Fat Bottomed Girls
| "Fat Bottomed Girls" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Queen | ||||
| from the album Jazz | ||||
| A-side | Bicycle Race | |||
| Released | 13 October 1978 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length |
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| Label | EMI, Elektra | |||
| Writer(s) | Brian May | |||
| Producer | Queen and Roy Thomas Baker | |||
| Queen singles chronology | ||||
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"Fat Bottomed Girls" (
sample (help·info)) is a song by the English rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the track featured on their 1978 album Jazz, and later on their compilation album, Greatest Hits.[1] When released as a single with "Bicycle Race", the song reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart, and number 24 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the US[2][3]
The song is formed around an open bluesy, metallic guitar tuning, with the tune opening with its chorus.[4] It was one of the few Queen songs played in an alternative guitar tuning, being played in drop D tuning.[5] The song's music video was filmed at the Dallas Convention Center in Texas in October 1978.[6]
Queen performed "Fat Bottomed Girls" in concert between 1978 and 1982.[7][8][9] Since its release, the song has appeared on television and film, and has been covered by a number of artists.[6]
Contents |
Versions [edit]
Vocal arrangements are quite different between the studio version and the live version. In live performances, the lead vocals during the chorus were sung by Freddie Mercury and harmonised with an upper voice (Roger Taylor) and a lower voice (Brian May). In the studio version, there is no higher harmony. The lead vocals on the verses are sung by Freddie Mercury, while Brian May sings lead on the chorus.
The single version (which can be found on Greatest Hits) omits the extended guitar interludes between the verses as well as fading out before the ending.[10]
"Fat Bottomed Girls" was released as a double A-side with the song "Bicycle Race", and includes the line "Get on your bikes and ride".[10] Bicycle Race contains the line "Fat bottomed girls, they'll be riding today, so look out for those beauties, oh yeah",[11] completing a double cross-reference between the two songs.
Sales and Certifications [edit]
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[12] | Silver | 250,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
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Personnel [edit]
- Brian May: guitar, lead[13][better source needed] and backing vocals
- Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals
- Roger Taylor: Drums and backing vocals
- John Deacon: Bass guitar
Live recordings [edit]
Cover versions [edit]
- Kid Rock did a southern rock version of the song on 2004's CMT Outlaws concert special.[14]
- On the Ozzfest 2006 tour, Atreyu used the intro to open their set.[15]
- Mark Salling, as his character Puck, covered the song on the TV series Glee in the second season episode "Silly Love Songs".[16][17]
- Actor Jack Black and Idol finalist Casey Abrams sang this song, in a medley on the last episode of American Idol on May 25, 2011.[18]
- Alternative rock band, House of Heroes, used to cover the song during Live Shows.
- The band Antigone Rising covered the song on the 2005 tribute album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen.[19]
- The song was covered by American Idol season five contestant Bucky Covington during Queen week.
- Hayseed Dixie covered it in bluegrass style on their 2002 album A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love.[20]
- Pop band The Feeling performed this song on their 2007 UK tour.[21]
- Kevin Fowler covered the song on his 2002 album High on the Hog.[22]
- Eric Church uses this song now as his intro to "I Pledge Allegiance To The Hag" in his live performances.
- Country singer Stephen Cochran closes his live performances with a remake of "Fat Bottomed Girls".
- A song set to the same tune "Triple D's" was featured in an episode of Rick & Steve.
- Amos Lee occasionally covers the song as an encore while touring.[23]
- A Japanese pop duo, Kirinji covers the song in folk style on their 2002 album Omnibus.
- The cover band Jeffster covered this song at the 2009 Comic Con panel for Chuck.
- The song was covered by American Idol season eleven winner Phillip Phillips in 2012.[24]
Featured appearances [edit]
- The song was used in the second season of the series My Name is Earl in episode seventeen.[25]
- The song was used as the opening theme for Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary Super Size Me.[26]
- The song was also played during surgery on episode 40 of Nip/Tuck (2005).[27]
- The song was mentioned in the song "Mix Tape" from the Broadway musical Avenue Q.
- Part of the song is sung at the end of the Father Ted episode, "The Mainland" by Fr. Noel Furlong.
- The song was released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero: World Tour[28] and Rock Band in 2009.[29]
- The song was the opening salvo in a karaoke war that resulted in Sven and Faye finally going to bed in Questionable Content.[30]
- Actors Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky of Chuck performed this song to open a panel discussion about the show during San Diego Comic-Con 2009.
- The song played in the season 2 episode of The Cleveland Show entitled "Fat and Wet".
- The song was used for Sean Pettit's segment in the ski film The Way I See It.
Chart performance [edit]
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 21 |
| British Singles Chart[3] | 11 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 7 |
| French Singles Chart | 7 |
| German Singles Chart | 27 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 10 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] | 24 |
References [edit]
- ^ Queen - Greatest Hits Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
- ^ Prato, Greg. "Fat Bottomed Girls". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Queen Songs - Fat Bottomed Girls Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ a b Queen Promo Videos - Fat Bottomed Girls Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Queen live on tour: Jazz (Setlist) Queen Concerts. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Queen live on tour: The Game (world) Queen Concerts. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Queen live on tour: Hot Space (world) Queen Concerts. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ a b Fat Bottomed Girls Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Bicycle Race Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ "British single certifications – Fat Bottomed Girls/Bicycle Race". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Fat Bottomed Girls/Bicycle Race in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Click Go
- ^ Fat Bottomed Girls. Queenpedia.com (2009-03-25). Retrieved on 2011-02-23.
- ^ Kid Rock - "Fat Bottom Girls" Live On CMT Outlaws KidRock.com. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Vans Warped Tour 2005 Review Mag. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ 'Glee' Salutes 'Fat Bottomed Girls,' St. Valentine With 'Silly Love Songs' Billboard. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Glee: Fireworks fly for fat bottomed girls and everyone else, too Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ 'Idol': Casey Abrams sings Queen with Jack Black USA Today. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ The Feeling, The Fray London Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ High on the Hog Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Gorgeous-voiced Amos Lee makes the women shout at the Majestic The Daily Page. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ "Phillip Phillips - Song List". American Idol. Retrieved 26 May 2012
- ^ My Name is Earl - The Birthday Party TV.com. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Super Size Me (2004) - Soundtracks. IMDb. retrieved 11 May 2012
- ^ Nip/Tuck Season 3, Episode 11 TV.com. Retrieved 4 September 2011
- ^ Home. Community.guitarhero.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-23.
- ^ Killer Queen! British Rock Royalty Hit Rock Band with a Mighty Ten-Pack // Blog // Rock Band®. Rockband.com (2009-10-13). Retrieved on 2011-02-23.
- ^ New comics every Monday through Friday. Questionable Content. Retrieved on 2011-02-23.
External links [edit]
- Official YouTube videos: original music video, Live at the Bowl, Queen + Paul Rodgers
- Lyrics at Queen official website (from Queen Rocks)
- Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
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