"(The) Rock and Roll Waltz" is a popular song. The music was
written by Shorty Allen and the lyrics by Roy Alfred in
1955.
The song is told from the point-of-view of a teenager who
comes home early from a date, and catches her parents
attempting to dance to one of her rock and roll records; only,
having no frame of reference, the couple tries to waltz to the
music.
The Kay Starr recording of the song, made in 1955, reached
the #1 position on the Billboard chart in 1956, staying there
for six weeks. The recording was released by RCA Victor as
catalog number 47-6359. It was Kay Starr's first recording of
great significance for RCA Victor after leaving Capitol
Records, She had a number of lesser chart entries om RCA in
1955 including "Good and Lonesome" and "Turn Right". She
thought it was a joke when the A&R staff at RCA Victor
picked it for her; it was so different from what she was used
to recording. Although it was a #1 hit and a million seller,
and she has come to love the song with the passage of time, it
was never a song people requested her to sing at any live
performance in the days of its popularity.
Another version was later recorded by Ann-Margret in the
early 1960s.
The song may have been parodied in an episode of Tiny Toon
Adventures by the character, Elmyra Duff ("Hop two three, bop
two three!").