[5] But then there is a twist, he says, and the lyrics then "speak to the mystery of pop music – how it can become a secret handshake between friends, the soundtrack to a memory that means everything.

"[5] The melody and chord progression of the verses of "Rock and Roll Girls" are nearly identical to that of Chad and Jeremy's 1964 hit "A Summer Song," except that Fogerty yodels on one of the notes.

"[10] Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated it as a "terrific song," describing it as a "sunny rocker.

[15][16] Fogerty used "Rock and Roll Girls" (as well as "Centerfield") as an example of how songs evolve in his defense in a lawsuit brought against him by Fantasy Records.

Fantasy Records owner Saul Zaentz claimed that the refrain of "The Old Man Down the Road" was the same as that from a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Run Through the Jungle."

Fogerty used progressive versions of "Rock and Roll Girls" as it was being developed to demonstrate how many blues songs are similar because they are based on the same 5-note pentatonic scale, but that they incorporate small variations.