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Home Sweet Home (Mötley Crüe song)

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"Home Sweet Home"
Single by Mötley Crüe
from the album Theatre of Pain
ReleasedSeptember 30, 1985
Recorded1985
GenreGlam metal[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Length3:59
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee
Producer(s)Tom Werman
Mötley Crüe singles chronology
"Smokin' in the Boys Room"
(1985)
"Home Sweet Home"
(1985)
"Girls, Girls, Girls"
(1987)
Music videos
"Home Sweet Home" on YouTube
"Home Sweet Home '91"
Single by Mötley Crüe
from the album Decade of Decadence
ReleasedNovember 1, 1991
Recorded1991
GenreGlam metal
Length4:01
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee
Producer(s)Tom Werman
Mötley Crüe singles chronology
"Primal Scream"
(1991)
"Home Sweet Home '91"
(1991)
"Anarchy in the UK"
(1991)

"Home Sweet Home" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. It was originally released in 1985 on the album Theatre of Pain, and again in 1991 for the Decade of Decadence 81-91 compilation album. It has been covered by several artists, most notably country singer Carrie Underwood, who released her version as a single in 2009.

Release

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Originally released on the band's 1985 album, Theatre of Pain, the song was accompanied by a music video which documented the band's undertakings over the course of one or several concerts. Some of the original video was shot in Houston, Texas live at The Summit during the 1985 Theatre of Pain tour. They performed the song twice that night apparently to get more video footage. "Home Sweet Home" was released and remixed twice: once for the original promotion for the single in 1985. A radio only promo 12" with the remix was sent to stations, but not released commercially until the 1988 Japan-only EP Raw Tracks.

The song was remixed again in 1991 with additional instrumental overdubs. Now called "Home Sweet Home '91", it was released as a single with a new video and included on the Decade of Decadence compilation.

The song is often referred to as a power ballad, and its success became a lucrative, marketing template for other hair bands of the late 1980s.[7] The song ranks number 12 on VH1's list of the greatest power ballads.

Cash Box said that the song has "a slow-rocking groove and a surprisingly melodic verse and chorus," making it "a pleasant metal outing."[8] Billboard called it a "loping rock ballad [that] is beefed up by power guitar."[9]

Music video

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The video (directed by Wayne Isham and guest-starring actor Michael Berryman) depicts each band member receiving a phone call home, and replying "I'm on my way!", Vince Neil on a beach, Mick Mars on a throne in a haunted house, Nikki Sixx at a bar, and Tommy Lee at a wild party. The piano intro plays over a clip of a tour bus driving by at sunset. The rest of the video shows the band pre-concert and performing on stage, shot at The Summit in Houston, Texas (concert footage) and Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas (exterior). The end of the video shows the same tour bus with the words "Rockin 'N' Rollin" on the marquee. The video topped the MTV daily request chart for over three months, until MTV invoked the (unwritten) "Crue Rule", dropping videos from their request line 30 days after their MTV premiere.

Legacy

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A parody of this video was used for the end credits of the 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine, with Rob Corddry's character Lou "Violator" Dorchen clothed in Vince Neil's purple vest, white tiger striped spandex & headband, with the band's name altered to "Mötley Lüe". It also parodies some of the same clips from the original video.

Drummer Tommy Lee re-recorded the song in 2011, for Season 4 of the TV series Californication, and has a cameo in "Lights, Camera, Asshole" performing the song on piano in a bar at the end of the episode, the third episode in the show's fourth season was named for this song.

John Cena performs a heartfelt, instrumental rendition of the song at the end of the sixth episode of Peacemaker. This version was released as a single on February 4, 2022.[10]

Track listing

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  1. "Home Sweet Home"
  2. "Red Hot"

Personnel

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Chart positions

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The original release of "Home Sweet Home" charted at No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Home Sweet Home '91" peaked at No. 37 on the same chart in 1992.[11] To date, "Home Sweet Home '91" is the last Mötley Crüe song to chart in the American Billboard Top 40.

Chart (1985-1986) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 51
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 89
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[14] 39
"Home Sweet Home '91"
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[15] 88
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 37
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 37
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[14] 41
Chart (2019) Peak
position
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[16] 12

Cover versions

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Carrie Underwood version

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"Home Sweet Home"
Single by Carrie Underwood
ReleasedMarch 10, 2009
Recorded2009
Genre
Length3:38
LabelArista Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mark Bright
Carrie Underwood singles chronology
"I Told You So"
(2009)
"Home Sweet Home"
(2009)
"Cowboy Casanova"
(2009)

Country singer Carrie Underwood recorded a cover version in 2009 as the contestant farewell song for the eighth season of American Idol. Underwood performed the song live on the season finale.

The song was included on the deluxe edition of her third studio album Play On, released exclusively in Australia and New Zealand. It sold 288,000 downloads in the United States.[18]

Chart positions

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Chart (2009) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19] 33
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 21
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[21] 52

Justin Moore version

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"Home Sweet Home"
Single by Justin Moore with Vince Neil
from the album Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Mötley Crüe
ReleasedJuly 7, 2014 (2014-07-07)
GenreCountry
Length3:51 (album version)
3:23 (single edit)
LabelValory Music Group
Songwriter(s)Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee
Producer(s)Jeremy Stover
Justin Moore singles chronology
"Small Town Throwdown"
(2014)
"Home Sweet Home"
(2014)
"This Kind of Town"
(2014)

Justin Moore covered the song as a duet with Vince Neil on the 2014 album Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Mötley Crüe.[22][23] It was sent to country radio on July 8, 2014. On the Country Airplay chart dated for July 19, 2014, Moore's version was the highest-debuting song of the week, entering at No. 39.[24] The song has sold 112,000 copies in the U.S. as of September 2014.[25] The members of Mötley Crüe make a cameo appearance in the song's promo video.[26]

Chart positions

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Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[27] 30
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[28] 28

References

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  1. ^ "Readers' Poll: The 10 Greatest Hair Metal Songs". Rolling Stone. February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Bernstein, Scott (4 January 2007). "THE B LIST: FAVORITE HAIR-METAL POWER BALLADS". glidemagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  3. ^ "36 Essential '80s Pop Metal Tracks". Stereogum. 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  4. ^ "Readers' Poll: The Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  5. ^ McPadden, Mike (June 6, 2015). "Brace Yourself For The Top 10 Hair Metal Hits of 1985". VH1 News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  6. ^ "Perfect Sound Forever". www.furious.com. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  7. ^ Theatre of Pain article on Allmusic
  8. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. October 12, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  9. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. October 12, 1985. p. 77. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  10. ^ "John Cena's 'Home Sweet Home' Piano Version from 'Peacemaker' Released". Film Music Reporter. February 4, 2022. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th ed, Billboard Publications, Inc. 1996. ISBN 0-8230-7632-6
  12. ^ a b "Motley Crue: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Motley Crue Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Motley Crue Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  15. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 185.
  16. ^ "Motley Crue Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  17. ^ James Gunn [@jamesgunn] (February 4, 2022). "John's piano version of "Home Sweet Home" was arranged by @John___Murphy, composer of The Suicide Squad & Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "American Idols Dominate Weekly Sales Charts". USA Today. September 24, 2010. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
  19. ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "Carrie Underwood Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  22. ^ "Justin Moore on New Single, Moving Home". People.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  23. ^ Hicks, Gregory (July 5, 2014). "Justin Moore covers Motley Crue with Vince Neil". The Tennessean. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  24. ^ Trust, Gary (July 7, 2014). "Chart Highlights: Usher Lands Lucky 13th No. 1 On R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  25. ^ Matt Bjorke (September 25, 2014). "The Top 30 Digital Singles – September 25, 2014". Roughstock. Sales figures given here
  26. ^ "Justin Moore Goes 'Home Sweet Home' With Motley Crue – Video Premiere". Rolling Stone. July 1, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  27. ^ "Justin Moore Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
  28. ^ "Justin Moore Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.