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Smokin' in the Boys Room

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"Smokin' in the Boys Room"
side-A label
One of side-A labels of US single
Single by Brownsville Station
from the album Yeah!
B-side"Barefootin'"
ReleasedOctober 1973
Recorded1973
StudioMediasound, New York City
Genre
Length2:58
LabelBig Tree
Songwriter(s)Cub Koda, Michael Lutz
Producer(s)Doug Morris, Brilliant Sun
Brownsville Station singles chronology
"Let Your Yeah Be Yeah"
(1973) 		"Smokin' in the Boys Room"
(1973) 		"Kings of the Party"
(1974)

"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!. It reached number 3 in Canada[3] and on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified by the RIAA.

The song is about students hoping to avoid being caught violating their school's smoking ban by smoking cigarettes in the boys' restroom. The song begins with a spoken recitation, and the verses and a part of the chorus, are mostly spoken, rather than sung.

Chart performance

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Weekly Charts

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Mötley Crüe version

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"Smokin' in the Boys Room"
Single by Mötley Crüe
from the album Theatre of Pain
B-side"Use it or Lose it"
Released24 June 1985
Recorded1985
GenreGlam metal[2]
Length3:22
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Cub Koda, Michael Lutz
Producer(s)Tom Werman
Mötley Crüe singles chronology
"Too Young to Fall in Love"
(1984) 		"Smokin' in the Boys Room"
(1985) 		"Home Sweet Home"
(1985)
Music videos
"Smokin' in the Boys Room" on YouTube

The song was covered in 1985 by Mötley Crüe. Released as a single, "Smokin' in the Boys Room" reached #16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and became Mötley Crüe's first Top 40 hit.[12] Their version of the song appears in the 1986 film The Wraith directed by Chieffallo. A LeAnn Rimes version of the song appeared on the album Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe.

Music video

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Crüe's version was accompanied by a conceptual music video featuring Michael Berryman as the school principal. The video focuses on a high school student named Jimmy who is mistreated and misunderstood in school. After he is paddled by the principal for (truthfully) claiming that a dog ran off with his homework, a frustrated Jimmy goes to the boys' bathroom where he sees Motley Crüe in the mirrors. The band pulls him through the mirror to join them, and Jimmy and Motley Crüe watch a dystopian vision of the school through a barred window. At the end of the music video, the principal apologizes to Jimmy and offers an A for his missing homework; instead, Jimmy doesn't accept and rips up the homework. After Jimmy walks away, Nikki Sixx reaches out of the mirror and snatches the dumbfounded principal's toupée.

Charts

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Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 61
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[14] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 71
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 16
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[17] 7

Personnel

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Other versions

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In 1981, the song was translated to Hebrew and covered by T-Slam under the name "Me'ashnim Beyahad" (Smoking Together) on their debut album. The English-language version of the album, Loud Radio featured the original version of the song.[18]

The song is referenced in the television program King of the Hill in season 10, episode 10. Brownsville Station is the favorite band of the character Lucky. The song "inspired him to smoke" and plays over the ending credits.[19][20]

References

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  1. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Planet of the Apes: Hard Rock". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 102. ISBN 031214704X.
  2. ^ a b Masley, Ed (July 8, 2014). "Best '80s pop-metal songs, from Def Leppard to Poison". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992: 23 years of hit singles & albums from the top 100 charts. St Ives, N.S.W, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 48. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Songs from the Year 1974". Tsort.info. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  7. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 26, 1974". Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. December 30, 1974. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
  9. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  10. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  11. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1974". Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 69th ed, Billboard Publications, Inc. 1996. ISBN 0-8230-7632-6
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 209. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  16. ^ "Motley Crue Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Motley Crue Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  18. ^ "אלבום: Loud Radio". תיסלם (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  19. ^ "King of the Hill/Hank Fixes Everything - The TV IV". tviv.org. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  20. ^ "Tom Petty's King of the Hill character buys Brownsville Station tix for primo view of Mike Lutz's guitar solo". earofnewt.com. 2019-06-15. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
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