Rock Lobster Explained

Rock Lobster
Cover:Rock_Lobster - B-52s.jpg
Border:yes
Caption:Warner Bros. vinyl rerelease
Type:single
Artist:The B-52's
Album:The B-52's
Released:
  • April 1978
  • December 1979 (re-release)
Recorded:February 1978
Genre:
Length:3:57 (radio edit)
4:52 (single)
6:49 (album)
Next Title:Planet Claire
Next Year:1979

"Rock Lobster" is a song written by Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson, two members of the B-52's. It was twice recorded and released as a single, first by DB Records as their debut release in April 1978, and again the following year for the band's self-titled debut album on Warner Bros. Records.[7] [8]

The song launched the band's career and became one of their signature tunes. "Rock Lobster" was well received by critics, and went on to place at No. 147 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[9] list in December 2004. The song also inspired the name of Athens, Georgia's ice hockey team, the Rock Lobsters.

Composition and themes

The original DB Records single version has a duration of 4:37, and is faster in tempo and more "raw" than the 1979 single version, basically due to lower sound quality and the absence of a bassline. It has the same lyrics as the re-recorded version, but with more lines during the sequence that lists marine animals. The 1979 single version is edited down from the album version, which lasts about seven minutes and contains an additional verse.

According to a "Behind the Vinyl" video with B-52's singer Fred Schneider for CHBM-FM, the song was mostly inspired by the 2001 Club in Atlanta, where instead of having a light show, the club projected a slide show with pictures of puppies, babies, and lobsters on a grill.

The song's lyrics describe a beach party while mentioning both real and imagined marine animals ("There goes a dogfish, chased by a catfish, in flew a sea robin, watch out for that piranha, there goes a narwhal, here comes a bikini whale!"), with absurd noises accompanying each, provided by Kate Pierson on the higher-pitched sounds and Cindy Wilson the lower-pitched ones. The chorus features Pierson and Wilson singing a long "ahhh" at an ascending pitch, followed by Schneider exclaiming the phrase "rock lobster!".

"Rock Lobster" is written in the key of C minor (with a raised fourth in the chorus) and is in common time. Instruments used in the music include a baritone-tuned surf-style Mosrite electric guitar, a Farfisa combo organ, and drums. Pierson played the song's bassline on a Korg SB-100 synthesizer in the 1979 version.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the song "incredibly infectious" and "memorable".[10] Cash Box called it a "silly yet utterly enjoyable affair."[11] Record World said that "The dance-oriented -rock band from Georgia has already charmed critics and cults. This quirky, intriguing cut from their self-titled LP should do the same for AOR-pop fans."[12]

Chart performance

The version of "Rock Lobster" released by Warner Bros. was the band's first single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached No. 56. A major hit in Canada, the single went all the way to No. 1 in the RPM national chart. "Rock Lobster" reached #37 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1979; when reissued as a double A-side with "Planet Claire" in 1986, it peaked at No. 12.[13] In Australia, it peaked at No. 3 in 1980.

Weekly charts

Chart (1979–1980)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 56
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play24
US Cash Box[16] 74
US Record World Singles Chart[17] 67

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[18] [19] 34
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] 20

In popular culture

On January 26, 1980, the band appeared on Saturday Night Live, where they performed "Rock Lobster" and "Dance This Mess Around".

In the spring of 1980, John Lennon, whose post-Beatles music career had been on hiatus for nearly five years while focusing on raising his son Sean, was prompted to record again after hearing "Rock Lobster".[21] According to Lennon, "it sounds just like Ono's music, so I said to meself, 'it's time to get out the old axe and wake the wife up!'"[22] [23] His return to the studio led to the release of 1980's Double Fantasy, which would be his final album.[21] At a 2002 B-52's concert in New York, Ono joined the band on stage for the performance of this song.[24]

The song appears in the Family Guy episodes "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire" (in which Peter plays it on guitar),[25] and "" (as "Iraq Lobster").

It also appears in the 2008 movie (as "Rock Monster").[26] [27]

Early Commodore Amiga 500 units had "B52/ROCK LOBSTER" etched on the main circuit board.[28]

The song is playable in the video games Donkey Konga,[29] Rock Band 3,[30] and Just Dance 4.[31]

Panic! at the Disco sampled the song's guitar riff for their song "Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time" from their fifth studio album Death of a Bachelor (2016).[32]

Athens Rock Lobsters

On May 15, 2024, it was announced that the city of Athens, Georgia - where The B-52's were formed - would name their Federal Prospects Hockey League team the Rock Lobsters, honoring the song and the band.[33] The decision came after an online poll that began in April 2024 closed with two options for a team name: The Rock Lobsters or the Classic City Panic. The former was the winner of a runoff poll, where it won over the latter by 565 votes. A large internet following also helped promote voting for the Rock Lobster option.[34] A design contest was also held for the team's mascot, which has yet to be officially revealed.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Echols, Alice . Alice Echols . 2010 . Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture . . 218 . 978-0-3930-7701-8 . The B-52s' "Rock Lobster," another of the first new wave tracks to be played on disco dance floors, did not quite mock disco..
  2. Book: Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. Don. Breithaupt. Jeff. Breithaupt. July 17, 2000. A Flock of Haircuts: New Wave. 152. St. Martin's Griffin. 978-0-312-19821-3.
  3. Book: Talevski, Nick . 2006 . Rock Obituaries – Knocking on Heaven's Door . Omnibus Press . 725 . 978-1-8460-9091-2 . Featuring the quirky lead vocals of Fred Schneider, the group's début album, The B-52's (1979), became an instant classic with upbeat, lyrically amusing dance rock numbers such as 'Rock Lobster',....
  4. Josh . Jackson . The 50 Best New Wave Albums . . September 8, 2016 . August 22, 2019 .
  5. Web site: Pitchfork Staff . The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s . . August 22, 2016 . Amazingly, the song reaches a type of punk intensity, and Schneider yelling “Let’s rock!” as the band clicks into a reckless frug-groove is one of the most thrilling moments of the ’70s.. October 13, 2022.
  6. Rolling Stone Staff. June 25, 2022. The Best Summer Songs of All Time. September 10, 2023. Rolling Stone. Fred Schneider’s brilliant Jacques Cousteau-gone-bonkers lyrics...made it a psychedelic beach rocker for the ages..
  7. Web site: Lyrics: Rock Lobster by the B-52s . Top40db.net . July 29, 2013 .
  8. Jeff . Clark . Making It Up as You Go: How DB Recs Chronicled the South in the '80s . Stomp and Stammer . August 2003 . 8 . 10 . 30.
  9. Web site: 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 147 – The B-52's, 'Rock Lobster' . . December 11, 2003 . July 16, 2014 .
  10. Web site: Stephen Thomas . Erlewine . Stephen Thomas Erlewine . The B-52s – The B-52's . . July 29, 2013 .
  11. Singles Reviews > Singles to Watch . Cash Box . XLI . 38 . 17 . February 2, 1980 . January 1, 2022 .
  12. Record World. February 2, 1980. 2023-02-16. Hits of the Week. 1.
  13. Book: David Roberts . 2005 . British Hit Singles & Albums . 18 . Guinness World Records Limited . 41 . 1-904994-00-8.
  14. Web site: Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989 . Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien . July 29, 2013 .
  15. Web site: The B-52s – Awards . . June 13, 2013 .
  16. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MAY 17, 1980 . . September 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120913113359/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19800517.html.
  17. Web site: Record World Singles Chart: May 17, 1980. August 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210305162743/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/80/RW-1980-05-17.pdf. March 5, 2021. live.
  18. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1980. . 341 . . January 5, 1981 . January 17, 2022 .
  19. Web site: Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s . Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien . July 16, 2014 .
  20. Top 100 Singles . 34 . 6 . December 20, 1980 . . . July 16, 2014 . February 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150218181912/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0272&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=u9874ano8k0c5b6bkp4r8qrbp3.
  21. Web site: Pat . Pemberton . B-52s Honored to Have Inspired John Lennon's Return to Recording . . March 5, 2010 . August 6, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120806154922/http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/05/b-52s-john-lennon-yoko-ono/.
  22. John Lennon – Double Fantasy . . December 3, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101203164709/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7480/37147.
  23. News: The Beatles: A 'where have you been for the past 40 years?' guide to who's who in the fab four... . . . April 2002 . November 23, 2010 .
  24. Web site: Michael . Alex . B-52's Show They're Still from Planet Claire at NY Date . . February 5, 2002 . July 18, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131020094113/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1452151/b-52s-rock-ny-club.jhtml. dead. October 20, 2013.
  25. News: Kim . Voynar . Family Guy: The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire . . . June 13, 2005 . November 13, 2009 .
  26. Web site: Russ . Breimeier . The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything soundtrack . . . December 1, 2007 . July 29, 2013 .
  27. Web site: Robert . Sims . The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggietales Movie Review . . January 13, 2008 . July 29, 2013 .
  28. Web site: Mystery Motherboards . Amiga History Guide . June 12, 2012 . February 8, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110208214625/http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/b52board.html.
  29. Web site: Zapdos560 . Donkey Konga – Track List . . October 3, 2004 . August 5, 2021 .
  30. Web site: Owen . Good . Harmonix Confirms Entire Rock Band 3 Setlist . . 20 August 2010 . September 21, 2016 .
  31. Web site: Charles . Onyett . E3 2012: Ubisoft Announces Just Dance 4 . . June 4, 2012 . July 13, 2015 .
  32. Kevin . Rutherford . Panic! at the Disco Gets 'Good Time' Rolling in Hot Rock Songs Top 10 . Billboard . January 13, 2016 . April 7, 2016 .
  33. Mathis, Andy. "Athens Pro Hockey unveils new team name – the Rock Lobsters – honoring hometown B-52s". The Red & Black. Posted May 15, 2024. Accessed May 15, 2024. https://www.redandblack.com/sports/athens-pro-hockey-unveils-new-team-name-the-rock-lobsters-honoring-hometown-b-52s/article_8fc648e6-12f4-11ef-bbb6-171ba150bdfa.html
  34. Dennis, Ryne. "Athens pro hockey team name to be tribute to city's music scene. Here's what you chose". Athens Banner-Herald. Posted May 15, 2024. Accessed May 15, 2024. https://www.onlineathens.com/story/sports/pro/2024/05/15/athens-pro-hockey-team-picks-new-name-heres-what-voters-selected-b-52s-rock-lobsters/73669547007/

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