| Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll | |
| Cover: | File:Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll.png |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Blue Öyster Cult |
| Album: | Blue Öyster Cult |
| B-Side: | "Before the Kiss, a Redcap"[1] |
| Released: | 21 April 1972 |
| Recorded: | October 1971 |
| Studio: | The Warehouse, New York City |
| Length: |
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| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: |
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| Next Title: | Hot Rails to Hell |
| Next Year: | 1973 |
"Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" is the debut single by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their eponymous debut album Blue Öyster Cult. Despite not charting, it has become a staple at concerts,[2] [3] and is regarded as one of their most famous songs[4] (featured on their greatest hits album). Its demo is credited with getting the band signed with Columbia Records.[5] Lead vocals were performed by their drummer, Albert Bouchard. The lyrics of the song describe the devastation of a nuclear war with metaphors likening the destruction to rock and roll music.
Cash Box called it a "hard driving, heavy metal rocker will be immediately attractive to both AM and FMers looking to put some life into their playlists."[6]
The song has been covered by Church of Misery (on Master of Brutality), Iced Earth (on Tribute to the Gods) and 3 Inches of Blood (as a bonus track on Here Waits Thy Doom).
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