(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)
{{Short description|1986 song by the Beastie Boys}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox song
| name = (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)
| cover = Beastie Boys YGFFYRTP.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Beastie Boys
| album = Licensed to Ill
| B-side = Paul Revere
| released = December 1986[https://books.google.com/books?id=2SQEAAAAMBAJ&q=beastie+boys+fight+for+your+right&pg=PA28 Billboard December 20, 1986]
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Rap rock{{cite news|first= Jon |last= Matsumoto |title= The Beastie Boys Provide a License to Party |publisher= Grammy Award. The Recording Academy |date= May 2, 2012 |access-date= February 20, 2014 |url= http://www.grammy.com/news/the-beastie-boys-provide-a-license-to-party}}{{cite book|first= Chris |last= Smith |year= 2009 |title= 101 Albums that Changed Popular Music |publisher= Oxford University Press |page= 189 |isbn= 978-0-1953-7371-4 |quote= the hit single (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party) was a tongue-in-cheek rap/rock hybrid that largely satirized the white frat-boy audience that made the album such a big hit.}}|hard rock{{cite book|first= Kevin M. |last= Mitchell |year= 2003 |title= Hip-hop Rhyming Dictionary: For Rappers, DJs and MCs |publisher= Alfred Music Publishing |page= 12 |isbn= 978-0-7390-3333-3 |quote= The party anthem "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by the Beastie Boys blended hard rock and rap.}}{{cite book|first= Jon |last= Stratton |year= 2009 |title= Jews, Race and Popular Music |publisher= Ashgate Publishing |page= 10 |isbn= 978-0-7546-6804-6 |quote= The Beastie Boys' success came from their acceptance by African-American audiences while making rap understandable to white audiences by combining it with hard rock — the most important example of this being '(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)'.}}}}
| length = 3:29
| label = {{hlist|Def Jam|Columbia}}
| writer = {{hlist|Adam Yauch|Rick Rubin|Adam Horovitz}}
| producer = Rick Rubin
| prev_title = The New Style
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = Brass Monkey
| next_year = 1987
| misc =
{{External music video|{{YouTube|eBShN8qT4lk|"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)"}}}}
}}
"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" (shortened to "Fight for Your Right" on album releases) is a song by American hip hop/rap rock group Beastie Boys, released as the fourth single from their debut album Licensed to Ill (1986). One of their best-known songs, it reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of March 7, 1987. Becoming Beastie Boys highest-charting single and only top-10 hit. It was later named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The song was also included on their compilation albums The Sounds of Science in 1999, Solid Gold Hits in 2005 and Beastie Boys Music in 2020.
History
The song, written by Adam Yauch and band friend Tom "Tommy Triphammer" Cushman (who appears in the video), was initially written for their side band called Brooklyn; however, Yauch proposed to use the song for the Beastie Boys. The song was meant as an insignificant portrayal of "party" and "attitude"-themed songs, such as "Smokin' in the Boys Room" and "I Wanna Rock", but unintentionally became representative of their artistic style.{{cite web|title= The Beastie Boys: The Fresh Air Interview |publisher= NPR Music |date= May 6, 2011 |access-date= February 20, 2014 |url= https://www.npr.org/2011/05/06/136019762/the-fresh-air-interview-the-beastie-boys}} Although the group initially embraced the booze-fueled party identity, their style changed when their social habits became more marijuana-centric after touring. Though they continued playing their early hits, including "Fight for Your Right to Party", on future tours, this change had the welcome{{to whom?|date=January 2025}} effect of alienating a significant population of their audience who preferred the previous style. Mike D commented that, "The only thing that upsets me is that we might have reinforced certain values of some people in our audience when our own values were actually totally different. There were tons of guys singing along to 'Fight for Your Right' who were oblivious to the fact it was a total goof on them."{{cite magazine|first= Joe |last= Taysom |title= The reason why The Beastie Boys hated one of their biggest tracks |magazine= Far Out |access-date= July 5, 2021 |url= https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/beastie-boys-hate-fight-for-your-right/}} Writing credits were given to Yauch, Ad-Rock and the Beastie Boys' producer, Rick Rubin.{{cite web|title= ACE Repertory – Fight for Your Right to Party |publisher= ASCAP |access-date= 28 October 2021 |url= https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/360228399}}
Music video
The music video for "Fight for Your Right" begins as a mother and father tell their two sons to stay out of trouble while they are away. When they leave, the two boys decide to have a party including soda and pie, hoping "no bad people show up"; this prompts the arrival of the Beastie Boys (Ad-Rock, Mike D, and MCA) at the party. The trio start all kinds of trouble within the house, such as chasing and kissing girls, starting fires, bringing more troublesome people into the house, spiking the punch, smashing things, and starting a massive pie fight. As the pie fight reaches its peak, the Beastie Boys run away, the party having become too out of hand even for them. As the video ends, the remaining partygoers shout along to the final chorus of "party!" before hitting the returning mother in the face with a pie.
Directed by Ric Menello and Adam Dubin,{{cite web|first= Gil |last= Kaufman |title= Beastie Boys Video Director Ric Menello Dead at 60 |publisher= MTV |date= March 4, 2013 |access-date= March 17, 2013 |url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702970/beastie-boys-director-ric-menello.jhtml|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130306135530/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702970/beastie-boys-director-ric-menello.jhtml|url-status= dead|archive-date= March 6, 2013}} there are numerous cameos in this video, including an unknown-at-the-time Tabitha Soren, Cey Adams,{{cite web |date=February 6, 2015 |title=Cey Adams interview about his iconic Hip Hop art |url=https://insomniacmagazine.com/cey-adams-interview-about-his-iconic-hip-hop-art/ |website=Insomniac Magazine}} Ricky Powell,{{cite web |title=The Beastie Boys Introduce The 'Main Nerd' From 'Fight For Your Right' |url=https://www.mtv.com/video-clips/14tw3p/the-beastie-boys-introduce-the-main-nerd-from-fight-for-your-right |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729042102/https://www.mtv.com/video-clips/14tw3p/the-beastie-boys-introduce-the-main-nerd-from-fight-for-your-right |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 29, 2022 |website=MTV}} members of the punk rock band Murphy's Law, as well as the Beastie Boys' producer, Rick Rubin, who was shown wearing an AC/DC and Slayer shirt, the latter of whom were also signed to Def Jam at the time.{{cite web |last=Alva |first=Freddy |date=November 30, 2018 |title=Joe Bruno: OG NYHC Roadie Shares Some of His Favorite Memories |url=https://www.noecho.net/interviews/joe-bruno-og-nyhc-roadie |url-status=live |access-date=August 1, 2022 |website=No Echo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001203540/https://www.noecho.net/interviews/joe-bruno-og-nyhc-roadie |archive-date=1 October 2020 }}
Soren, whose hair was dyed blonde for the shoot, got her chance to be in the video because she was a friend of Rubin's and attended nearby New York University. "I worked hard at not getting any pie goo on me," she recalls, because the whipped cream used had been scoured from supermarket trash cans since there was no money in the budget for it. As a result, it was rancid and had a foul odor. "The smell in that room, when everyone was done throwing pies, was like rotten eggs. You wanted to throw up."{{cite book|first1= Craig |last1= Marks |first2= Rob |last2= Tannenbaum |year= 2011 |title= I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution |publisher= Dutton |location= New York |pages= [https://archive.org/details/iwantmymtvuncens00mark/page/278 278–79] |isbn= 978-0-525-95230-5 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/iwantmymtvuncens00mark/page/278}}
''Fight for Your Right Revisited''
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2024}}
In 2011, Yauch directed and wrote a surreal comedic short film entitled Fight for Your Right Revisited to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original video's release.Edwards, G. (2011). License Renewed: Beasties Are Back. In Rolling stone (Number 1131, pp. 15-). Rolling Stone Licensing LLC. The short film serves as a video for the single "Make Some Noise" from Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Most of the non-sequitur dialogue between characters were a result of improvisation by the cast.
Revisited acts as a sequel to the events that took place in the original music video and features Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA (played by Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood, and Danny McBride, respectively) as they get into more drunken antics, before being challenged to a dance battle by the future Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA (John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell, and Jack Black, respectively), coming out of a DeLorean. Eventually, both sets of Beasties get rousted by a trio of cops (played by the actual Beastie Boys) and taken to jail.
The short features numerous cameo appearances, some appearing onscreen for only a few seconds. They include Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon (as the parents seen in the original video), Adam Scott, Alicia Silverstone, Amy Poehler, Chloë Sevigny, David Cross, Jason Schwartzman, Kirsten Dunst, Laura Dern, Mary Steenburgen, Martin Starr, Maya Rudolph, Orlando Bloom, Rashida Jones, Rainn Wilson, Shannyn Sossamon, Steve Buscemi, Ted Danson, and Will Arnett.
Although "Fight for Your Right" is not performed, its outro can be heard at the beginning of the short.
Accolades
(*) indicates the list is unordered.
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (2012) !Peak |
| Belgium (Back Catalogue Singles Flanders){{cite web|title= 50 Back Catalogue Singles – 12/05/2012 |publisher= Ultratop. Hung Medien |access-date= February 20, 2014 |url= http://www.ultratop.be/nl/weekchart.asp?cat=sb&year=2012&date=20120512}}
|align="center"|35 |
| Japan Hot 100 Singles
|align="center"|74 |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Beastie Boys|title=(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2020|id=16478-407-1|access-date=June 19, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Cover versions
=N.Y.C.C. version=
{{Infobox song
| name = Fight for Your Right (To Party)
| cover = NYCC Fight for Your Right To Party.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Standard artwork
| type = single
| artist = N.Y.C.C.
| album = Greatest Hits
| B-side = {{hlist|"Paaarty"|"Highway to Hell"|"We Are N.Y.C.C."}}
| recorded =
| studio = Boogie Park (Hamburg, Germany)
| venue =
| genre = Hip house{{cite magazine|first= Christian |last= Lorenz |title= Epic puts 'hip-house' on the map |magazine= Music & Media |volume= 15 |issue= 16 |page= 8 |date= April 18, 1998 |access-date= October 9, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1998/MM-1998-04-18.pdf}}
| length = 3:20
| label = {{hlist|Control (Europe and Australia)|Attic (Canada)}}
| writer = {{hlist|Beastie Boys|Rick Rubin}}
| producer = Dee Jay Sören
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
In 1998, the song was covered by German hip hop act N.Y.C.C. as "Fight for Your Right (To Party)". It reached the top 20 in nine countries across Europe and in Australia and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 14, it was the first song by a German hip hop group to reach the top 25.{{cite magazine|first= Christian |last= Lorenz |title= Album spotlight |magazine= Music & Media |volume= 15 |issue= 25 |page= 14 |date= June 20, 1998 |access-date= October 9, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1998/MM-1998-06-20.pdf}}
==Track listings==
- "Fight for Your Right" (single version) – 3:20
- "Fight for Your Right" (extended version) – 5:55
- "Fight for Your Right" (Disco Selection Mix) – 5:52
- "Fight for Your Right" (long instrumental version) – 4:21
UK and European 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title= "Fight for Your Right (To Party)" – UK & European 12-inch single |author=Beastie Boys |others= N.Y.C.C. |year= 1998 |type= Vinyl disc |publisher= Control Records |id= 0042640CON}}
:A1. "Fight for Your Right" (extended version)
:A2. "Fight for Your Right" (long instrumental version)
:B1. "Fight for Your Right" (Disco Selection Mix)
:B2. "Paaarty" (Deep Star version)
- "Fight for Your Right (To Party)" (single version) – 3:20
- "Fight for Your Right (To Party)" (extended version) – 5:55
- "Paaarty" (Deep Star version) – 10:14
==Credits and personnel==
Credits are lifted from the European CD single liner notes.
Studio
- Recorded and mixed at Boogie Park Studio (Hamburg, Germany)
Personnel
- Rick Rubin, Beastie Boys – writing
- Dee Jay Sören – production, recording, mixing
- Lacarone – executive production
- CASK – "N.Y.C.C." tag
==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
===Weekly charts===
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1998) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Australia|12|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020|refname="ausnycc"}} |
| {{single chart|Austria|13|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Flanders|16|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine|title= Eurochart Hot 100 Singles |magazine= Music & Media |volume= 15 |issue= 17 |page= 10 |date= April 25, 1998 |access-date= October 9, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1998/MM-1998-04-25.pdf}}
|align="center"|22 |
| {{single chart|Finland|14|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Germany|11|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|songid=3646|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Ireland2|11|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020|refname="irenycc"}} |
| {{single chart|New Zealand|13|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Norway|2|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Scotland|2|date=19980530|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Sweden|3|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Switzerland|19|artist=N.Y.C.C.|song=Fight for Your Right (To Party)|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|UK|14|date=19980530|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|UKdance|23|date=19980530|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
| {{single chart|UKindependent|2|date=19980530|access-date=October 9, 2020}} |
{{col-2}}
===Year-end charts===
{{col-end}}
==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1998|certyear=1998|access-date=October 9, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Sweden|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1998|certyear=1998|access-date=October 9, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
=Other notable covers and cultural usage=
The song was heavily sampled in 1988 for Public Enemy's "Party for Your Right to Fight".
Sammy Hagar covered the song on his 2008 album Cosmic Universal Fashion.
On August 2, 2009, Coldplay performed an acoustic piano-based version of this song during their concert on the final night of the All Points West concert series as a tribute to the Beastie Boys, who were unable to perform on opening night following Adam Yauch's announcement that he had cancer.{{cite magazine|title= Coldplay Soar at All Points West with Anthems, Beastie Boys Cover |magazine= Rolling Stone |date= August 3, 2009 |access-date= February 20, 2014 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/coldplay-soar-at-all-points-west-with-anthems-beastie-boys-cover-20090803}} The band performed this version again on May 4, 2012, at their concert at the Hollywood Bowl as a tribute to Yauch, who had died earlier that day.{{cite news|title= Coldplay pay tribute to Adam Yauch with Fight for Your Right performance |newspaper= Metro |date= May 5, 2012 |access-date= February 20, 2014 |url= http://metro.co.uk/2012/05/05/coldplay-pay-tribute-to-adam-yauch-with-fight-for-your-right-performance-414812/}}
Singer/songwriter Cara Quici sampled the song and added new lyrics for her 2013 song "Fight"{{cite magazine |date=July 22, 2013 |title=Cara Quici |url=http://www.maxim.com/todays-girl/cara-quici |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518012522/http://www.maxim.com/todays-girl/cara-quici |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |access-date=December 2, 2013 |magazine=Maxim}} personally approved by Rick Rubin and licensed by Sony ATV and Universal Music Group. The "Fight" video by Cara Quici features a cameo by Dennis Rodman.{{cite web |last=Kellman |first=Andy |title=Cara Quici – Artist Biography |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cara-quici-mn0002583665/biography |access-date=February 20, 2014 |website=AllMusic}}
After winning the 2019 AFC Championship Game, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce chanted "You gotta fight for your right to party!" in his postgame interview.{{cite magazine|first= Michael |last= Shapiro |title= Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Channels Beastie Boys in AFC Championship Celebration |magazine= Sports Illustrated |date= January 19, 2020 |access-date= February 4, 2021 |url= https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/20/travis-kelce-channels-beastie-boys-after-afc-championship}} After the Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl LIV, Kelce again used the chant from the song at the victory parade in Kansas City. The song's main chorus has since become a cultural reference among Chiefs fans, and in the 2020 season became the song played at Chiefs home games to celebrate after each touchdown scored by the team.{{cite news|first= Charles |last= Goldman |title= Reminder: Chiefs have a new touchdown song coming for 2020 |newspaper= USA Today |date= May 15, 2020 |access-date= February 4, 2021 |url= https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/2020/05/15/kansas-city-chiefs-touchdown-song-you-gotta-fight-for-your-right-to-party-beastie-boys/}} Kelce continued the tradition through his second and third Super Bowl wins with the Chiefs, even performing the song with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots on The Tonight Show.{{cite news|title= Travis Kelce: Epic Karaoke sesh w/ Fallon |newspaper= TMZ |date= February 17, 2023 |access-date= February 17, 2023 |url= https://www.tmz.com/2023/02/17/travis-kelce-belts-out-fight-for-your-right-with-jimmy-fallon-in-epic-karaoke-sesh/}}
Mötley Crüe covered this song on their 2024 EP Cancelled.{{cite web|url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/motley-crue-announces-cancelled-three-song-ep|title=MÖTLEY CRÜE Announces 'Cancelled' Three-Song EP|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|access-date=August 26, 2024|date=August 23, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist|25em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110426001659/http://www.hulu.com/watch/234862/beastie-boys-fight-for-your-right-revisited#x-4,vclip,1,0 Fight For Your Right Revisited] at Hulu
{{Beastie Boys singles}}
{{Kansas City Chiefs}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party!}}
Category:American hard rock songs
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Def Jam Recordings singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin
Category:Songs written by Ad-Rock
Category:Songs written by Adam Yauch
Category:Songs written by Mike D
Category:Songs written by Rick Rubin
Category:Quotations from hip-hop