Songs to Dance To: Rock the Casbah

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Let’s see, we’ve had an early rock icon, country singer, and an R&B singer for the last three days. What’s missing?? Oh, I know: punk! Yes, it’s time for another one of those songs you can dance to, and who’d ever guess that this band would show up! Rock the Casbah - The Clash Let’s start with the simplest thing to clear up: that’s NOT Omar Sharif being referenced in the line “Sharif don’t like it.” This might be the most overtly political song ever danced to in the US. It’s a pointed swipe at the Iranian revolution, which “banned that boogie sound” (and all Western music), and speaks of how people throughout history have rebelled against authoritarian governments. For instance, the old Soviet Union and the Chinese communist governments banned rock and roll, but it’s known that records by the Beatles and Elvis sold in the tens of millions of copies on the black market. (That’s why historians cannot say with any certainty just HOW many records Elvis or the Beatles sold, because they have no way of calculating what sold “behind the Iron Curtain.”) I saw The Clash on this tour, in 1982. (I also saw Jimmy Buffett and Poco that year, just to show my weird tastes. ) That was a good show. And they were a great band. Rock the Casbah Written by Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, and Topper Headon Recorded by The Clash From Combat Rock, 1982 He thinks it’s not kosher: