 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Frankenstein" instrumental – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| "Frankenstein" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byThe Edgar Winter Group | ||||
| from the albumThey Only Come Out at Night | ||||
| B-side | "Undercover Man" | |||
| Released | February 21, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter | Edgar Winter | |||
| Producer | Rick Derringer | |||
| The Edgar Winter Group singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Frankenstein" (single version) onYouTube | ||||
"Frankenstein" is aninstrumental track by the American rock bandEdgar Winter Group that was featured in the 1972 albumThey Only Come Out at Night and additionally released as a single.
The song topped the USBillboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1973. Frankenstein sold over one million copies. It fared equally well in Canada reaching number 1 on theRPM 100 Top Singles Chart the following month.[1] That same month, the song peaked at number 18 in theUK Singles Chart.[2] The following month, the song peaked at number 10 in Mexico. The song also peaked at number 39 inWest Germany, remaining on the chart for one week. The single was certified gold on June 19, 1973, by theRIAA.[3]
Coined by the band's drummerChuck Ruff, the song's title came about from the massive editing of the original studio recording. As the band deviated from the musical arrangement into less structured jams, the song required numerous edits to shorten it. The final track wasspliced together from many sections of the original recording. Winter also frequently referred to the appropriateness of the name in relation to its "monster-like, lumbering beat". (One riff was first used by Winter in the song "Hung Up", on his jazz-oriented first albumEntrance. He later tried a variation on it, "Martians" on the 1981Standing on Rock album.)
Winter played many of the instruments on the track, including keyboards,alto saxophone andtimbales.[4][5] As the release's only instrumental cut, the song was not initially intended to be on the album, and was only included on a whim as a last-minute addition. It was originally released as the B-side to "Hangin' Around", but the two were soon reversed by the label when disc jockeys nationwide in the United States, as well as in Canada, were inundated with phone calls and realized this was the hit.[4] The song features a "double" drum solo, with Ruff on drums and Winter on percussion. In fact, the working title of the song was "The Double Drum Song".[6] The group performed the song, withRick Derringer on guitar, onThe Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973.[7] The version featured there was over 9 minutes and is considered superior to the studio version at less than 5 minutes.
Record World called the song "a thumping instrumental featuring fine performances by each member [of the group]."[8]
The song was actually performed three years previously when Edgar was playing with his older brotherJohnny Winter at theRoyal Albert Hall in 1970. This rare recording was released in 2004 as one of several live bonus tracks included in the two-disc Legacy Edition CD of Johnny Winter'sSecond Winter.
Rolling Stone listed it number 7 on their top 25 best rock instrumentals.[9] Sections of the track were edited and sequenced into idents and jingles forAlan Freeman'sTop 40 andSaturday Rock Show on UK'sBBC Radio 1 andBBC Radio 2 for many years, often followed with Freeman's trademark opening line "Greetings Pop Pickers..."[citation needed]
In live performances of the song, Edgar Winter further pioneered the advancement of the synthesizer as a lead instrument by becoming the first person to strap a keyboard instrument around his neck, giving him the on-stage mobility and audience interaction of guitar players.[10]
The song is described as ahard rock,[11]progressive rock, andblues rock instrumental,[12][13][14] and an example ofart rock by non-art rock bands.[15]
In 1983, Winter released a beat-heavy, more-synthesizer-heavy reworking of the song;[16] its contemporaneous video, an homage with Winter appearing as Dr. Frankenstein, was added toMTV's playlist in November of that year.[17]
A cover version performed byWaveGroup Sound was featured in the video gameGuitar Hero as one of five tracks in its sixth and highest difficulty tier, referred to in-game as "Face Melters".[20]
The bandPhish has played the song live 94 times in the course of all their live shows.[21]
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band performed the song whileEdgar Winter was part of the band, with Winter playing synthesizer,alto saxophone andtimbales.[22]
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] | 19 |
| Canadian Singles Chart[24] | 1 |
| West German Singles Chart[25] | 39 |
| Mexican Singles Chart[26] | 10 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[27] | 19 |
| UK Singles Chart[28] | 18 |
| Billboard Hot 100 (US)[29] | 1 |
| Chart (1973) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Canada[30] | 22 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[3] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
edgar winter frankenstein mexico billboard.
