Rock Lobster
| "Rock Lobster" | ||||
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| Single by The B-52s | ||||
| from the album The B-52's | ||||
| B-side | "52 Girls" (DB) "6060-842" (Warner Bros.) "Runnin' Around" (Island) |
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| Released | April 1978 (DB) 1979 (Warner Bros. and Island) |
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| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | February 1978 | |||
| Genre | New Wave, post-punk, surf | |||
| Length | 4:52 (single) 6:53 (album) 4:10 (video) |
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| Label | DB, Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson | |||
| Producer | Kevin Dunn (single) Chris Blackwell (album) |
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| The B-52s singles chronology | ||||
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"Rock Lobster" is a song written by Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson, two members of The B-52's. It was produced in two versions, one by DB Records released in 1978, and a longer version, which was part of the band's 1979 self-titled debut album, released by Warner Bros.[1] The song became one of their signature tunes,[2] and it helped launch the band's success.
"Rock Lobster" was the band's first single to appear on Billboard's Hot 100, where it reached No. 56. A major hit in Canada, the single went all the way to No. 1 in the RPM national singles chart. Its follow-up was "Private Idaho," in October 1980, which reached No. 74 in the U.S. It was well received by critics and was placed at number 147 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
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Composition and themes [edit]
The album version of "Rock Lobster" (released in 1979 by Warner Bros. Records) lasts about seven minutes and includes nonsensical lyrics about a beach party and excited rants about real or imagined marine animals ("There goes a dog-fish, chased by a cat-fish, in flew a sea robin, watch out for that piranha, there goes a narwhal, here comes a bikini whale!"), accompanied by absurd, fictional noises attributed to them (provided by Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson ... Pierson providing the higher-pitched noises and Wilson the lower-pitched ones); the chorus consists of the words "Rock Lobster!" repeated over and over on top of a keyboard line.
"Rock Lobster" is written in the key of C harmonic minor and is in common time. Instruments used in the music include a baritone-tuned surf-style Mosrite electric guitar, a Farfisa Combo Compact organ, and drums.[citation needed] Kate Pierson played the song's bass line on a Korg SB-100 "Synthe Bass" synthesizer.
Personnel [edit]
- Fred Schneider: Vocals, Cowbell
- Kate Pierson: Vocals, Farfisa Organ, Synth Bass
- Cindy Wilson: Vocals, Tambourine
- Ricky Wilson: Electric Guitar
- Keith Strickland: Drums, Percussion
Chart performance and reviews [edit]
The song was well-received overall, and was the band's first single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached No. 56. In Canada, released on the Warner Bros. label, the single became a huge hit, eventually going on to reach No. 1 in the RPM-compiled national chart on May 24, 1980.[3] Although Rock Lobster only reached #37 on the UK singles chart in August 1979, it fared better there when reissued in 1986, reaching No. 12 as a double A-side with Planet Claire.[4]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the song "incredibly infectious" and "memorable".[2]
In popular culture [edit]
In spring 1980, John Lennon, whose post-Beatles music career had been on hiatus for nearly five years while he helped raise his son Sean, was prompted to record again after hearing "Rock Lobster";[5] according to Lennon, "it sounds just like Ono's music, so I said to meself [sic], 'It's time to get out the old axe and wake the wife up!'"[6][7] His return to the studio led to the release of Double Fantasy.[5] At a 2002 B-52's concert in New York, Yoko Ono joined them onstage for the performance of this song "to warble and screech with the rest of the band for the show's finale".[8]
The song appears in the Family Guy episodes "The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire" (where Peter plays it on guitar)[9] and "Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q" (as "Iraq Lobster"), and in The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (as "Rock Monster").[10][11] This song is also playable in the videogames Rock Band 3, Donkey Konga, and Just Dance 4; for all of these, the single version is used.
Early Commodore Amiga 500 units had "B52/ROCK LOBSTER" etched on the main circuit board.[12]
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.top40db.net/Lyrics/?SongID=80302&By=Artist&Match=The+B%2D52s
- ^ a b Review of The B-52's from Allmusic
- ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0169a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=kjerdnvbvl3a8p4jfufutrc7u6
- ^ Roberts, David, ed. (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums (in English) (18 ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 41. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
- ^ a b Pat Pemberton (March 5, 2010). "B-52s Honored to Have Inspired John Lennon's Return to Recording". Spinner. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- ^ "John Lennon: Double Fantasy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-11-23.[dead link]
- ^ "The Beatles: A 'where have you been for the past 40 years?' guide to who's who in the fab four...". Top of the Pops 2. August 2002. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- ^ Michael Alex. "B-52's Show They're Still From Planet Claire at NY Date". MTV News. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
- ^ Voynar, Kim (June 13, 2005). "Family Guy: The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire". TV Squad. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ Pirates Who Don't Do Anything Movie Review, a January 13, 2008 article from hollywood.com
- ^ The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything soundtrack from thefish.com
- ^ "Mystery Motherboards". Retrieved June 12, 2012.
| Preceded by "Call Me" by Blondie |
Canadian RPM 100 number-one single May 24, 1980 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Call Me" by Blondie (re-entry) |
External links [edit]
- "Rock Lobster" at Discogs (list of releases)
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