Round and Round (Ratt song)
Encyclopedia
"Round and Round" is a song by American glam metal
band Ratt
which proved to be the biggest hit of their career, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100
. It appears as the third track of their album Out of the Cellar
. The song was named number 51 on "VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's" and was named the 61st best hard rock song of all time also by VH1
.
falls through the attic floor, onto the dining room table where the family members are eating. The video briefly features comedian Milton Berle
, whose nephew Marshall Berle
was Ratt's band manager at the time.
Milton Berle played the staid head-of-household and crossdressed to play the matron in the video. Both characters seem perturbed by the loud volume of Ratt's playing, and quickly leave the table. Meanwhile, a seemingly shy yet attractive woman is drawn by the music to the attic. On the way her dress becomes caught and she rips the bottom of it off. She appears in the attic as a completely different person, and begins dancing to the song. At the end of the video, the butler is seen dressed up as a metalhead and "rocking out" in a separate room.
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
band Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
which proved to be the biggest hit of their career, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It appears as the third track of their album Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar
Out of the Cellar is the breakthrough album by heavy metal band Ratt, released in 1984. It is currently certified 3x platinum by the RIAA. Produced by Beau Hill, the album features their best-known hit, "Round and Round", and other hits such as "Wanted Man", "Lack of Communication" and a...
. The song was named number 51 on "VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's" and was named the 61st best hard rock song of all time also by VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
.
Music video
The music video finds the band set up in the attic of a rich family's mansion. They start to terrorize the family members during dinner while causing a major racket with their music. During the song's guitar solo, Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartiniWarren DeMartini
Warren Justin DeMartini , nicknamed Torch, is the lead guitarist for Ratt, a popular American band during the mid-to-late 1980s Los Angeles glam metal scene.-Early life:...
falls through the attic floor, onto the dining room table where the family members are eating. The video briefly features comedian Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
, whose nephew Marshall Berle
Marshall Berle
Marshall Berle, nephew of Milton Berle, was manager of the Los Angeles rock bands Spirit, Van Halen, and Ratt. He is the founder and President of Laugh.Com, a comedy record label....
was Ratt's band manager at the time.
Milton Berle played the staid head-of-household and crossdressed to play the matron in the video. Both characters seem perturbed by the loud volume of Ratt's playing, and quickly leave the table. Meanwhile, a seemingly shy yet attractive woman is drawn by the music to the attic. On the way her dress becomes caught and she rips the bottom of it off. She appears in the attic as a completely different person, and begins dancing to the song. At the end of the video, the butler is seen dressed up as a metalhead and "rocking out" in a separate room.
Personnel
- Stephen PearcyStephen PearcyStephen Erica Pearcy is the lead singer of the 80's metal band Ratt. He has also been in the bands Arcade, Vicious Delite, Vertex, Nitronic, and Band From Hell...
- Vocals - Warren DeMartiniWarren DeMartiniWarren Justin DeMartini , nicknamed Torch, is the lead guitarist for Ratt, a popular American band during the mid-to-late 1980s Los Angeles glam metal scene.-Early life:...
- Lead & rhythm guitar - Robbin CrosbyRobbin CrosbyRobbin Crosby was an American guitarist who was a member of glam metal band Ratt, earning several platinum albums in the U.S. in the mid-to-late 1980s. Crosby was HIV positive, but died from a heroin overdose in 2002....
- Lead & rhythm guitar - Juan CroucierJuan CroucierJuan Croucier is a Cuban-American heavy metal musician.-Career:Croucier attended Torrance High School in Torrance, California. Formerly a bassist for well known metal bands Dokken and Ratt during the 1980s, Croucier was also very briefly in Quiet Riot...
- Bass guitar and backing vocals - Bobby BlotzerBobby BlotzerRobert John Blotzer, better known as Bobby Blotzer and nicknamed "Blotz" , is a drummer most famous for playing drums for glam metal band Ratt...
- Drums
Appearances, covers, references
- Lou BarlowLou BarlowLouis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
covered it on his 2005 album EmohEmohEmoh is the first solo album from Lou Barlow, the Sebadoh and Folk Implosion frontman. The album was released in 2005 and recorded at The Beech House Recording Megaplex in Wedgewood Sound, Nashville, Tennessee, United States.Rolling Stone Emoh is the first solo album from Lou Barlow, the Sebadoh...
. - Alt-Country band Meat Purveyors did a bluegrass version on their 2002 album All Relationships Are Doomed To Fail.
- 2008 film The Wrestler featured a cover version by Rat Attack, a Ratt cover bandCover bandA cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
project featuring Pearcy and guitarists George LynchGeorge Lynch (musician)George Lynch is a hard rock/heavy metal guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken, his own bands Lynch Mob and Souls of We.-Pre Dokken:...
and Tracii GunsTracii GunsTracii Guns is an American guitarist best known as the founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns as well as the supergroups Brides of Destruction and Contraband. He was also involved in the formation of the first lineup of Guns N' Roses but eventually left the group and was replaced by guitarist...
. - Stephen Pearcy joined the freaky electronic undrground Duo Kasio Kristmas on their fun,eclectic,Casio keyboards only rendition in 2011.
- Heavy metal band MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
performed it live at the Merriweather Post PavilionMerriweather Post PavilionMerriweather Post Pavilion is an outdoor concert venue located within Symphony Woods, a 40-acre lot of preserved land in the heart of the planned community of Columbia, Maryland. It was named for the American Post Foods heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post...
in MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
in 1993http://www.encycmet.com/cover/. - It is frequently covered by The DonnasThe DonnasThe Donnas are an American all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, The Runaways, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not...
at live shows. - The soundtrack to the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
features the song. - The song is featured in the Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game Saints RowSaints RowSaints Row is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It is the first title in the Saints Row series and is succeeded by Saints Row 2. A PlayStation 3 port was cancelled after protracted development time...
. - The music video gameMusic video gameA music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
s Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80sGuitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80sGuitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s is a music video game and the third installment in the popular Guitar Hero series...
and Rock RevolutionRock RevolutionRock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was first revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
contain cover versions of "Round and Round". However, the original master recording is featured in Rock Band 2Rock Band 2Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits. - The song is played during the end credits of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy episode "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas".
- Los Angeles talk radioTalk radioTalk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station KFIKFIKFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
uses the song as their news breakNewsNews is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
theme song. - The song can briefly be heard in the SupernaturalSupernatural (TV series)Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
episode "Dead in the Water". - Mickey RourkeMickey RourkePhilip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
and Marisa TomeiMarisa TomeiMarisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
sing the song together in a bar in the 2008 film The Wrestler. - One of the ZBZ sorority sisters sings a karaoke version of this song in the GreekGreek (TV series)Greek is an American comedy-drama television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University , located in Ohio, who participate in the school's Greek system...
episode "High and Dry." - In the episode "Of Mice and Little Green Men" in the show King of the Hill the song can briefly be heard as character John Redcorn pulls his jeep out of the Gribble's driveway.
- The Young WerewolvesThe Young WerewolvesThe Young Werewolves are a Philadelphia rock band formed in 2002. The trio have been labeled rockabilly, psychobilly, punk, garage, and surf by publications such as Allmusic, Fangoria, The Village Voice, Maximum RocknRoll, assorted Horror, Tattoo, Hot Rod magazines,several alternative weeklies and...
recorded a psychobillyPsychobillyPsychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
, rockabillyRockabillyRockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
version of the song for a Cleopatra RecordsCleopatra RecordsCleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
compilation.