B-side Razzamatazz Recorded 1977 Length 3:13 | Released 1978 | |
Label RSO Records (United States), Mercury Records (Mexico and Canada), Polydor (South American, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania) | ||
"Greased Lightnin' " is a song from the musical Grease. A soundtrack recording from the film version, with John Travolta on lead vocals, peaked at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978.
Contents
Synopsis
The Greaser boys (Danny, Kenickie, Roger/Putzie, Doody and Sonny) sing about how a modified hot rod car will improve their image and help them to sexually arouse women. The lead vocalist (Kenickie in the stage version; Danny, as played by Travolta, in the film) usually sings in a Elvis Presley style voice.
In the original recording, as was in the case with the stage musical on which it was based, several unairable profanities of a sexual nature are peppered throughout the lyrics, which deterred a number of stations from playing the song and possibly prevented it from reaching the top 40 in the United States. Jim Jacobs later released a revised set of lyrics suitable for school performances that remove the sexual references.
Critical reception
STL Today described the song as "a number saluting a hot rod and all the joy it promises".
Other recordings
In the film version of Grease, the song was recorded by John Travolta. An earlier version was recorded in 1972 by The Wild Angels. The song was covered by Lance Ellington in the animated film Planet 51.