Eric Carmen's 1976 single "That's Rock 'n' Roll" is the latest entry in Billie Joe Armstrong's "No Fun Mondays" cover series, May 18.
"Today's song is "That's Rock 'n' Roll" by Eric Carmen, who was also in The Raspberries," the Green Day frontman wrote. He added that the first time he heard the song was through teen heartthrob Shaun Cassidy, recalling how his "sisters would dance around the house to this one!"
In response, Cassidy gave a thumbs up on Armstrong's cover. In Twitter, the now 61-year-old star wrote, "And my daughters are dancing to this now. Nice work, Billie Joe! #GreenDay #BillieJoeArmstrong."
"That's Rock 'n' Roll" marks the tenth entry in the "No Fun Mondays" covers project, following "Not That Way Anymore" by punk icon Stiv Bators. His first cover was the Tommy James and the Shondells single, "I Think We're Alone Now," followed by his series' official debut with Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory."
In a previous Instagram post, Billie Joe Armstrong said that he's "going to release a cover song every week until we're let back out into the world." His online series has previously featured The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs in their "Manic Monday" performance. It paid tribute to Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, who recently passed away due to COVID-19, with a rendition of "That Thing You Do," which was also the title track of a 1996 Tom Hanks movie.
The covers project has also seen Armstrong sing in Italian with his Wednesday-released cover of Don Backy's "Amico."
"I have a small studio, and as soon as the shutdown happened, I was like now I can go in and to occupy my time, go in and do some recording and some writing," the 48-year-old punk rock icon told James Corden on the "The Late, Late Show." In his appearance in the late-night show, Armstrong also performed "I Think We're Alone Now" on the show with his sons Jakob and Joey.
Aside from uplifting people's spirits with his updated takes on rock classics, Armstrong has also been active in supporting efforts against the coronavirus pandemic. He recently performed "Wake Me Up When September Ends," a song he wrote for his father, as a part of the star-studded fundraiser "One World: Together At Home." His soulful performance, coupled with images showing the devastating effects of the pandemic, has brought fans and even the event curator, Lady Gaga, into tears.
Armstrong's latest cover was initially written and recorded by former Raspberries member Eric Carmen in 1976 as a part of his eponymous debut album. In the following year, the song became a hit for teen idol Shaun Cassidy, covered the song as a part of his self-titled debut LP. Cassidy's version of "That's Rock 'n' Roll" peaked at the third spot of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the teen idol's longest-charting single. Cassidy covered a total of two hits from Carmen, the other being "Hey Deanie," which shared the chart with Carmen's current single at the time, "She Did It."
Watch Billie Joe Armstrong's take on "That's Rock 'n' Roll" below:
