Round and Round (Ratt song)

For other songs titled "Round and Round", see Round and Round.

"Round and Round"
Song

"Round and Round" is a song by American heavy metal band Ratt which proved to be the biggest hit of their career, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It appears as the third track of their album Out of the Cellar. The song was named number 51 on "VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's" and was named the 61^st best hard rock song of all time also by VH1. "Round and Round" is known for Stephen Pearcy's raspy, bluesy, yet provocative vocals, Robbin Crosby's and Warren DeMartini's twin guitar leads, Juan Croucier's thumping basslines and Bobby Blotzer's thunderous drum sounds.

Music video

The music video finds the band set up in the attic of a rich family's mansion. They start to terrorize the family members during dinner while causing a major racket with their music. During the song's guitar solo, Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartini falls through the attic floor, onto the dining room table where the family members are eating. The video briefly features legendary comedian Milton Berle, whose nephew Marshall Berle was Ratt's band manager at the time.

Milton Berle played the staid head-of-household and crossdressed to play the matron in the video. Both characters seem perturbed by the loud volume of Ratt's playing, and quickly leave the table. Meanwhile, a seemingly shy yet attractive woman is drawn by the music to the attic. On the way her dress becomes caught and she rips the bottom of it off. She appears in the attic as a completely different person, and begins dancing to the song. At the end of the video, the butler is seen dressed up as a metalhead and "rocking out" in a separate room.

Track listing

1. "Round and Round" - 4:27
2. "The Morning After" - 3:37

Personnel

• Stephen Pearcy- Vocals
• Warren DeMartini- Lead & rhythm guitar
• Robbin Crosby- Lead & rhythm guitar
• Juan Croucier- Bass guitar and back up vocals
• Bobby Blotzer- Drums

Cover versions

• Lou Barlow covered the song on his 2005 album Emoh.
• The 2008 film The Wrestler featured a cover version by Rat Attack, a Ratt cover band project featuring Pearcy and guitarists George Lynch and Tracii Guns.

Live cover performances

• Heavy metal band Metallica performed the song live at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland in 1993[1].
• The song is frequently covered by The Donnas at live shows.

Appearances/references in video games

• The soundtrack to the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories features the song.
• The song is featured in the Xbox 360 video game Saints Row.
• The music video games Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s and Rock Revolution contain cover versions of "Round and Round". However, the original master recording is featured in Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.

Appearances/references in other media

• The song is played during the end credits of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy episode "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas".
• Los Angeles talk radio station KFI uses the song as their news break theme song.
• The song can briefly be heard in the Supernatural episode "Dead in the Water".
• Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei sing the song together in a bar in the 2008 film The Wrestler.
• One of the ZBZ sorority sisters sings a karaoke version of this song in the Greek episode "High and Dry."