Expert: Mike Caldwell - 5/20/2011

Question
What was the first rock and roll song written in 3/4 time?
thank you
dave

Answer
This is subject to wide interpretation, given the myriad ways to define a "rock and roll song", but here's my take.  Basically, there's no easy answer.

For old songs that *became* rock and roll adaptations, one would probably have to reach back to some of the R&B, blues and country songs, of which you'd occasionally find one penned in 3/4 time.  "I Put A Spell On You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins dates originally back to 1956, and while an R&B piece, it eventually crossed over into that blurry rock fusion area with CCR's cover.  In that case, it's an old song that wasn't originally rock, but written in the 50s.
There are invariably other examples of blues and country songs originally penned in the 1950s with 3/4 time and subsequently covered by rock artists.

I don't consider Dylan's "Times They Are A-Changin'" a rock song; I consider it as folk.  Some consider it folk rock.
 
The Lennon-penned "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", to me, is a folkish-sounding rock ballad, and that came along in 1965.  
The Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky (With Diamonds)" came along as late as 1967, and it's definitely a rock song, but the chorus isn't in 3/4 time.
A safer bet is always "Manic Depression" by Hendrix.

Many purists don't consider anything without a classic back-beat and 4/4 time as a pure "rock and roll" song.  The upshot is that technically, rock and roll came about by incorporating other genres, some songs of which didn't always adopt the classic time signature principles.

It's a very opinion-based answer, and I'm sure it'll set off a firestorm.