Rockin' Robin

In June 1958, Class Records released a 45 RPM single that would become one of the most joyful rock and roll records of the decade. Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin" paired his exuberant vocal with a piano riff that sounded like a bird hopping from branch to branch. The song was written by Leon René under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas, and Day recorded it with a small group that included guitarist René Hall and saxophonist Plas Johnson. The result was a track that felt like a backyard party, call-and-response backing vocals, a honking sax solo, and lyrics about a bird who "rocks in the treetop all day long."

"Rockin' Robin" climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a week at No. 1 on the R&B Best Sellers chart. It sold over a million copies worldwide by 1960, though it never received an official RIAA certification at the time. Day, born Robert James Byrd in 1930, had been a member of The Hollywood Flames before going solo, and this song became his signature. The track's influence spread far beyond its initial release, it was covered by numerous artists, including The Jackson 5's Michael Jackson, whose 1972 version on the album Got to Be There reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and earned a Gold certification. In 2008, the original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone later ranked it No. 452 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[edit]