‘Rock ‘n’ Roll High School’ Almost Didn’t Feature the Ramones & More Fun Facts for 45th Anniversary
The film that taught the world about the Ramones (and probably convinced you that you could pull off a black leather motorcycle jacket) was first released to a New York City theater on August 24, 1979, before beginning a year-long national tour of cities around the country. With winks at everything from “teens in trouble” exploitation cinema to rock musicals like the Beatles‘ A Hard Day’s Night, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School would go on to become a midnight movie classic and a perennially popular VHS rental — and it found a whole new era of fans in the ’90s through frequent airings on VH1 .
But this simple tale of a girl who would do anything to meet her favorite band (and eventually help them blow up her high school) had a long road to screens — one that involved the future director of Gremlins, a Jayne Mansfield classic, and, yes, Todd Rundgren.
1The Film Was Almost Called ‘Disco High’
B-movie king Roger Corman had an idea in the early ’70s: revive the teen delinquent films that he and many others had so profitably produced in the ’50s and early ’60s. He first toyed with making a movie called Girls Gym, but then he had a realization: since those classic delinquent movies often focused on the then-new and parentally-menacing genre of rock ‘n’ roll, the new film should focus on a new genre. As Corman told director Allan Arkush, “I’ve been thinking, since Grease and Saturday Night Fever are hits, why don’t you put music in it and we’ll call it Disco High?” Arkush, a passionate lifelong rock fan who was not quite so interested in a movie about teenagers doing the Hustle, sold Corman on making it about a rock ‘n’ roll high school instead.
New World Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection.
2It Almost Starred Todd Rundgren … And Cheap Trick … And Devo …
Once the premise had been agreed upon, Arkush had to square away the second most important part: select the band that would send the school’s teens into a delinquent frenzy. Arkush initially met with the far mellower Todd Rundgren, as well as Cheap Trick, Devo, and an early career Van Halen, but felt that none were right. Warner Bros. Records then suggested their recent signees the Ramones, and Arkush thought it was a perfect match. The Ramones’ camp agreed: when he explained to the heads of the Ramones’ label, Sire Records, that the band would help blow up the school at the end of the film, they exclaimed, “We’re in!”
3There Was A Classic Hollywood Inspiration
Though Rock ‘n’ Roll High School draws most of its inspiration from B-movies, director Arkush did have one classic film on his mind: the 1956 music business comedy The Girl Can’t Help It. The scene where Julie London materializes and sings “Cry Me A River” to Tom Ewell inspired the scene where the Ramones materialize in heroine Riff Randall’s home and serenade her with “I Want You Around.”
4It Was Partially Directed By the Man Behind Gremlins
Before he was the director behind family-friendly classics like Gremlins, The ‘Burbs, and Innerspace, Joe Dante was part of Roger Corman’s stable of directors, creating cheapie exploitation films like the 1978 Jaws knock-off Piranha. Dante also helped come up with the basic concept behind the film.
While director Allan Arkush did all the work of shaping the movie’s creative direction and directing the majority of scenes, on the final day of filming, he fell ill. With the movie on a shoe string budget, they couldn’t afford a day of cancelled shooting, so Dante, ever the Corman team player, stepped in to direct gym class musical number, where P.J. Soles‘ Riff Randell sings her rendition of “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.”
>> Fun Facts About Glenn Ford’s 1955 Rock ’n’ Roll Film, ‘Blackboard Jungle’
5There’s a Paul McCartney Song in The Soundtrack (But Not on the Official Soundtrack)
One of the first things you hear in Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (besides the sound of a nerd being tormented by bullies) is the dulcet voice of Paul McCartney. How did a movie famous for its low budget get an ex-Beatle on its soundtrack? The number, “Did We Meet Somewhere Before?” had actually been written by McCartney as the theme for Warren Beatty‘s 1978 Heaven Can Wait. According to film co-writer Joseph McBride, when Beatty eventually passed on it, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School was able to secure the rights for a shocking $500, provided that they didn’t include it on the official soundtrack album. Urban myth states that McCartney did this in exchange for not having his name used in the film, but it very clearly appears in the credits — which means that the filmmakers simply happened on a pretty great bargain (or that Macca cut them a deal because he’s a secret Ramones fan). The song has never been released on a McCartney or Wings official album.
Remind 
Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
February 2024
"Long live rock," we like to say, but how did it come to life? Revisit the memorable moments, music and movies that made teens go beat crazy back in the 1950s.
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