Kickstart My Heart Explained

Kickstart My Heart
Cover:kickstart_my_heart.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Mötley Crüe
Album:Dr. Feelgood
B-Side:She Goes Down
Released:November 20, 1989
Genre:Glam metal[1] [2] [3] [4]
Length:4:48
Label:Elektra
Producer:Bob Rock
Prev Title:Dr. Feelgood
Prev Year:1989
Next Title:Without You
Next Year:1990

"Kickstart My Heart" is a song by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, originally released on their 1989 album, Dr. Feelgood. Released as the album's second single in 1989, "Kickstart My Heart" reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in early 1990.[5]

Background

In a 2015 interview, Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx related the origins of "Kickstart My Heart", which he wrote while the band was already working on Dr. Feelgood. Sixx was playing acoustic guitar in his house while scribbling words on a piece of paper. When the group’s former manager read the words, he encouraged Sixx to share it with the rest of the band. Sixx was reluctant, but eventually did show the band and the track came together quickly.[6] The phrase "kickstart my heart" supposedly refers to Sixx's overdose incident where a paramedic injected his heart with adrenaline; Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler disputes the accuracy of the story, saying he revived Sixx before the paramedics arrived.[7]

Music video

1989 video

The video clip was shot at the Whisky a Go Go on October 5, 1989, during Mötley Crüe's warm-up show before embarking on the Dr. Feelgood world tour. Sam Kinison is featured at the start of the video chauffeuring the band to the Whisky in a 1946 Buick ambulance.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2019)Peak
position
Canada Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales[9] 15
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 6

Use in media

Notes and References

  1. Readers' Poll: The 10 Greatest Hair Metal Songs . . February 1, 2019 . February 5, 2014.
  2. Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties – Guitar World. Guitar World. 28 February 2021. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121004060642/http://www.guitarworld.com/top_20_hair_metal_albums_of_the_eighties?page=0,0. 4 October 2012. “Dr. Feelgood,” “Kickstart My Heart,” “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” and “She Goes Down” are as good as pop metal ever got.
  3. Web site: The Ultimate Hair Metal Party Playlist. 2021-03-04. Kerrang!. 5 April 2018 .
  4. Web site: Watch Ten Second Song Guy Sing Mötley Crüe's Kickstart My Heart In 17 Different Styles. 2021-06-08. Kerrang!.
  5. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4964|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic (Motley Crue charts & awards) Billboard singles].
  6. Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx shares the stories behind the band's biggest songs . Entertainment Weekly . Will . Robinson . 2015-12-22 . 2016-08-15.
  7. Web site: Steven Adler on Motley Crue's 'Kickstart My Heart' Actual Origins. Chad. Childers. Loudwire. 15 May 2018 .
  8. Web site: Top RPM Singles: Issue 5105. RPM. May 29, 2024.
  9. Mötley Crüe – Canadian Digital. May 29, 2024. Billboard.
  10. Web site: Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 13, 2019. Sverigetopplistan. sv. May 9, 2021.