Turtle Power!

"Turtle Power!" (or simply "Turtle Power") is a song by American hip hop duo Partners in Kryme.^[1] The song was released by SBK Records and was from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack. An early unfinished version without Shane Faber's production was featured in the film's closing credits, and it is this version which is now commonly found on retro 90s compilations and on streaming sites, despite the fact the film mix was not officially released in the 1990s. In the UK, the film mix heard in the end credits featured the words "ninja" replaced with "hero", even though the film was not retitled the UK, unlike the 1987 cartoon series. The track was also used in the 2013 Activision's video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

"Turtle Power!"
Single by Partners in Kryme
from the album Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side	"Splinter's Tale" (by John Du Prez)
Released	April 13, 1990 (1990-04-13)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:54
Label	SBK
Songwriter(s)	James Alpern Richard Usher
Producer(s)	Partners in Kryme, Shane Faber (single edit/album version) Partners in Kryme (film mix)
Partners in Kryme singles chronology
"Turtle Power!" (1990) "Undercover" (1990)

"Turtle Power" was released in April 1990 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks, making it the first hip hop single to reach number one in the United Kingdom and becoming the 13th-highest-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the song peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number four in Ireland, and number seven in New Zealand.

Song information

Written by James P Alpern and Richard A Usher Jr and produced by Partners in Kryme, "Turtle Power!" rode the wave of popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. A rap record featuring the use of vocoder vocals for the chorus, it became a worldwide hit, reaching number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100,^[2] number seven in New Zealand^[3] and number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in July and August 1990.^[4] The song was also coupled with the single "Turtle Rhapsody" and included in the third Ninja Turtles film soundtrack.

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single^[5][6]

1. "Turtle Power" – 3:50
2. "Splinter's Tale 1 & Splinter's Tale 2" (performed by John Du Prez) – 5:23

12-inch and German maxi-CD single^[7][8]

1. "Turtle Power" (single edit) – 3:50
2. "Turtle Power" (album version) – 4:17
3. "Splinter's Tale 1 & Splinter's Tale 2" (performed by John Du Prez) – 5:23

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 15 Canada (The Record)[10] 6 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 57 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 13 Germany (GfK)[14] 12 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 40 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[3] 7 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 19 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 14 UK Singles (OCC)[4] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[2] 13 US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[19] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position Australia (ARIA)[20] 72 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[21] 43 Germany (Official German Charts)[22] 77 UK Singles (OCC)[23] 13

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24]	Silver	200,000^
United States (RIAA)[25]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	April 13, 1990	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl cassette	SBK	[citation needed]
United Kingdom	July 9, 1990			[26]
	July 16, 1990	7-inch picture disc		[27]

References

1. "The Pop Life – Page 2 – New York Times". The New York Times. April 11, 1990. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
2. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. June 2, 1990. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
3. "Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
5. Turtle Power (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Partners in Kryme. SBK Records. 1990. NR-07325.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. Turtle Power (US cassette single sleeve). Partners in Kryme. SBK Records. 1990. 4JM-07325.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. Turtle Power (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Partners in Kryme. SBK Records. 1990. V-19710.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. Turtle Power (German maxi-CD single liner notes). Partners in Kryme. SBK Records. 1990. 560 20 3933 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. "Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
10. "Hits of the World: Canada". Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 28. July 14, 1990. p. 63.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1256." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
12. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 33. August 18, 1990. p. IV. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
13. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
14. "Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Turtle Power". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
16. "Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
17. "Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
18. "Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power!". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
19. "Hot Rap Songs". Billboard. July 14, 1990. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
20. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart 1990 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report No. 50)". ARIA. Retrieved October 10, 2016 – via Imgur.
21. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. December 22, 1990. p. 36. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
22. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
23. "1990 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England. March 2, 1991. p. 41.
24. "British single certifications – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
25. "American single certifications – Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
26. "New Singles". Music Week. July 7, 1990. p. 39.
27. "New Singles". Music Week. July 14, 1990. p. 37. Misprinted as July 9 on source.