{"id":281991,"date":"2026-06-30T04:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T04:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/281991\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T04:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T04:35:11","slug":"queens-we-will-rock-you-named-greatest-jock-jam-of-all-time-by-billboard-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/281991\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ Named Greatest Jock Jam of All Time by ‘Billboard’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jock Jams are defined in two ways: a) as the \u201990s phenomenon of music<\/a> compilations released by Tommy Boy Records and ESPN, or b) in the broader sense of music played at sports venues. No matter which definition you rock with, the hits are all the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfac SIGN UP for Parade\u2019s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/a> \ud83c\udfac\u00a0<\/p>\n

From Guns N\u2019 Roses\u2019 \u201cWelcome to the Jungle\u201d to ESPN\u2019s \u201cJock Jam Megamix,\u201d the Jock Jams canon spans genres and generations<\/a>, but only one can be the ultimate champion. And according to Billboard<\/a>, that honor goes to a certain enduring 1970s-era rock band led by the greatest frontman of all time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, when it comes to Jock Jams, Queen is king. More specifically, the band\u2019s clap-stop anthem, \u201cWe Will Rock You,\u201d was ranked the greatest Jock Jam of all time.<\/p>\n

The 1977 track is \u201cstill the song at the very epicenter of your brain\u2019s Venn diagram of sports and music,\u201d the outlet wrote, adding, \u201cYou\u2019re already mentally stomp-clapping, aren\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally released in October<\/a> 1977 as a double A-side single with \u201cWe Are the Champions\u201d and reissued on this day (June 29) in 2015 as the official anthem for the inaugural<\/a> Asteroid Day<\/a>, \u201cWe Will Rock You\u201d is a primal, pulsing gem that transcends language barriers, unifies crowds, and ultimately gets the heart pounding.<\/p>\n

It rallies the homers, intimidates the visitors, and gets everyone in earshot going\u2014which was exactly the goal songwriter and legendary Queen guitarist Brian May had intended.<\/p>\n

Taking inspiration from the old Boston Garden, May wrote the song in three stages, each one highlighting a facet of life: childhood (\u201cGonna be a big man someday\u201d), adulthood (\u201cGonna take on the world someday\u201d), and seniorhood (\u201cGonna make you some peace<\/a> someday\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to American Songwriter<\/a>, May recalled the thunderous sound fans made on the venue\u2019s wooden floors and beams. That experience, coupled with another band-changing moment that happened during a Queen concert at Bingley Hall in Stafford, England, when fans began chanting \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Walk Alone\u201d at the band, birthed May\u2019s \u201cWe Will Rock You\u201d and its companion anthem penned by frontman Freddie Mercury<\/a>, \u201cWe Are the Champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just completely knocked out and taken aback,” May told BBC Radio 1 about the Bingley Hall moment, “it was quite an emotional experience really, and I think these chant things are in some way connected with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both anthems appear on Queen\u2019s sixth studio album, News of the World. Together, they reached No. 2 on the U.K.\u2019sOfficial Singles Chart<\/a> and No. 4 on the U.S.\u2019s Billboard Hot 100<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nearly five decades later, the song remains a timeless power anthem, rocking everything from stadiums and arenas, to natatoriums and clay courts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018We Will Rock You\u2019 will always work because at its core it\u2019s just BOOM BOOM CLAP\u2014which stadiums would probably find some way of doing anyway,\u201d Justin Baker, the Memphis Grizzlies\u2019 click effects operator, said, per Billboard. \u201cAdd to that the majesty of Queen\u2019s legacy \u2026 and you have what is probably an immortal anthem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: 1970 Supergroup Hit, Featuring a Legendary Classic Rock Cameo, Became a Timeless Anthem<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Parade<\/a> on Jun 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jock Jams are defined in two ways: a) as the \u201990s phenomenon of music compilations released by Tommy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-281991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}