Released August 24, 1998 Length 3:42 | Format CD single,
Vinyl | |
B-side "Super Monster Sex Action",
"Halloween (She Get So Mean)" Recorded 1998 at Chop Shop Hollywood, CA Genre Industrial metal, nu metal | ||
"Dragula" is a song co-written and recorded by American musician Rob Zombie. It was released in August 1998 as the lead single from his solo debut Hellbilly Deluxe. Since its release it has become Zombie's most recognizable song as a solo artist. It is also his best-selling song, and had sold over 717,000 copies in the U.S. by 2010. The song is based on the drag racer "DRAG-U-LA" featured in the sitcom The Munsters.
Contents
The audio clip "superstition, fear and jealousy" at the beginning of the song is from the film Horror Hotel, and is spoken by Christopher Lee.
The song also appears on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future, the greatest hits album The Best of Rob Zombie. The original single featured a big beat remix of the song by Charlie Clouser, entitled the "Hot Rod Herman" remix (in reference to the Munsters episode), which is contained on American Made Music to Strip By (under the name Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare Mix), and appears in the film Idle Hands. A remix version appeared in theThe Matrix and its soundtrack. Additionally, it is featured on the soundtracks for the video games Twisted Metal 4, Jet Grind Radio, Sled Storm (1999), Gran Turismo 2 and in the 2012 game Twisted Metal.
Background and writing
Zombie told Billboard magazine that the title came from "the name of Grandpa Munster's dragster on the old TV show." He goes on to say that it "was a classic show with great comic characters. Strangely enough, 'Dragula' was one of the last songs finished for the record. It fell together really fast and worked, but it could just as easily not [have] been on the record."
Music video
The music video features Rob Zombie riding in a car that resembles the Munster Koach (not the actual Dragula racing car) with various shots of the band members and different scenes from movies (one example - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is featured at the beginning of the video). It also prominently featured the killer robot from the old movie chapter serial The Phantom Creeps. It achieved heavy rotation on MTV following the huge success of the album. The video also appears in the film Idle Hands.
Covers
The song was covered by Mitchell Sigman for The Electro-Industrial Tribute to Rob Zombie in 2002. It was also covered by gothic metalcore band Motionless in White in 2009 and electronic rock band Crosses for the album Mondo Sex Head in 2012.