All Right Now – Free | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#4); 1970

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

In early 1967 the Paul Rodgers-fronted Roadrunners arrived in London from Middlesbrough, ready to set the town on fire. Even after a name change to the Wild Flowers, they were greeted with a big “ho-hum” and dissolved.

Rodgers next formed Brown Sugar. After a gig at the Fickle Pickle, guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke from Black Cat Bones made Rodgers an offer he couldn’t refuse. With the addition of bassist Andy Fraser, recently fired from John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and a name change to Free, the band was ready to roll.

Free’s first album – the non-charting Tons Of Sobs – streeted in late 1968, and a year later Free appeared. In the wake of a summer gig supporting Cream and an August 30th appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival, Free rose to #22 in the U.K.

Free’s anthemic All Right Now lit up both sides of the Atlantic in the summer of 1970; capped by the band’s second appearance at the annual Isle of Wight extravaganza: this time as a headliner.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

• Free

Lyrics Written by:

• Andy Fraser
• Paul Rodgers

Awards:

• Million Air Award: The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers recognized “All Right Now” 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
• Chart Success: Reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart, #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was a #1 hit in over 20 countries.