rock Me Amadeus
| rock Me Amadeus | |
|---|---|
| Falco | |
| publication | May 1985 (Germany) March 28, 1986 (worldwide) |
| length | 3:11 |
| Genre (s) | Pop rap |
| Author (s) | Falco, Bolland & Bolland |
| Label | A&M Records |
| album | Falco 3 |
Rock Me Amadeus is a pop-rap song by the Austrian musician Falco from 1985. It was the first single from the studio album Falco 3 and the first and so far only German-language song to appear in the US Billboard charts as well as in the British UK Top 40 was able to achieve the top ranking.
content
The piece Rock Me Amadeus is a fictional interpretation of the career of the Salzburg musician and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . Falco describes the protagonist Amadeus as a supporter of the punk scene in Vienna and thus addresses how Mozart would have been received in Viennese society in the 1980s. The stanzas deal with Amadeus' life as a punk in Vienna around 1780, he is described as a “virtuoso” and a “rock idol”. Falco also goes into his debts with banks: "No plastic money anymore, the banks against him". The “plastic money” is used here as a metaphor for credit cards , because Amadeus is a “man of women” and has amassed debts through the wishes he fulfills for women.
Background and success
The music was composed by the Dutch producer duo Rob and Ferdie Bolland , who wrote the lyrics together with Falco. After the great success in the German-speaking market, the album was also sold abroad. In March 1986, Rock Me Amadeus was number one on the Billboard charts (which Falco led as the second Austrian musician after Anton Karas ) and the cash box charts in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and in some Asian countries.
This success was also special, as Falco was the first white man to achieve a top position with a rap song in the Billboard R&B singles charts (which were then called the Black singles charts) at number 6. It wasn't until 2002 that Eminem , who was also white, reached a higher position with a rap song (4th place). The successful film Amadeus from 1984 served as a model for the play .
Music video
In the music video , Falco is shown several times as " Mozart punk" with dyed hair, but also in a dinner jacket . He is surrounded by actors in rococo clothing , later also by members of the Viennese motorcycle rockers "Outsider Austria" in their robes (some of the rockers carried his coffin at Falco's funeral in 1998).
Selection of cover versions
- Geil (1986) by Bruce & Bongo is based on the music of Rock Me Amadeus in the chorus .
- Rock Me Amadeus from the album Kopf Schuss (1998) by Megaherz is an NDH version of the world hit.
- Stranger Springs (1999) by Sanguis et Cinis
- Rock Me Amadeus from the album Mea Culpa by Umbra et Imago is an NDH cover version from 2000.
- Rock Me Amadeus from the dark metal album Über von Sturmgeist
- Rock Me Amadeus, from 2011's Famous In Paris album by Kim Gloss
- Amateur from Molotov vs. Udo Jürgens is a mixture of Rock Me Amadeus and But please with cream by Udo Jürgens.
- I'm a Playa by Tech N9ne is a processing of the song with the same melody.
- The song Neue Deutsche Welle by rapper Fler is based on the melody of the piece.
- The title Nikki was never away from the album Fornika of the group Die Fantastischen Vier satirizing the lyrics of Rock Me Amadeus .
- In the Medley Polka Party of Weird Al Yankovic a row, the row is three times Ooh, Rock Me Amadeus sung.
- On the 2006 released album Nightly Ray of Emergency Gate is a cover version of the song.
- On the album The Ghosts We Called by Die Toten Hosen there is a cover version of the song.
- On the album Space Police - Defenders Of The Crown by the power metal band Edguy there is a cover version of the song, sung by Tobias Sammet .
- The album Wake Up the Coma by the industrial dance band Front Line Assembly features a cover version of the song, rapped and sung by guest Jimmy Urine of the band Mindless Self Indulgence .
Trivia
- In Mope from the Bloodhound Gang , the line of text Rock Me Amadeus appears several times.
- The Simpsons episode Selma Marries Hollywood Star shows a musical version of Planet of the Apes in which a song called Dr. Zaius is sung based on the melody of Rock Me Amadeus .
- Robbie Williams sings the lyrics "Rock me Amadeus" in his song It's Only Us .
- In the course of the Waldheim affair , the first published general uncertainty on the album Can nonsense be sin? a modified version under the title when you must go with the text: "However, the kurti is not very popular abroad, because it can remember it, yes that is its flair", which refers to the Nazi past of the then Federal President Kurt Waldheim was referred to.
Chart placements
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
1 (23 weeks) | 23 |
 Austria (Ö3)
|
1 (24 weeks) | 24 |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
|
2 (20 weeks) | 20th |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
1 (15 weeks) | 15th |
 United States (Billboard)
|
1 (17 weeks) | 17th |
Awards for music sales
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
|
Germany (BVMI)
|
 gold
|
250,000 |
 Canada (MC)
|
 platinum
|
100,000 |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
|
gold
|
7,500 |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
gold
|
500,000 |
|
United States (RIAA)
|
platinum
|
2,000,000 |
| All in all |
3 × gold, 2 × platinum |
2,857,500 |
Web links
- Niklas Sailer: Oh-oh-oh Amadeus , "At the end of March 1986" Rock Me Amadeus "shot to the top of the US charts - as the first and to this day only song in German. The story behind it is amazing. ", Commented photo gallery, one day , March 31, 2016
- Peter Wicke: Rock Me Amadeus . In: Song Lexicon . Retrieved July 1, 2014.
- Falco - Rock Me Amadeus on austriancharts.at
- Music video on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ Award in Germany
- ↑ Award in Canada
- ↑ Award in New Zealand
- ↑ Award in the United Kingdom
- ^ The Music Capitol Of Europe. Music & Media, December 27, 1986, accessed August 20, 2020 .