also been recorded by many other artists including Anita Harris (album Cuddly Toy / 1969), Kenny Rankin (album Family / 1969), Dawn (album Candida / 1970), the Lettermen (album Reflections/ 1970), Ike and Tina Turner (album Let Me Touch Your Mind / 1973), the Grass Roots (album The Grass Roots / 1975), Viola Wills (album If You Could Read My Mind / 1980), the Nylons (album The Nylons / 1983), the Cover Girls (album We Can't Go Wrong / 1989), Neil Diamond (album Up On The Roof: Songs From The Brill Building / 1993), Frank Ifield, and Billy Joe Royal.