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Rock Me Amadeus

{{refimprove|date=October 2024}}

{{short description|1985 single by Falco}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Rock Me Amadeus

| cover = Rock Me Amadeus (Falco single - cover art).jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Falco

| album = Falco 3

| language = German

| B-side = {{hlist|"Urban Tropical"|"Vienna Calling"}}

| released = May 1985

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

  • Neue Deutsche Welle{{cite web|title= Neue Deutsche Welle NDW |website= Musik Himmel |date= 19 August 2018 |access-date= 5 October 2018 |url= https://musikhimmel.de/neue-deutsche-welle-ndw/ |language= de}}
  • synth-pop{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus|website= Stereogum |date= November 30, 2020|url= https://www.stereogum.com/2108633/the-number-ones-falcos-rock-me-amadeus/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= If anything, “Rock Me Amadeus” sounds like the kind of leftfield synthpop jam that couldnt’ve broken through a few years earlier.|accessdate= September 22, 2023}}
  • dance-pop{{cite book|last= Breihan|first= Tom|chapter= BTS - "Dynamite" |date= November 15, 2022|title= The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music|publisher=Hachette Book Group|location= New York|page= 294}}
  • hip hop{{cite web|first= Alexis|last= Petridis|title= Sex, Mozart and chanting monks … the 20 best Euro-pop UK hits – ranked!|website= The Guardian|date= March 28, 2024|url= https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/mar/28/sex-mozart-and-chanting-monks-the-20-best-euro-pop-uk-hits-ranked|accessdate= July 18, 2024}}

| length = 3:22

| label = A&M

| writer = {{hlist|Falco|Rob Bolland|Ferdi Bolland}}

| producer = Bolland & Bolland

| prev_title = Kann es Liebe sein?

| prev_year = 1984

| next_title = Vienna Calling

| next_year = 1985

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|cVikZ8Oe_XA|"Rock Me Amadeus"}}}}

}}

"Rock Me Amadeus" is a song recorded by Austrian musician Falco for his third studio album, Falco 3 (1985). The single was made available for physical sale in 1985 in German-speaking Europe, through A&M. "Rock Me Amadeus" was written by Falco along with Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland. To date, the single is the only German language song to peak at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which it did on 29 March 1986.{{cite news|first= Niklas |last= Sailer |title= Falcos Welthit: Oh-oh-oh Amadeus |trans-title= Falcos worldhit: Oh-oh-oh Amadeus |work= Spiegel Online |date= 31 March 2016 |access-date= 25 June 2018 |url= http://www.spiegel.de/einestages/rock-me-amadeus-von-falco-die-geschichte-des-deutschen-us-nr-1-hit-a-1084647.html |language= de}}

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 the artist's popularity in his native Austria and much of Europe.

Background and production

File:Wien - Falco-Graffiti von Lush Sux.JPG, depicting Falco in a Mozart outfit]]

Originally recorded in German, the song is about Wolfgang 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. The US release did not include an English translation, instead remixing the song with an English background voice-over performed by Wie is de Mol? producer Rick McCullough, and presenting the following facts:

:1756: Salzburg, January 27th, Wolfgang Amadeus is born.

:1761: At the age of five 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 5th of that same year, Mozart dies. (Requiem)

:1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records... "Rock Me Amadeus"!

Official versions and remixes

The song was released in Europe in 1985 in its original, German-language version. For the international markets (United States, UK, Japan, etc.), several different single and extended mixes were produced by Rob Bolland; none of them were solely an English-language version, but the international single versions reduced the German lyrics. However, the video, which featured the original European version, was used worldwide.

  1. Original Version (a.k.a. The Gold Mix) (3:21)
  2. Extended Version (7:07)
  3. Salieri Version (8:21) (on the international versions of Falco 3 this mix is denoted wrongly as "Solieri Version")
  4. Short Salieri Version (4:50)
  5. Special Salieri Version (3:59)
  6. American Edit (3:10)
  7. Canadian Edit (4:02)
  8. Canadian/American Edit (3:59)
  9. Extended American Edit (5:50)
  10. Club Mix 1991 (6:47)
  11. Radio Remix 1991 (4:30)
  12. Instrumental Remix 1991 (1:29)
  13. Live Version 1985 (from the album Opus & Friends) (4:20)
  14. Live Version 1986 (from the album Live Forever) (6:04)
  15. Symphonic Remix 2008 (from the album Symphonic) (4:52)
  16. Live Symphonic Version 1994 (from the DVD Symphonic) (4:12)
  17. Falco Biography Mix 2010 (from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Falco 3) (download only) (8:48)
  18. Ogris Debris Wiener Mischung 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (4:50)
  19. Motsa's Dub Revibe 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (3:10)
  20. Wolfram Mix 2019 (from the album "Amadeus" by Wolfram) (4:36)
  21. Extended Canadian/American 2022 Re-Edit (from the best of album "The Sound Of Musik") (5:25)

Commercial performance

With "Rock Me Amadeus", Falco became the first German-speaking artist to be credited with a number-one single on both mainstream US pop singles chart, the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 Singles. Prior to Falco, "99 Luftballons" by Nena got to number one on Cash Box, but peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 29 March 1986.{{cite magazine|title= March 29, 1986 – The Hot 100 |magazine= Billboard |access-date= 27 August 2010 |url= http://www.billboard.com/charts/1986-03-29/hot-100}}

In the United Kingdom, where his "Der Kommissar" failed to make the charts, the song hit number one on 10 May 1986, becoming the first single by an Austrian act to achieve this distinction. "Vienna Calling" hit number 10 and three subsequent singles briefly charted.

In Canada, the song reached number one on 1 February 1986. (There, "Der Kommissar" had reached number 11 in January 1983, and "Vienna Calling" would hit number 8 in April 1986.)

"Rock Me Amadeus" would later be ranked number 87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and number 44 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.

Music video

The song's music video mixes elements of Mozart's time with 1980s contemporary society. Falco is shown in a 20th-century-style 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.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

''The Simpsons'' parody

In the seventh season episode of The Simpsons entitled "A Fish Called Selma", Troy McClure (and other cast members) stars in a Planet of the Apes musical theatre adaptation Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!, featuring a musical-style parody of "Rock Me Amadeus", "Dr. Zaius".{{cite web |url=http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/the-simpsons-planet-of-the-apes-musical-oral-history-zauis.html |title=An Oral History of The Simpsons' Classic Planet of the Apes Musical |last=Fox |first=Jesse David |date=13 July 2017 |website=Vulture Magazine |access-date=16 July 2017}}

Charts

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=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Original version

!Chart (1985–1986)

!Peak
position

scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|first= David |last= Kent |author-link= David Kent (historian) |year= 1993 |title= Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |edition= Illustrated |publisher= Australian Chart Book |location= St Ives, N.S.W. |page= 107 |isbn= 0-646-11917-6}}

|15

{{singlechart|Austria|1|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
{{singlechart|Flanders|2|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
scope="row"|Canada (The Record){{cite book|first= Nanda |last= Lwin |year= 2000 |title= Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide |publisher= Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada}}

|2

{{singlechart|Canadatopsingles|1|chartid=0628|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
scope="row"|Finland (Suomen virallinen lista){{cite book|url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=78|first=Timo|last=Pennanen|year=2021|title=Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021|section=Falco|page=78|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|access-date=26 June 2022|language=Finnish}}

|10

scope="row"|France (IFOP){{cite web|title= InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste |website= InfoDisc |id= Select "Falco" from the artist drop-down menu |url= http://www.infodisc.fr/Bilan_F.php |access-date= 1 June 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130920093356/http://www.infodisc.fr/Bilan_F.php |archive-date= 20 September 2013 |language= fr}}

|79

{{singlechart|Ireland2|1|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi){{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=Musica e dischi|language=it|access-date=6 June 2022}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Falco".

|2

{{singlechart|Dutch100|46|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
{{singlechart|New Zealand|1|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
{{singlechart|Norway|6|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
scope="row"|South Africa (Springbok Radio){{cite web|title= South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (F) |website= Rock.co.za |access-date= 1 June 2013 |url= http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(F).html}}

|1

scope="row"|Spain (AFYVE){{cite book|first= Fernando |last= Salaverri |title= Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 |edition= 1st |date= September 2005 |publisher= Fundación Autor-SGAE |location= Spain |isbn= 84-8048-639-2 |language= es}}

|1

{{singlechart|Sweden|1|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
{{singlechart|Switzerland|2|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
{{singlechart|UK|1|date=19860510|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite web|title= Falco 3 – Awards |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= 1 June 2013 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/falco-3-mw0000189829/awards}}

|1

scope="row"|US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)

|4

scope="row"|US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)

|6

scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100{{cite magazine|title= CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MARCH 29, 1986 |magazine= Cash Box |url= http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19860329.html |archive-date= 2 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121002181401/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19860329.html}}

|1

{{singlechart|West Germany|1|artist=Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|songid=1269|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Canadian/American '86 mix

!Chart (1986)

!Peak
position

{{singlechart|Dutch40|3|year=1986|week=22|rowheader=true|access-date=1 June 2013}}
scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100){{cite web|title= Dutchcharts.nl – Falco – Rock me Amadeus (Canadian/American '86 Mix) |publisher= Single Top 100. Hung Medien |url= http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Falco&titel=Rock+Me+Amadeus+%28Canadian+%2F+American+%2786-Mix%29&cat=s |access-date= 1 June 2013 |language= nl}}

|2

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Sun Diego Remix

!Chart (2018)

!Peak
position

{{singlechart|Austria|71|artist=Sun Diego x Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|rowheader=true|access-date=24 February 2019}}
{{singlechart|Germany|63|artist=Sun Diego and Falco|song=Rock Me Amadeus|songid=1756358|rowheader=true|access-date=24 February 2019}}

{{col-2}}

=Year-end charts=

==Original version==

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1985)

!Position

scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40){{cite web|title= Jahreshitparade 1985 |publisher= Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien |access-date= 25 April 2014 |url= http://www.austriancharts.at/1985_single.asp |language= de}}

|5

scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade){{cite web|title= Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985 |publisher= Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien |access-date= 25 April 2014 |url= http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1985 |language= de}}

|5

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1986)

!Position

scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1986 |publisher= Kent Music Report |via= Imgur |issue= 650 |date= 29 December 1986 |access-date= 10 December 2019 |url= https://i.imgur.com/F7ais40.jpg}}

|69

scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders){{cite web|title= Jaaroverzichten 1986 |publisher= Ultratop. Hung Medien |access-date= 25 April 2014 |url= http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1986 |language= nl}}

|26

scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (RPM){{cite magazine|title= Top 100 Singles of '86 |magazine= RPM |volume= 45 |issue= 14 |date= 27 December 1986 |publisher= Library and Archives Canada |access-date= 25 April 2014 |url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0760&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0760.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0760}}

|22

scope="row"|South Africa (Springbok Radio){{cite web|title= Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986 |website= Rock.co.za |access-date= 25 April 2014 |url= http://www.rock.co.za/files/sahits_1986.html}}

|3

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|title= Top Pop Singles |magazine= Billboard |date= 27 December 1986 |volume= 98 |issue= 52 |page= Y-21 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1986/BB-1986-12-27.pdf}}

|28

scope="row"|US Cash Box{{cite magazine|title= The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1986 |magazine= Cash Box |url= http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1986YESP.html |archive-date= 2 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121002181319/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1986YESP.html}}

|19

==Canadian/American '86 mix==

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1986)

!Position

scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40){{cite web|title= Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1986 |publisher= Dutch Top 40 |access-date= 25 April 2014 |url= http://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1986 |language= nl}}

|45

scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100){{cite web|title= Jaaroverzichten – Single 1986 |publisher= Single Top 100. Hung Medien |access-date= 25 April 2014 |url= http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1986&cat=s |language= nl}}

|38

=All-time charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1958–2018)

!Position

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|title= Hot 100 Turns 60 |magazine= Billboard |access-date= 5 January 2018 |url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary}}

|472

{{col-end}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Australia|award=Gold|relyear=1985|certref={{cite book|first= Gavin |last= Ryan |year= 2011 |title= Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 |publisher= Moonlight Publishing |location= Mount Martha, Melbourne, Victoria}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Canada|artist=Falco|title=Rock Me Amadeus|award=Platinum|relyear=1985|certyear=1986|access-date=9 August 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Germany|artist=Falco|title=Rock Me Amadeus|award=Gold|relyear=1985|certyear=1985|access-date=9 August 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Japan|nocert=yes|salesamount=50,000|salesref={{cite book|title= Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 |year= 2006 |publisher= Oricon Entertainment |location= Roppongi, Tokyo |isbn= 4-87131-077-9 |language= ja}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=New Zealand|artist=Falco|title=Rock Me Amadeus|award=Gold|id=1986-05-23|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|relyear=1985}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Falco|title=Rock Me Amadeus|award=Gold|relyear=1985|id=5570-12-1|access-date=9 August 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United States|award=Platinum|relyear=1985|certyear=1986|certref={{cite magazine|title= Falco: Male Artist of the Year – Singles (Teldec/Sire) |magazine= Music & Media |volume= 3 |issue= 51/52 |page= 14 |date= 27 December 1986 |access-date= 9 August 2020 |url= http://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1986/M&M-1986-12-27.pdf}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.allmusic.com/song/rock-me-amadeus-mt0004601151 Song review] at AllMusic

{{Falco}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1985 songs

Category:1985 singles

Category:1986 singles

Category:A&M Records singles

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Cashbox number-one singles

Category:Songs about classical music

Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles

Category:Falco (musician) songs

Category:Songs in German

Category:Songs written by Falco (musician)

Category:Songs written by Ferdi Bolland

Category:Songs written by Rob Bolland

Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in Austria

Category:Number-one singles in Germany

Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand

Category:Number-one singles in South Africa

Category:Number-one singles in Spain

Category:Number-one singles in Sweden

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Cultural depictions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart