"God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You" is a song written by Russ Ballard and covered by Petra. The song was included in Petra's second album, Come and Join Us. The band recorded it again in 1985 for their seventh album, Beat the System. It was also included in the 40th Anniversary album released in 2013.
Song history[]
"God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You" was originally written and composed by Russ Ballard for his band, Argent. The band released it first in their 1973 album, In Deep. Petra released it in 1977 as part of their second album, Come and Join Us. There's also a brief reprise of the song featured as the last song in the album.
Although Ballard is credited, Petra's version features completely different verses with a more spiritual angle than the Argent version. Wes Yoder, president of Ambassador Artist Agency said about the song: "It was the boldest statement anyone in Christian music had made until that time ... This was a radical notion, especially in the minds of the leaders of conservative churches."
Petra recorded the song again in 1985 for their seventh album, Beat the System. An abridged version of the song was also part of Petra's live set featured in the album Captured in Time and Space, which was released in 1986. It features only the chorus and the closing part of the song, without any of the verses. As opposed to the full versions of the song, this one lasts barely over a minute.
The song was further popularized in 1991 when the band KISS released a remake of it titled "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II". Although this version also featured several new verses, it was lyrically closer to Argent's original version than Petra's.
Lyrics[]
Words and music by Russ Ballard
You can learn to dance
Or you can be a square
You can let the music take you anywhere
But where will you be when the music's gone
You can learn to sing
You can play guitar
You can learn to rock
You can be a star
But where will you be when the music's gone
God gave rock and roll to you
Gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone
If you love the sound
Then don't forget the source
You can turn around
You can change your course
'Cause it's never too late to change your mind
You can love the rock
And let Him free your soul
Or you can let the old man take his toll
It's never too late to change your mind
Credits[]
1977 version[]
- Greg X. Volz - lead vocals
- Greg Hough - Vocals, guitars
- Bob Hartman - Vocals, guitars
- John DeGroff - Bass
- Bill Glover - Drums
1985 version[]
- Greg X. Volz – Lead vocals, vocal arrangements
- Bob Hartman – Lead guitars, background vocals
- Mark Kelly – Background vocals
- Carl Marsh – Arrangements, Fairlight synthesizer programming