| Smokin' in the Boys Room | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Brownsville Station |
| Album: | Yeah! |
| B-Side: | Barefootin' |
| Released: | October 1973 |
| Recorded: | 1973 |
| Studio: | Mediasound, New York City |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 2:58 |
| Label: | Big Tree |
| Producer: | Doug Morris, Brilliant Sun |
| Prev Title: | Let Your Yeah Be Yeah |
| Prev Year: | 1973 |
| Next Title: | Kings of the Party |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!. It reached number 3 in Canada[2] and on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified by the RIAA.
The song is about students hoping to avoid being caught violating their school's smoking ban by smoking cigarettes in the boys' restroom. The song begins with a spoken recitation, and the verses and a part of the chorus, are mostly spoken, rather than sung.
| (1973–1974) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 9 | |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[4] | 3 | |
| France[5] | 7 | |
| UK | 27 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 3 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[6] | 2 |
| (1974) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 74 | |
| Canada [8] | 54 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 44 | |
| US Cash Box [10] | 47 |
| Smokin' in the Boys Room | |
| Cover: | Motley Crue SITBR.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Mötley Crüe |
| Album: | Theatre of Pain |
| B-Side: | Use it or Lose it |
| Released: | 24 June 1985 |
| Recorded: | 1985 |
| Genre: | Glam metal[11] |
| Length: | 3:22 |
| Label: | Elektra |
| Producer: | Tom Werman |
| Prev Title: | Too Young to Fall in Love |
| Prev Year: | 1984 |
| Next Title: | Home Sweet Home |
| Next Year: | 1985 |
The song was covered in 1985 by Mötley Crüe. Released as a single, "Smokin' in the Boys Room" reached #16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and became Mötley Crüe's first Top 40 hit.[12] Their version of the song appears in the 1986 film The Wraith directed by Chieffallo. A LeAnn Rimes version of the song appeared on the album Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe.
Crüe's version was accompanied by a conceptual music video featuring Michael Berryman as the school principal. The video focuses on a high school student named Jimmy who is mistreated and misunderstood in school. After he is paddled by the principal for (truthfully) claiming that a dog ran off with his homework, a frustrated Jimmy goes to the boys' bathroom where he sees Motley Crüe in the mirrors. The band pulls him through the mirror to join them, and Jimmy and Motley Crüe watch a dystopian vision of the school through a barred window. At the end of the music video, the principal apologizes to Jimmy and offers an A for his missing homework; instead, Jimmy doesn't accept and rips up the homework. After Jimmy walks away, Nikki Sixx reaches out of the mirror and snatches the dumbfounded principal's toupée.
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] | 61 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[14] | 19 |
In 1981, the song was translated to Hebrew and covered by T-Slam under the name "Me'ashnim Beyahad" (Smoking Together) on their debut album. The English-language version of the album, Loud Radio featured the original version of the song.[15]
The song is referenced in the television program King of the Hill in season 10, episode 10. Brownsville Station is the favorite band of the character Lucky. The song "inspired him to smoke" and plays over the ending credits.[16] [17]