Barracuda (song)

"Barracuda"
Single by Heart
from the album Little Queen
B-side	"Cry to Me"
Released	January 1977
Format	7" single
Recorded	1976
Genre	Hard rock
Length	4:20
Label	Portrait Records
Writer(s)	Ann Wilson Nancy Wilson Michael DeRosier Roger Fisher
Producer	Mike Flicker
Heart singles chronology
"Dreamboat Annie" (1976) "Barracuda" (1977) "Little Queen" (1977)

"Barracuda" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Heart. It was released as the first single from the band's second album Little Queen (1977).

Reception

The song is an aggressive hard rock number notable for a galloping guitar riff which has often been compared to that of Led Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand". It has been noted for its use of natural harmonics, particularly in the intro where the harmonics are bent using the tremolo arm of the guitar.

Upon its release "Barracuda" became Heart's second top-20 hit in the U.S., peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has become the band's signature song and is a staple on American classic rock radio playlists.

In 2009, it was named the 34th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

Catalyst

Ann Wilson revealed in interviews that the song was about Heart's anger towards Mushroom Records attempted publicity stunt involving her and her sister Nancy in a made-up lesbian affair. The song particularly focuses on Ann's rage towards a man who came up to her after a concert asking how her "lover" was. She initially thought he was talking about her boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher. After he revealed he was talking about her sister Nancy Wilson, Ann became angry and went back to her hotel room to write the original lyrics of the song.

Chart performance

Chart (1977)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart[citation needed]	15
Austrian Singles Chart	16
Belgian Singles Chart[citation needed]	24
Canadian Singles Chart	2
Dutch Singles Chart	29
French Singles Chart[citation needed]	1
German Singles Chart	8
New Zealand Singles Chart	37
South African Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart	14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	11

Usage at the 2008 Republican National Convention

"Barracuda" was played at the 2008 Republican National Convention in reference to John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, who was known as "Sarah Barracuda" as a high school basketball star (and as "Sarracuda" after the convention, a play on her name). The Wilson sisters disapproved, as they disagreed with Palin's politics, and sent a cease-and-desist letter to John McCain's campaign, despite the McCain campaign's claim to have lawfully purchased rights to use the song.

In an appearance on a Seattle talk show, song co-writer and lead guitarist Roger Fisher announced he was thrilled with the RNC's use of the song, because it both resulted in royalties for the band and gave them an opportunity to publicly point out that he is a "staunch" supporter of Barack Obama. DeRosier, lead drummer on the recording and song co-writer, also supports the use of the song by the RNC. The McCain campaign continued to use the song, despite Nancy Wilson's statement to Entertainment Weekly that "Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women."

Covers

• The Accüsed covered this song on their Hymns for the Deranged EP (1988).
• Joal covered this song on the album Joal (1989).
• Chastain covered this song on their 1990 album For Those Who Dare.
• A cover of "Barracuda" is featured on Rasputina's 2005 live album A Radical Recital. Rasputina has played the song on tours and while opening for Primus.
• "Barracuda" was covered by pop, R&B and hip-hop singer Fergie for the soundtrack of the 2007 animated film Shrek the Third. It was released as a promo for the film. "Barracuda" is also featured in the UK & US Deluxe Edition of her album The Dutchess.
• Alice in Chains covered this song with Gretchen Wilson at the 2007 VH1 Rock Honors.
• The jazz trio The Bad Plus played the song on their cover album For All I Care, with Wendy Lewis providing the vocals.
• Doro Pesch, a German heavy metal singer, also covered this song on the album Love Me in Black in 1998.
• Allison Iraheta performed "Barracuda" as part of her set during the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009. She also performed it on The Tonight Show with Conan O' Brien on July 15, 2009.
• Superfly and The Lemon Bats covered this song on tour in 2010.

Other commercial usage

• This song is mentioned in popular sitcom Friends, where Chandler, Joey and Ross discuss the fact that Heart had split up (episode titled "The One With the Joke"). Chandler mentions "Barracuda" as being one of their greatest songs, Ross also says it's the first song he learned to play on the keyboard.
• "Barracuda" is featured in the 2000 movie Charlie's Angels.
• "Barracuda" is featured in the May 2002 episode "Dang Ol' Love" of the TV series King of the Hill.
• "Barracuda" can be heard playing on Silvio Dante's car radio in the 2004 episode "Long Term Parking" on the HBO series The Sopranos.
• In a season 2 (2004) episode of Reno 911!, the cast plays "Barracuda" after kicking out a local garage band for being too noisy and "playing crappy music."
• "Barracuda" is featured in the 2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game on the K-DST radio station.
• The song was played in the 2005 movie Roll Bounce.
• "Barracuda" is played at the bar on the alien spaceship in the 2006 video game Prey. You can also listen to the song on the jukebox in the begging scene.
• "Barracuda" is a playable song for the Wii, Xbox 360, PC, PS2 and PS3 versions of the 2007 video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. However, it is a cover version, not the original recording. Though, the master track is playable on Guitar Hero Smash Hits.
• Heart performed "Barracuda" with Anastacia on Frosted Pink, an entertainment show in aid of Breast Cancer, in October 2007.
• "Barracuda" is played during the 2008 Honda Odyssey commercial Viking.
• On January 25, 2008, Heart performed "Barracuda" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to celebrate Ellen's 50th Birthday. Ellen provided an intro on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. On Ellen's 2008 "Summer Preview" episode, she and Josh Groban played this song in their Guitar Hero duel, which Ellen won.
• Heart performed "Barracuda" on Idol Gives Back on April 9, 2008, with Fergie, who sang in harmony with Ann Wilson.
• In the My Name is Earl season 4 episode "Joy in a Bubble", "Barracuda" is played when Joy goes to get her kids from the party.
• In the second season episode of Chuck, "Chuck Versus the Break-Up", the song is played during Anna's fight with Mitt.
• In the 14th episode of The good guys(2010) the track is played during a chase sequence.
• "Barracuda" is featured on the soundtrack of the video game Shaun White Snowboarding.
• Chelsie Hightower and Ty Murray danced the Paso Doble on Dancing with the Stars Season 8 to the song.
• Allison Iraheta performed "Barracuda" as part of her set during the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009. She also performed it on The Tonight Show with Conan O' Brien on July 15, 2009.
• Cassie Steele's song "Monster" on the Destructo Doll album uses the "ooo Barracuda" hook in the chorus, most likely as a homage to the band.
• "Barracuda" is available as downloadable content on the video game Rock Band 3.