October Rocktober
by John Riggio
Picture a bunch of young boys dressed in T-shirts, leather jackets, and blue jeans. They emerge on stage sporting sunglasses and a "too cool" attitude. On their arms are their lady friends (who are wearing pink scarves and chewing bubble gum obnoxiously). "October Rocktober" is a modern rock piece with a '50s motif. You can just about hear the rumble of the motorcycles underneath the verses.
The song starts with just the guys singing and becomes a call and response between the guys and girls at measure 17. It becomes unison for the chorus at measure 25, but has optional divisis at the end of each chorus as well as the end of the piece. Some of the rhythms may be too challenging for very young singers. You will have to decide. Fortunately, there is also a good bit of repetition which should aid you in teaching the song.
Please keep in mind - this song is meant to be silly, so exaggerating the attitudes is bound to get some laughs from your audience. We should also remind you to use the recording with this piece. The tracks really make it.
Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.