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In [[Family Guy]] episode [[Petarded]] the song that Lois's tumor sings is to the tune of "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco with all the words replaced simply with "I'm a tumor, I'm a tumor".
In [[Family Guy]] episode [[Petarded]] the song that Lois's tumor sings is to the tune of "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco with all the words replaced simply with "I'm a tumor, I'm a tumor".


In September 2007, [[The Daily Show]] began a continuing segment called "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus" that used the music from "Rock Me Amadeus" to introduce their coverage of General Dave Petraeus and his reports on the military situation in Iraq.
In September 2007, [[The Daily Show]] began a continuing segment called "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus" that used the music from "Rock Me Amadeus" to introduce their coverage of General [[David Petraeus]] and his reports on the military situation in Iraq.


==Discography==
==Discography==

Revision as of 19:51, 14 September 2007

Falco

Johann (Hans) Hölzel (February 19, 1957 – February 6, 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian classical music prodigy turned hip hop, pop and rock star. His albums and singles have sold about 60 million copies worldwide.

Early years

Born in Vienna, the only survivor of a triplets birth, Falco was recognized as a child prodigy and schooled in classical music. Graduating from the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977, he lived for a short time in Berlin, West Germany, singing in a jazz-rock band. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco", reportedly in tribute to the German skier Falko Weißpflog, and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company. En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass player in the Austrian hard rock-punk rock band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song Ganz Wien, which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft.

Individual success

Falco's first hit was "Der Kommissar", from the 1982 album Einzelhaft. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the U.S. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British Christian rock band After The Fire recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh", the only other lyric held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number three in the United States (their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. Ironically, the band—who had been together more than a decade—broke up almost immediately thereafter. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics, under the title "Deep In The Dark", on her album Branigan 2.

After a second album, Junge Roemer, failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria and Germany, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.

Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus" inspired in part by the Oscar-winning film Amadeus, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the U.S., bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. Unheard of at the time for a white performer, much less a European one, the Austrian rapper's single climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (only a few years earlier called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6. It would be two more years before a white artist, George Michael, would momentarily break the reverse-color barrier to top that chart, and it would be a feat not repeated until Robin Thicke in 2007. (Both men did it with blue-eyed soul ballads; only Eminem has peaked higher on that chart with a rap song, and only once, reaching number four in 2002.) Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including Russia and Japan. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the U.S. Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the U.S. Dance/Disco charts.

"Jeanny", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany and the Netherlands, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the U.S., although it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.

In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland). On the Album were "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)", and songs about Kathleen Turner and Robert Capa. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 U.S. Dance hit, though he failed to make the U.S. pop charts.

In 1987, he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen "Body Next to Body" and the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic countries. The Album Wiener Blut was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.

In 1990, he made a song for Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the Album Data de Groove.

After "Jeanny", there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the U.S. and the UK. His 1992 U.S. comeback attempt, with the song "Titanic", won a number of awards, but failed to chart in America.

Death

Falco's grave at Vienna Zentralfriedhof

Falco died of severe injuries received following his collision with a bus in his Mitsubishi Pajero near the resort of Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic on February 6, 1998, just two weeks shy of his 41st birthday. The autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine. At the time of his death, he was working on a comeback into the music world.

He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.

Legacy

Perhaps due to the perception of his style's appeal as novelty, Falco is often considered a one-hit wonder in the U.S. and UK, despite having two Top 20 songs and two Top 10 songs in those territories respectively, as well as other, lesser chart hits. In fact, from "Der Kommissar" in 1982 through posthumous releases in 1999, there are only seven years that Falco did not notch a top 10 hit in his native Austria, a total of twenty-three Top 40 hits spanning twenty-seven years, most of those releases also becoming hits in neighboring Germany. Sixteen years after he debuted the song, "Der Kommissar 2000" brought two new remixes of Falco's original back to the charts, and to dancefloors around the world. Co-opting an African-American genre but giving it an entirely German sound, he blazed a trail that few have followed, and none so uniquely with such success. At a time when most chart-topping black rappers were fairly mainstream lyrically, "Der Kommissar" and "Jeanny" were dark and daring—and massive international hits—before his American counterparts made such avant garde doings de rigeur.

Tributes to Falco

In 1998, Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Dutch producers and co-writers of about half of Falco's albums) released the EP Tribute to Falco under the name "The Bolland Project feat. Alida." The title track featured samples of Falco's music; the other tracks were "We Say Goodbye" and "So Lonely."

In the movie The Wedding Singer from (1998) the song "Der Kommissar" can be heard in the background.

In 2004, Mexican metal band Molotov released a tribute song for Falco called "Amateur (Rock Me Amadeus)" (in the Molotov comic style). Austrian metal band Stahlhammer has covered several of Falco's songs, including "Der Mann mit dem Koks" and "Jeanny." German rapper Fler quoted/copied the chorus melody of "Rock Me Amadeus" in his 2005 hit single "Neue Deutsche Welle 2005" (New German Wave 2005). Rapper Tech N9ne did a rendition of the song called "I'm a playa." The chorus line is the same as "Rock me Amadeus" but replaced with "I'm a Playa, I'm a playa." The rap-rock formation of the Bloodhound Gang have a song called "Mope" which is a tribute to Falco.

There have also been numerous covers and parodies of "Rock Me Amadeus", including a cover by NDH band Megaherz. Artists from V/Vm Test Records have released a number of debauched "remixes" of various Falco songs.

In The Simpsons episode A Fish Called Selma Falco's tune "Rock Me Amadeus" receives a slightly offbeat tribute in the musical presentation of Planet of the Apes (starring Troy McClure). The repeated tag of "Amadeus Amadeus" is transferred into "Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zaius". A later episode, "Behind the Laughter", features Willie Nelson saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco", as well as the very end of that fictional tribute.

In Family Guy episode Petarded the song that Lois's tumor sings is to the tune of "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco with all the words replaced simply with "I'm a tumor, I'm a tumor".

In September 2007, The Daily Show began a continuing segment called "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus" that used the music from "Rock Me Amadeus" to introduce their coverage of General David Petraeus and his reports on the military situation in Iraq.

Discography

Albums

Year Title Top-Position
A[1] GER CH[2] UK[3] U.S.[4] CA[5] N[6] NL S[7] I[8] EU
1982 Einzelhaft 1 19 - - 64 31 - 1 45 21
1984 Junge Roemer 1 - - - - - - - - -
1985 Falco 3 1 2 1 32 3 7 3 15 -
1986 Emotional 1 1 5 - - - 7 - - -
1988 Wiener Blut 2 9 12 - - - - - - -
1990 Data de Groove 11 - - - - - - - - -
1991 The Remix Hit Collection - 51 - - - - - - - -
1992 Nachtflug 1 73 - - - - - - - -
1996 Greatest Hits 2 - - - - - - - - -
1997 Greatest Hits Vol. II 8 - - - - - - - - -
1998 Best Of 7 - - - - - - - - -
1998 Out Of The Dark (Into The Light) 1 3 4 - - - - -
1998 The Hit-Singles - 7 - - - - - - - -
1999 The Final Curtain - The Ultimate Best Of 1 2 6 - - - - - - -
1999 Verdammt wir leben noch 3 35 - - - - - - - -
1999 Live Forever (Live Album) 34 - - - - - - - - -


2007 Hoch wie nie (Best Of) 1 2 5 - - - - - - - 6*


2007 Einzelhaft (25th Anniversary Edition) 22

*Number 6 in European Top Albums European Top 100 Albums: Feb 24 2007

Releases

Singles

Year Name Top-Position
A[9] D CH[10] UK NL F[11] [12] I E N[13] S DK FI SU US[14][15] CA J NZ AU ZA
1981 That Scene (engl. Version of Ganz Wien) 11 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1981 Der Kommissar 1 1 2 - 18 3 1 1 3 4 - 1 1 72 11 1 - 7 1
1982 Maschine brennt 4 10 - - 49 - - 34 4 - - 7 - - - - - - -
1982 Auf der Flucht - - - - - - - - - - - - - * - - 18 - -
1982 Zuviel Hitze (Promo) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1984 Junge Roemer 8 - 24 - 15 - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - -
1984 Nur mit Dir 18 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1984 Kann es Liebe sein? (with Désirée Nosbusch) 6 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1985 Rock Me Amadeus 1 1 2 1 3 79 1 1 6 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 15 1
1985 Vienna Calling 3 4 7 10 40 - - 5 - 3 10 5 - 18 11 9 - 75 -
1985 Jeanny 1 1 1 68 1 24 14 - 1 1 - - - - - 5 - - -
1986 The Sound of Musik 4 4 11 61 - - 42 4 - - 13 - - ** - 13 11 - -
1986 Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2) 4 1 3 - - - - - 4 1 - - - - - - - - -
1987 Emotional 18 50 - 85 - - - 11 - - 13 - - - - - - - -
1987 Body Next To Body (with Brigitte Nielsen) 6 22 - - - - 35 37 - - 9 - - - - - - 44 -
1988 Wiener Blut 4 9 24 - 20 - - 19 - - 13 - - - - - - - -
1988 Satellite To Satellite - - - - - - - - - - 11 - - - - - - - -
1988 Garbo - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1990 Data De Groove 12 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1990 Charisma Kommando - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1991 Rock Me Amadeus (Remix 1991) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1991 Der Kommissar (Remix 1991) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1992 Titanic 3 47 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1992 Dance Mephisto 17 - - - - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - - -
1992 Nachtflug - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1993 Monarchy Now (Austrian Promo only) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1995 Mutter, der Mann mit dem Koks ist da (as T>>MA) 3 11 30 - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - -
1996 Naked (as Falco feat. T>>MB) 4 50 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1998 Out of the Dark 2 2 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1998 Egoist 6 4 19 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1998 Der Kommissar (Jason Nevins And Club 69 Remixes) 39 - - - - - - - - 49 - - - - - - - - -
1999 Push! Push! 9 50 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1999 Verdammt wir leben noch 26 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2000 Europa - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2007 Männer des Westens (T. Börger Version 2007) 14 55 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*Nr. 9 in US Hot Play

**Nr. 19 in US Dance Hot Play

Releases

  • That Scene (1981) (English version of "Ganz Wien") (Austrian single only)
  • Der Kommissar (1981) (The Inspector/Commissioner)
  • Maschine Brennt (1982) (Machine is burning)
  • Auf der Flucht (1982) (On the Run) (US single only)
  • Zuviel Hitze (1982) (Too much heat) (German promo only)
  • Junge Roemer (1984) (Young Romans)
  • Nur mit dir (1984) (Only with you)
  • Kann es Liebe sein ? (1984) (Could it Be Love? ) (with Desiree Nosbusch)
  • Rock Me Amadeus (1985)
  • Vienna Calling (1985)
  • Jeanny (1985)
  • The Sound of Musik (1986)
  • Coming Home (1986)
  • Emotional (1987)
  • Body next to Body (1987) with Brigitte Nielsen
  • Wiener Blut (1988) (Viennese Blood)
  • Satellit to Satellit (1988)
  • Garbo (1988) (French promo only)
  • Do it again (1988) (US single only)
  • Data de Groove (1990)
  • Charisma Kommando (1990)
  • Rock Me Amadeus Remix (1991)
  • Der Kommissar Remix (1991)
  • Titanic (1992)
  • Dance Mepihsto (1992 )
  • Nachtflug (1992) (Nightflight)
  • Monarchy Now (1993) (Austrian 12" promo only)
  • Mutter der Mann mit dem Koks ist da (1995) (Mother, the man with the coke is here) (coke as coal or cocain (the German word is ambiguous) )
  • Naked (1996 )
  • Out of the Dark (1998)
  • Egoist (1998)
  • Push Push (1999)
  • Verdammt wir leben noch (1999) (Damn - we are still alive)
  • Europa (1999) (Europe)
  • Männer des Westens (T. Börger 2007 Version) (2007) (Men of the West) Torsten Börger 2007 Version

References

  1. ^ Falco in the Austrian charts (A)
  2. ^ Falco in the Swiss charts (A)
  3. ^ Falco in the UK Charts (A)
  4. ^ Falco in the US-Charts (A)
  5. ^ Falco in the Canadian charts (A)
  6. ^ Falco-Alben in the Norwegian charts (A)
  7. ^ Falco-Alben in the Swedish charts (A)
  8. ^ Falco in the Italian charts (A)
  9. ^ Falco in the Austrian charts(S)
  10. ^ Falco-Singles in the Swiss charts (S)
  11. ^ Falco-Singles in the French charts I (S)
  12. ^ Falco in the French charts II (S)
  13. ^ Falco in the Norwegian charts (S)
  14. ^ Falco in the Billboard charts I (S)
  15. ^ Falco in the Billboard charts II (S) (in German)

External links

Template:Persondata

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