"Caroline"
Single by Status Quo
from the album Hello!
B-side"Joanne"
Released31 August 1973 (1973-08-31)
Genre
Length3:43
LabelVertigo
Songwriter(s)Francis Rossi, Bob Young
Producer(s)Status Quo
Status Quo singles chronology
"Gerdundula"
(1973)		 "Caroline"
(1973)		 "Break the Rules"
(1974)
Official audio
"Caroline" on YouTube
Status Quo singles chronology
"She Don't Fool Me"
(1982)		 "Caroline (live)"
(1982)		 "Ol' Rag Blues"
(1983)

"Caroline" is a single released by the British rock band Status Quo in 1973. It was included on the band's 1973 album Hello![3]

Background and release

The song was written by band leader Francis Rossi and roadie / harmonica player Bob Young on a table napkin in the dining room of a hotel in Perranporth, Cornwall, in 1971. A demo was cut with Rossi playing guitar and bass, with Terry Williams on drums. The group changed the arrangement from a slow blues song, doubling the tempo, and recorded it mostly live using their stage gear and amplifiers.[4] On the single release, the song fades out, while the album version is about thirty seconds longer and has a conclusive ending.

The song became one of the opening numbers in Quo's live setlist for over 25 years.[4] It was the second number played at their Live Aid gig in 1985[5] and it inspired Apollo 440's 1999 single "Stop the Rock".[6]

The song was reprised, in 2014, for the band's thirty-first studio album Aquostic (Stripped Bare). It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance of the album at London's Roundhouse on 22 October, the concert being recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series.[7][8]

Singles

  • 1973: "Caroline" (Rossi/Young) (3.43) / "Joanne" (Lancaster) (4.06) 45 rpm Vinyl 7", Vertigo / 6059 085 Germany, United Kingdom
  • 1985: "Caroline" / "Down Down" 45 rpm Vinyl 7", Old Gold / OG 9566 United Kingdom

Album tracks

  • 1973, on the vinyl album Hello! - track 5, 4:16.[3]
  • 2014, on the album Aquostic (Stripped Bare), track 8, 3:13 (acoustic version)
  • 2015, on the CD album Hello!, CD1, track 5, 4:16; the 2015 re-issue bonus disc has four different versions: original demo fast, original demo slow, mono version and stereo version.

Charts

Original Release

Chart (1973) Peak
position
Australian Singles (Kent Music Report)[9] 31
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 49
French Singles (SNEP)[11] 63
Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 36
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 11
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 5

Live Version

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 13

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Hello! - Status Quo". AllMusic.
  2. ↑ https://returnofrock.com/status-quo-songs-ranked/
  3. 1 2 "Status Quo discography". statusquo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  4. 1 2 "How we made: Caroline - Status Quo". The Guardian. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Caroline (Live Aid 1985) on YouTube
  6. ↑ Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts. London: Omnibus Press. p. 75. ISBN 1-84449-058-0.
  7. ↑ "Status Quo Concert Setlist at Roundhouse, London on October 22, 2014 - setlist.fm". setlist.fm. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Status Quo - Acoustic". Radio 2 In Concert. BBC. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ "Status Quo – Caroline" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Le Détail des Chansons de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Status Quo from the menu, then press OK.
  12. ↑ "Status Quo – Caroline" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Caroline". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Caroline (Live)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "British single certifications – Status Quo – Caroline". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 October 2016.


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