| "Rock Lobster" | ||||
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 Warner Bros. vinyl rerelease | ||||
| Single bythe B-52's | ||||
| from the albumThe B-52's | ||||
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| Recorded | February 1978[1] | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:57 (radio edit) 4:52 (single) 6:49 (album) | |||
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| The B-52's singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Rock Lobster" onYouTube | ||||
"Rock Lobster" is a song by American bandthe B-52's, written by their singerFred Schneider and guitaristRicky Wilson. It was twice recorded and released as asingle, first byDB Records as their debut release in April 1978, and again the following year for the band'sself-titled debut album onWarner Bros. (US) andIsland Records (Europe, Japan).[10][11]
The song launched the band's career and became one of theirsignature tunes.[12] "Rock Lobster" was well received bycritics, and went on to place at No. 147 onRolling Stone's500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in December 2004.[13]John Lennon said that he decided to record again in 1980, following a five-year hiatus, after hearing "Rock Lobster". The song also inspired the name ofAthens, Georgia's professionalice hockey team, theRock Lobsters.
The originalDB Records single version has a duration of 4:37, and is faster intempo and more "raw" than the 1979 single version, basically due to lower sound quality and the absence of abassline. It has the same lyrics as the re-recorded version, but with more lines during the sequence that listsmarine animals. The 1979 single version is edited down from the album version, which lasts about seven minutes and contains an additionalverse.[2]
According to a "Behind the Vinyl" video with B-52's singerFred Schneider forCHBM-FM, the song was mostly inspired by the2001 Club inAtlanta, where instead of having a light show, the club projected aslide show with pictures of puppies, babies, and lobsters on a grill.[14][15]
The song's lyrics describe a beach party while mentioning both real and imagined marine animals ("There goes adogfish, chased by acatfish, in flew asea robin, watch out for thatpiranha, there goes anarwhal, here comes a bikini whale!"),[9] with absurd noises accompanying each, provided byKate Pierson on the higher-pitched sounds andCindy Wilson the lower-pitched ones. Thechorus 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 ofC minor (with a raised fourth in the chorus) and is incommon time.[16][17] Instruments used in the music include a baritone-tunedsurf-styleMosrite electric guitar, aFarfisacombo organ, anddrums.[18] Pierson played the song'sbassline on aKorg SB-100synthesizer in the 1979 version.
New Musical Express ranked "Rock Lobster" number 13 ontheir critics' list of the best tracks of 1979.[19]Robert Christgau placed it at number 8 on his "Dean's list" of the best singles of that year.[20] In 1980,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."[21]Cash Box called the song a "silly yet utterly enjoyable affair."[22]
British music writer Garry Mulholland included "Rock Lobster" in his 2002 bookThis is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco, describing the song as "enormouslly complex in form". He highlighted its "incredible dance-rockrhythm section" and the "immediately unique and pleasurable" sound that the band had created, and concluded: "Sadly, I've only just worked out that, whenSchneider hollers, 'That's satanic butter!' near the end, he's actually saying 'Pass the tanning butter.' No matter. I still believe that satanic butter exists and is the crucial ingredient in the preparation of a Rock Lobster."[23]
Rolling Stone ranked "Rock Lobster" number 147 on its list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time, published in 2004.[13] It was voted number 81 by the staff and contributors ofPitchfork on their 2016 list of the best songs of the 1970s.[8]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic called the song "incredibly infectious" and "memorable".[12]Pitchfork said: "It's constructed likeprog rock, sounds like theavant-garde, has surreal lyrics and one of pop's most memorable guitarriffs."[24] In their bookThe Story of the B-52s, Scott Creney and Brigette Herron wrote:
The Rock Lobster single managed to sound original by virtue of pulling from so many disparate touch points in the history ofrock music. Musically, it combines elements of surf music, girl groups, and the avant-garde, powered by a series of riffs that classic rockers likeJimmy Page might have killed for. The song is so catchy that it's easy to miss how complicated it is. After the final verse (Motion in the ocean), the song starts changing sections so quickly it's hard to keep up. The structure is closer to prog-rock, orBrian Wilson's "pocket symphony"Good Vibrations, than anything typically found in new wave.[25]
The version of "Rock Lobster" released by Warner Bros. was the band's first single to appear on theBillboard Hot 100, where it reached No. 56.[26] A major hit inCanada, the single went all the way to No. 1 in theRPM national chart. "Rock Lobster" reached No. 37 on theUK Singles Chart in August 1979; whenreissued as adouble A-side with "Planet Claire" in 1986, it peaked at No. 12.[27] InAustralia, it peaked at No. 3 in 1980.[28]
Weekly charts[edit]
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On January 26, 1980, the band appeared onSaturday Night Live, where they performed "Dance This Mess Around" and "Rock Lobster".Kurt Cobain andDave Grohl mentioned seeing the B-52's in this TV episode as a memorable moment in their preteen lives.[24][40]
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 sonSean, was prompted to record again after hearing "Rock Lobster".[41] According to Lennon, "it sounds just likeOno's music, so I said to meself, 'it's time to get out the oldaxe and wake the wife up!'"[42][43] His return to the studio led to the release of 1980'sDouble Fantasy, which would be his final album.[41] At a 2002 B-52's concert in New York, Ono joined the band on stage for the performance of this song.[44]
The song appears in theFamily Guy episodes "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire" (in whichPeter plays it on guitar),[45] and "Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q" (as "Iraq Lobster"). In the 2007 movieKnocked Up, the song plays as the two main characters lead into their one-night stand.[46] It also appears in the 2008 movieThe Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (as "Rock Monster").[47][48]
EarlyCommodoreAmiga 500 units had "B52/ROCK LOBSTER" etched on the main circuit board.[49] The song isplayable in the video gamesDonkey Konga,[50]Rock Band 3,[51] andJust Dance 4.[52] The song's guitarriff wassampled byPanic! at the Disco for their song "Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time" from their fifth studio albumDeath of a Bachelor (2016).[53]
On May 15, 2024, it was announced that the city ofAthens, Georgia - where the B-52's were formed - would name theirFederal Prospects Hockey League team theRock Lobsters, honoring the song and the band.[54] 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.[55] A design contest was also held for the team's mascot.
The B-52s' "Rock Lobster," another of the first new wave tracks to be played on disco dance floors, did not quite mock disco.
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',...
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.
Fred Schneider's brilliant Jacques Cousteau-gone-bonkers lyrics...made it a psychedelic beach rocker for the ages.
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