"All Right Now" is a song by English rock band
Free, released on their third studio album, Fire and Water (1970). It was released by
Island Records, a record label founded by
Chris Blackwell. Released as the album's second
single, "All Right Now" peaked at number two on the
UK Singles Chart and number four on the US
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[3] In July 1973, the song was re-released, peaking at number 15 on the UK chart. In 1991, a
Bob Clearmountain remix of the song was released, reaching number eight on the UK chart.
"All Right Now" was a number-one hit in over 20 countries[citation needed] and was recognised by
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers in 1990 for garnering over 1,000,000 radio plays in the U.S. by late 1989. In 2006, the
BMI London awards included a Million Air award for 3 million air plays of "All Right Now" in the USA.[4] The song remains as a staple track of
classic rock radio.
According to drummer
Simon Kirke, "All Right Now" was written by Free bassist
Andy Fraser and singer
Paul Rodgers in the
Durham Students' Union building,
Dunelm House.[12]
He said: "'All Right Now' was created after a bad gig in Durham. We finished our show and walked off the stage to the sound of our own footsteps. The applause had died before I had even left the drum riser. It was obvious that we needed a rocker to close our shows. All of a sudden the inspiration struck Fraser and he started bopping around singing 'All Right Now'. He sat down and wrote it right there in the dressing room. It couldn't have taken more than ten minutes."[13] Fraser has agreed largely with this history.[14][15]
Reception
Billboard called it a "funky beer blues swinger" that's a "mover from start to finish."[16]Record World said that the song "lays a hunk of heaviness on your head" and "will establish [Free] once and for all."[17]