"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop 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 his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much of Europe. The song was written by Falco and Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland.
Single by Falco | |
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from the album Falco 3 | |
Released | June 16, 1985Wolfgang 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 March 28, 1986 (Worldwide) | (German) Originally recorded in German, the song is about
Format | 7" |
Recorded | 1985 |
Genre | Neue Deutsche Welle[1] |
Length | 3:11 |
Label | A&M |
Writer(s) |
- 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 that same year, Mozart dies.
- 1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records "Rock Me Amadeus"
With "Rock Me Amadeus", Falco became the first German-speaking artist to be credited with a No. 1 single in all mainstream US pop singles charts: the Billboard Hot 100 and Cashbox Top 100 Singles. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 29 March 1986. Falco had already had a minor US hit in 1982 with "Der Kommissar" (a hit the following year there for After the Fire), "Sound of Musik" which reached No. 13, and his follow-up single from Falco 3, "Vienna Calling", which reached No. 18 on the Hot 100.
In the United Kingdom, the song hit number one on 10 May 1986, becoming the first single by an Austrian act to achieve this distinction. In the UK, where his "Der Kommissar" failed to make the charts,
In Canada, the song reached No. 1 on 1 February 1986. (There, "Der Kommissar" had reached No. 11 in January 1983, and "Vienna Calling" would hit No. 8 in April 1986.)
"Rock Me Amadeus" would later be ranked No. 87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and No. 44 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.
The song's music video mixes elements of Mozart's time with modern times. Falco is shown in a modern 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.
There is a minute longer much more sexualized version, starting with the refrain 'sugar sweet', with extra footage spliced throughout including of a similar black carriage riding at night with the driver covered in lights, escorted by police motorcycles, scantily clad girls; in black pleather riding outside it, and modernized bright neon fashions inside, resembling the earlier century formal wear. A different crowd in the more classic Mozart formal wear 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.
Thanks for the background, heard that a LOT on deployment to the Med in 85...
ReplyDeleteLoved Falco, back in the day.
ReplyDeleteHey Old NFO;
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. I really liked the music back in the 80's. The stuff today isn't as good. it was a unique decade.
Hey Jon;
Yep Falco was good, I read that he died in 1986 or 7. his jeep ws swiped by a bus in the dominican republic. THat explains why I didn't hear anything from him since the 80's.