<P> What exists of a narrative in the song consists of an argument between the singers ( Mickey Thomas and Grace Slick ) and an unidentified `` you '' , presumably a music industry executive , who is marginalizing the band and ripping them off by `` playing corporation games '' ( `` who counts the money underneath the bar ? '' ) . In response to this injustice , the singers remind the villain of their importance and fame : `` Listen to the radio ! Do n't you remember ? We built this city on rock and roll ! '' A spoken - word interlude explicitly mentions the Golden Gate Bridge and refers to `` the city by the bay '' , a common moniker for Starship 's hometown of San Francisco ; Starship 's predecessors , Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship , were prominent members of San Francisco 's psychedelic rock scene in the late 1960s and into the 1970s . However , the interlude then rapidly refers to the same city as `` the city that rocks '' , a reference to Cleveland , Ohio ( home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum ) , and then `` the city that never sleeps '' , one of the nicknames for New York City . Capitalizing on the ambiguity , several radio stations added descriptions of their own local areas when they broadcast the song , or even simply added their own ident in its place . </P>
<P> What exists of a narrative in the song consists of an argument between the singers ( Mickey Thomas and Grace Slick ) and an unidentified `` you '' , presumably a music industry executive , who is marginalizing the band and ripping them off by `` playing corporation games '' ( `` who counts the money underneath the bar ? '' ) . In response to this injustice , the singers remind the villain of their importance and fame : `` Listen to the radio ! Do n't you remember ? We built this city on rock and roll ! '' A spoken - word interlude explicitly mentions the Golden Gate Bridge and refers to `` the city by the bay '' , a common moniker for Starship 's hometown of San Francisco ; Starship 's predecessors , Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship , were prominent members of San Francisco 's psychedelic rock scene in the late 1960s and into the 1970s . However , the interlude then rapidly refers to the same city as `` the city that rocks '' , a reference to Cleveland , Ohio ( home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum ) , and then `` the city that never sleeps '' , one of the nicknames for New York City . Capitalizing on the ambiguity , several radio stations added descriptions of their own local areas when they broadcast the song , or even simply added their own ident in its place . </P>
who sings built this city on rock and roll
who sings built this city on rock and roll
Mickey Thomas Grace Slick
Mickey Thomas Grace Slick