Steady, As She Goes
Encyclopedia
"Steady, As She Goes" is the debut single
by the rock
band The Raconteurs
from their first album Broken Boy Soldiers
. It has also been covered by such artists as Corinne Bailey Rae
for BBC Radio 1's Live lounge.
A limited edition 7-inch, 45 rpm vinyl record was released in Europe on January 30, 2006, and in North America on March 7, 2006. It was a double A-sided single, with the relatively unpromoted "Store Bought Bones" as the flipside. A CD version of "Steady, As She Goes" was released on April 24 with the B-side "Bane Rendition". Two further vinyl releases were produced: the first (marked 'B') with "Store Bought Bones" as the B-side; the second (marked 'C') an acoustic rendition of "Steady, As She Goes" with "Call It a Day" as the B-side. In the US, the song reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100
and number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It achieved top ten success in the UK, where it peaked at number four, and Canada, peaking at number three.
, and focuses on the band performing the song. It premiered on MTV Two on March 10, 2006, and was also available for streaming on the band's website. In the second music video, The Raconteurs teamed up with Paul Reubens
, best known for his work as Pee-Wee Herman
. In this video, each band member plays an imaginary speed-racing hero in an old-fashioned soap box race, following the heroes on their cut-throat chase for first place. Reubens plays an unscrupulous pit boss, stooping to low levels to ensure a win for his racer, Jack Lawrence
. Lawrence and Reubens (wearing standard melodrama-villain handlebar moustaches) cheat many times throughout the race, to make sure that Lawrence wins. Patrick falls off a cliff, Brendan crashes, and Reubens shoots White ("the Copper Kid") with a blow gun. Lawrence wins. The latter video premiered exclusively on Yahoo! Music
on June 19, 2006.
7" (A) & (B)
7" (C)
said the track is "less weird than what we're used to from the ghostly singer." Rolling Stone
Magazine called the song the second best song of 2006, just behind "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. The bass in the song, especially in the intro, has drawn comparisons to the song "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", by Joe Jackson
.".
In 2007, "Steady, As She Goes" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
from their first album Broken Boy Soldiers
Broken Boy Soldiers
Broken Boy Soldiers is the debut album of The Raconteurs, released on May 15, 2006 in the United Kingdom and May 16, 2006 in the United States. The album was generally favored among critics and spawned the #1 hit single "Steady, As She Goes"...
. It has also been covered by such artists as Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
for BBC Radio 1's Live lounge.
A limited edition 7-inch, 45 rpm vinyl record was released in Europe on January 30, 2006, and in North America on March 7, 2006. It was a double A-sided single, with the relatively unpromoted "Store Bought Bones" as the flipside. A CD version of "Steady, As She Goes" was released on April 24 with the B-side "Bane Rendition". Two further vinyl releases were produced: the first (marked 'B') with "Store Bought Bones" as the B-side; the second (marked 'C') an acoustic rendition of "Steady, As She Goes" with "Call It a Day" as the B-side. In the US, the song reached number 54 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...
and number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It achieved top ten success in the UK, where it peaked at number four, and Canada, peaking at number three.
Music video
There are two music videos for "Steady, As She Goes". The first music video was directed by Jim JarmuschJim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, and focuses on the band performing the song. It premiered on MTV Two on March 10, 2006, and was also available for streaming on the band's website. In the second music video, The Raconteurs teamed up with Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens is an American actor, writer, film producer, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor...
, best known for his work as Pee-Wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his two television series and film series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an HBO special in 1981...
. In this video, each band member plays an imaginary speed-racing hero in an old-fashioned soap box race, following the heroes on their cut-throat chase for first place. Reubens plays an unscrupulous pit boss, stooping to low levels to ensure a win for his racer, Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence (bassist)
"Little" Jack Lawrence is a musician from Covington, Kentucky, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee.- Career :Lawrence plays bass guitar in The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes and The Dead Weather, as well as the autoharp and banjo in Blanche...
. Lawrence and Reubens (wearing standard melodrama-villain handlebar moustaches) cheat many times throughout the race, to make sure that Lawrence wins. Patrick falls off a cliff, Brendan crashes, and Reubens shoots White ("the Copper Kid") with a blow gun. Lawrence wins. The latter video premiered exclusively on Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
on June 19, 2006.
Track listing
CD- "Steady, As She Goes"
- "The Bane Rendition"
7" (A) & (B)
- "Steady, As She Goes"
- "Store Bought Bones"
7" (C)
- "Steady, As She Goes" (acoustic)
- "Call It a Day"
Critical Response
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said the track is "less weird than what we're used to from the ghostly singer." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Magazine called the song the second best song of 2006, just behind "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. The bass in the song, especially in the intro, has drawn comparisons to the song "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", by Joe Jackson
Joe Jackson (musician)
Joe Jackson is an English musician and singer-songwriter now living in Berlin, whose five Grammy Award nominations span from 1979 to 2001...
.".
In 2007, "Steady, As She Goes" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
.
Other appearances
- PsychPsychPsych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
(2007) - The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary ShowThe Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary ShowThe Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show is a 2-disc compilation album of BBC Radio 2 popular music recordings, released in the United Kingdom in July 2007...
(2007) - Guitar Hero 5Guitar Hero 5Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
(2009) - Lego Rock BandLego Rock BandLego Rock Band is a music video game and part of the Rock Band series developed by Harmonix Music Systems, but also incorporates elements from other Lego video games as developed by Traveller's Tales. The game is published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games...
(2009) (DLC) - 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...
(2009) (DLC) - Theme tune to BBC Radio 4 show Saturday LiveSaturday LiveSaturday Live was an Irish chat show hosted by various guest presenters and was broadcast live on Saturday nights. The show was broadcast during the autumn-spring season and was created to fill the vacant Saturday night slot after the departure of The Late Late Show from Saturday to Friday...
.
External links
- NMENMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
Review "...wonderful..." link Feb 2006