Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady", The Whispers' "Rock Steady", & The "Rock Steady" American military cadences (examples & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: June 16, 2025

This pancocojams post is Part I of a two part series on the American R&B songs & children's cheerleader cheers that have the title "Rock Steady".

Part I features videos of Aretha Franklin's 1972 dance song "Rock Steady" and The Whispers' 1987 dance song "Rock Steady". Part I also includes my comments about the inspiration for the title of those two songs, the meaning of the term "rock steady" in those two songs, and information about a dance movement that was usually performed for those two songs.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/06/rock-steady-childrens-cheers-youtube.html
for Part II of this series. Part II of this series is entitled "Rock Steady" Children's Cheers (YouTube videos, information, and word only examples)". That post features YouTube videos, lyrics, and information about children's "Rock Steady" cheers.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Aretha Franklin and The Whispers for their musical legacies. Thanks the unknown composers of the American military cadences known as  "Rock Steady". Thanks also to the YouTube publishers of these sound files and video and thanks to all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.

****
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE SONG TITLE "ROCK STEADY"
I believe that it's very likely that Aretha Franklin's 1972 R&B song "Rock Steady" was inspired by the name of the Jamaican "Rocksteady" music genre. However, the tune, beat, and lyrics of that R&B song are different from Jamaican "Rocksteady" music.

Furthermore, I believe that the the name of The Whispers' 1987 R&B song "Rock Steady" was probably inspired by Aretha Franklin's earlier song.

I believe that most of the lyrics for the "Rock Steady" United States military cadences have their source in The Whispers' song entitled "Rock Steady".  This conforms with the tradition that United  military has of lifting lyrics from popular music and especially R&B music to create cadences.

Also, I believe that it's very likely that the name of the children's "Rock Steady" children's cheerleader cheers* was inspired by the 1987 "Rock Steady" song by The Whispers instead of the 1972 "Rock Steady" song by Aretha Franklin. I believe this because I've yet to come across any examples of children's cheerleading cheers* with the phrase "rock steady" (and not just "rock"), or any remembrances of such cheers prior to 1987.

*By "children's cheerleader cheers", I mean cheerleader cheers & chants that are performed by children and teens in community cheerleader squads and/or in school cheerleader squads prior to colleges or universities.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/classic-jamaican-rocksteady-songs-sound.html for a pancocojams post on Rocksteady music.

****
WHAT THE UNITED STATES COLLOQUIAL EXPRESSION "ROCK STEADY" MEANS
From https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/rock-steady

[definition #2] moving in a controlled way
-snip-
rock= to move
steady= to move in a continuous manner

*****
WHAT "ROCK STEADY"  MEANS IN UNITED STATES R&B SONGS & CHEERS WITH THAT TITLE
In United States R&B songs and children's cheerleader cheers with that title "rock steady" means to continue to do something in a continuous (fixed, balanced, regular) way.

When used in military cadences, "Rock steady" is a motivational (encouraging) expression that means "Continue moving along".

When used in children's cheerleader cheers "Rock Steady" means "Continue doing something very well i.e. Continue scoring so that the team wins the game that they are playing.

Depending on the type of children's cheerleading*, cheerleaders (particularly female cheerleaders) will swing their hips from side to side when they perform this cheer to imitate the movement of a boat rocking from side to side.  

In dance terms "rock steady" means that women and men continuously move their hips from side to side to the record's beat.

*In mainstream cheerleading, cheerleaders don't shake their butts or rock their hips.

In stomp and shake cheerleading, female cheerleaders shake their butts and rock their hips.

In modified mainstream that includes some stomp and shake movements, to some greater or lesser degree, female cheerleaders shake their butts and rock their hips. 

****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF THE R&B SONGS "ROCK STEADY"

Example #1: Aretha Franklin Performs Rock Steady (on "Soul Train")

Marcus Watson, July 21, 2017
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOj9lPbp1I4 for another sound file of Aretha Franklin singing "Rock Steady"
[embedding disabled by request]. The summary statement of that sound file notes that "Aretha Franklin performs Rock Steady live on Soul Train in 1973, episode 55."

Here's an excerpt about Aretha Franklin's song "Rock Steady" from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Steady_(Aretha_Franklin_song):
"Rock Steady" is a song written and performed by Aretha Franklin and released in 1971, from the album Young, Gifted and Black. The single reached the #9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that same year. It also peaked at #2 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. The B-side, "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)" peaked at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart."
-snip-
Here's a portion of the lyrics for Aretha Franklin's 1971 hit song "Rock Steady"
from https://genius.com/Aretha-franklin-rock-steady-alternate-mix-lyrics

..."Rock steady, baby!

Rock steady... whoo! Rock steady...

Rock! Steady!

Rock! Steady!

(What it is...) It's a funky and low down feelin'

(What it is...) In my hips from left to right;

(What it is...) What it is is I might be doin'

(What it is...) This funky dance all night....

Oh, ah! (Clap your hands in the air! Got a feelin', ain't got a care!)

Oh-ah! (What fun to take this ride! Rock steady will only slide!)

Rock steady! Steady it, baby!

Rock... rock steady, baby...

Baby... (What it is...)

Baby, baby... (What it is...)

Baby... (What it is...)"...

****
Example #2: The Whispers - Rock Steady Official Video



UnidiscMusic, Uploaded on Feb 11, 2010
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Steady_(The_Whispers_song):
"Rock Steady" was a single released by American R&B group The Whispers, from their eighteenth studio album, Just Gets Better with Time (1987).

It was released on June 13, 1987[1] and was their highest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number seven, and was their second and final number one on the Hot Black Singles Chart.[2]"
-snip-
Click https://genius.com/The-whispers-rock-steady-lyrics for the lyrics to The Whispers' "Rock Steady" song.

Here's part of those lyrics:
 
[Chorus]
And we begin to rock steady
Steady rocking all night long
And we begin to rock steady
Rocking 'til the break of dawn

Rock (Ooh), steady
Steady rocking all night long (All night long)
Rock steady
Rocking 'til the break of dawn
(Rocking 'til the break of dawn)"...

****
"ROCK STEADY" MILITARY CADENCE

Military Cadence, Nov 14, 2019

Rock Steady Cadence

The U.S Army Airborne
-snip-

Lyrics
[https://www.jonathanmichaelfleming.com/rock-steady : This is one version of this military cadence]

"One, two, three, four, Hey!

Here we go x2

On the move x2

In the groove x2

Here we go

All the way

Every day

HOOAH!

HAHA!

HOOAH!

HAHA!

Rock me, rock me, rock, rock steady!

Roll me, roll me, roll me ready

We’re gonna rock (Rock),

All night long,

We’re gonna roll (Roll)

‘til the break of dawn

We’re gonna swing it (Swing it)

‘til we wanna go home

We’re gonna shake it (Shake it)

‘til the twilight zone

We’re gonna rock (rock), roll (roll), get (get), stay (stay)"

****

This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.