Rock 'N' Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) was released as the b-side of the single Gold, the second commercial single to be released from The Gold Experience, released worldwide. In 1996, the song was also included in the TV movie Love 4 One Another.
Initial tracking took place on 12 September 1995 at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA (on the same day Hate U was released as a single), incorporating an audience chant of "Rock 'n' roll is alive! And it lives in Minneapolis" from the 9 September 1995 show at Paisley Park Studios, and the song premiered on KDWB-FM radio in Minneapolis the following day. A separate instrumental version, containing the audience chants and the DJ's voiceover sampled from the initial broadcast, premiered on KDWB-FM two days later.
The song was recorded in direct response to Lenny Kravitz's song Rock And Roll Is Dead (from the 1995 album Circus, also released as a single), which had just been released, and received some press coverage as a result. A lyric sheet given to attendees at a listening party for The Gold Experience (where this song was also played), ended with the credit "Thanx Lenny, call me in Minneapolis".
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