Released 16 June 1985 Recorded 1985 Length 3:21 | Format 7"
12" Genre Neue Deutsche Welle | |
B-side "Urban Tropical"
"Vienna Calling" | ||
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, despite the artist's popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much of Europe. The song was written by Falco and Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland.
Contents
History
With "Rock Me Amadeus", Falco became the first German-speaking artist to be credited with a number-one single in all mainstream US pop singles charts : the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 Singles. Prior to Falco, "99 Luftballons" by Nena got to number one on Cashbox, but peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 29 March 1986.
In the United Kingdom, where his "Der Kommissar" failed to make the charts, the song hit number one on 10 May 1986, becoming the first single by an Austrian act to achieve this distinction. "Vienna Calling" hit number 10 and three subsequent singles briefly charted.
In Canada, the song reached number one on 1 February 1986. (There, "Der Kommissar" had reached number 11 in January 1983, and "Vienna Calling" would hit number 8 in April 1986.)
"Rock Me Amadeus" would later be ranked number 87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and number 44 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.
Production
Originally recorded in German, the song is about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his popularity and his debts. A longer version (eight minutes), named the "Salieri Mix", appeared on the initial US release of the album Falco 3. The song was inspired by the movie Amadeus. For the US release, the song was remixed with an English background overlay. There was never a full English version.
Voiceover facts
1756: Salzburg, January 27, Wolfgang Amadeus is born. 1761: At the age of 5 Amadeus begins composing. 1773: He writes his first piano concerto. 1782: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart marries Constanze Weber. 1784: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart becomes a Freemason. 1791: Mozart composes The Magic Flute. On December 5 of that same year, Mozart dies. (on some remixes, says "Mozart kicks the bucket") 1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records "Rock Me Amadeus"Official versions and remixes
The song was released in Europe in 1985 in its original, German-language version. For the international markets (USA, UK, Japan etc.), several different single and extended mixes were produced; none of them were solely an English-language version, but the international single versions reduced the German lyrics. However, the video, which featured the original European version, was used worldwide.
- Original Version (a.k.a. The Gold Mix) (3:21)
- Extended Version (7:07)
- Salieri Version (8:21) (on the international versions of Falco 3 this mix is denoted wrongly as "Solieri Version")
- Short Salieri Version (4:50)
- Special Salieri Version (3:59)
- American Edit (3:10)
- Canadian Edit (4:02)
- Canadian/American Edit (3:59)
- Extended American Edit (6:10)
- Club Mix 1991 (6:47)
- Radio Remix 1991 (4:30)
- Instrumental Remix 1991 (1:29)
- Live Version 1985 from the album Opus & Friends (4:20)
- Live Version 1986 from the album Live Forever (6:04)
- Symphonic Remix 2008 from the album Symphonic (4:52)
- Live Symphonic Version 1994 from the DVD Symphonic (4:12)
- Falco Biography Mix 2010 from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Falco 3 (download only) (8:48)
Music video
The song's music video mixes elements of Mozart's time with 1980s contemporary society. Falco is shown in a 20th-century-style dinner jacket, walking past people in eighteenth-century formal wear. Later, he is shown dressed as Mozart, with wild colored hair, being held on the shoulders of men dressed in modern motorcycle-riding attire. At the end, the two crowds mix.
The video for the 1991 remix is a much more sexualized version, starting with the refrain 'sugar sweet', with extra footage spliced throughout, including a similar black carriage riding at night with the driver covered in lights, escorted by police motorcycles, scantily clad girls; in black leather riding outside it, and bright neon fashions inside, resembling earlier-century formal wear. A different crowd in a more Mozart-era formal attire was excessively fraternizing at a party. This version also contains red line art of Falco, guitar riff clips, and a long car scene driving away at the end, to a saxophone solo over the added refrain.