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The River (Good Charlotte song)
Encyclopedia
"The River" is a song by the pop-punk band Good Charlotte
featuring M. Shadows
and Synyster Gates
of the heavy metal
band Avenged Sevenfold
. The song was the first single from the Good Morning Revival
album in North America
and the second single throughout the rest of the world except for Australia
.
On December 8, 2006, the second GCTV episode was released on Good Charlotte's website. "The River" was featured in the video and can be heard playing in the background. The song was premiered January 4, 2007, on their official website, and via the band's MySpace
. There are several references to the Bible through-out the song and the overall time of the song is three minutes and sixteen seconds, intentionally to reference John 3:16
.
A music video for the song was shot in mid-December, 2006, in Los Angeles, California
with director Marc Webb
, who has done the Motivation Proclamation
and Festival Song
videos for the band before, but had not directed a video for them since 2001. It features Good Charlotte
performing alongside the concrete L.A. river bank that runs through the city, contrasted with classic images of the beauty and history of Los Angeles
. The video clip shows the two sides of L.A., the excitement and glamour of L.A. that the band witnessed early on in their career and then the deeper/darker hidden side of L.A. that people and the band saw after living there for years. MySpace
celebrity Jeffree Star, is featured in the background throughout the video.
There are two different videos for the song, one including M. Shadows
and Synyster Gates
, the other video is the version of the song without the members of Avenged Sevenfold
featuring in it. GCTV Episode 3 shows the video shoot of "The River". The video featuring M. Shadows
and Synyster Gates
premiered on MTV
on February 7, 2007. The original version of the video, that does not feature Avenged Sevenfold
's guitarist Synyster Gates
and vocalist M. Shadows
, was briefly shown on TRL
.
The music video for "The River" was added to United Kingdom
music channels Kerrang!
and Scuzz
on 13 April 2007, indicating that it was the second single in the UK from Good Charlotte and it was released on 21 May 2007. The video with Gates and Shadows features them morphing into one another, Benji into Joel, Shadows into Benji and so on. Synyster Gates is seen playing his Schecter Signature guitar.
at number 93 in early February 2007 due to digital downloads, but fell off the chart the following week. However, it went back onto the charts a few weeks later, landing at number 89. It is the first Good Charlotte single to land a spot on the Billboard Pop 100
.
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...
featuring M. Shadows
M. Shadows
Matthew Charles Sanders , better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and founding member for the American metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life and musical beginnings:...
and Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. , better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life:...
of the heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
. The song was the first single from the Good Morning Revival
Good Morning Revival
Good Morning Revival is the fourth studio album by Good Charlotte and the follow-up to the 2004 release The Chronicles of Life and Death. It is the first album to feature Dean Butterworth on drums, who joined the band in March 2007 after former drummer Chris Wilson departed in 2005. Billy Martin...
album in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the second single throughout the rest of the world except for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
On December 8, 2006, the second GCTV episode was released on Good Charlotte's website. "The River" was featured in the video and can be heard playing in the background. The song was premiered January 4, 2007, on their official website, and via the band's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. There are several references to the Bible through-out the song and the overall time of the song is three minutes and sixteen seconds, intentionally to reference John 3:16
John 3:16
John 3:16 is one of the most widely quoted verses from the Christian Bible, and has been called the most famous Bible verse...
.
Track listing
- "The River" (featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates)
- "The River" (Acoustic Version)
- "You're Gone"
- "The River" (Video)
Music video
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with director Marc Webb
Marc Webb
Marc Preston Webb is an American music video, short film and major motion picture director. He directed the 2009 romantic comedy-drama Days of Summer and is currently directing the 2012 Spider-Man reboot The Amazing Spider-Man.-Life and career:Webb was born in Bloomington, Indiana, the son of...
, who has done the Motivation Proclamation
Motivation Proclamation
"The Motivation Proclamation" is the second single taken from Good Charlotte's self-titled debut album Good Charlotte.-The Video:The video was directed by Marc Webb. It consists of the band waking up in a house, and performing usual morning rituals...
and Festival Song
Festival Song
"Festival Song" is the fourth and final single taken from Good Charlotte's self-titled debut album Good Charlotte. Joel Madden of Good Charlotte says the song is about the HFStival, an annual rock festival sponsored by Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland radio station WHFS...
videos for the band before, but had not directed a video for them since 2001. It features Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...
performing alongside the concrete L.A. river bank that runs through the city, contrasted with classic images of the beauty and history of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The video clip shows the two sides of L.A., the excitement and glamour of L.A. that the band witnessed early on in their career and then the deeper/darker hidden side of L.A. that people and the band saw after living there for years. MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
celebrity Jeffree Star, is featured in the background throughout the video.
M. Shadows
Matthew Charles Sanders , better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and founding member for the American metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life and musical beginnings:...
and Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. , better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life:...
, the other video is the version of the song without the members of Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
featuring in it. GCTV Episode 3 shows the video shoot of "The River". The video featuring M. Shadows
M. Shadows
Matthew Charles Sanders , better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and founding member for the American metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life and musical beginnings:...
and Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. , better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life:...
premiered on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
on February 7, 2007. The original version of the video, that does not feature Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
's guitarist Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. , better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life:...
and vocalist M. Shadows
M. Shadows
Matthew Charles Sanders , better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and founding member for the American metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life and musical beginnings:...
, was briefly shown on TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
.
The music video for "The River" was added to United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music channels Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and Scuzz
Scuzz
Scuzz is a British music television channel owned and operated by CSC Media Group . It launched on 17 April 2003 and has gone on to be the highest-rated rock TV station on UK satellite. The channel plays a broad range of rock and all its subgenres...
on 13 April 2007, indicating that it was the second single in the UK from Good Charlotte and it was released on 21 May 2007. The video with Gates and Shadows features them morphing into one another, Benji into Joel, Shadows into Benji and so on. Synyster Gates is seen playing his Schecter Signature guitar.
Chart performance
"The River" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard 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...
at number 93 in early February 2007 due to digital downloads, but fell off the chart the following week. However, it went back onto the charts a few weeks later, landing at number 89. It is the first Good Charlotte single to land a spot on the Billboard Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... n Singles Chart |
37 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 40 |
| German Top 100 | 40 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
108 |
| U.S. Hot 100 | 39 |
| Hot Digital Songs Hot Digital Songs The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of... |
26 |
| Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
38 |
| U.S. Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
39 |