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Answers: in let there be rock, what does smoltz mean?

In the beginning
Back in nineteen fifty-five
Man didn't know about a rock 'n' roll show
And all that jive
The white man had the SMOLTZ
The black man had the blues
No one knew what they was gonna do
But Tchaikovsky had the news
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98I85ceIC...

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I think those are misspelled lyrics.

From their website:

"In the beginning
Back in nineteen fifty five
Man didn't know 'bout a rock 'n' roll show
'N all that jive
The white man had the schmaltz
The black man had the blues
No one knew what they was gonna do
But Tschaikovsky had the news, he said

Let there be sound, and there was sound
Let there be light, and there was light
Let there be drums, there was drums
Let there be guitar, there was guitar, ah
Let there be rock..."

Most internet lyrics sites also carry this version.

Here, "schmaltz" means sentimental music, which is what reigned musically in the 50s. The line "Tchaikovsky had the news" is a homage to the line in Chuck Berry's famous song "Roll Over Beethoven", which was an early rock and roll classic.

So it's a little story, all in that first verse, about how 50s music and the blues fused to create rock and roll via performers like Berry, who were so influential on later rock guitarists.

Let there be rock!

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I once thought it said "stomach", lol!

There's a great version on the album "If You Want Blood". Report It

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