Elected (song)

"Elected" is a song by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1972 as the first single off their sixth album Billion Dollar Babies. It reached number 26 during election week on charts in the United States, number 4 in the United Kingdom and number 3 in Austria. The promotional music video was directed by Hart Perry.^[2]

"Elected"
Single cover
Single by Alice Cooper
from the album Billion Dollar Babies
B-side	"Luney Tune"
Released	September 6, 1972[1]
Recorded	August 1972
Genre	Hard rock
Length	4:05 (album version) 3:40 (single version)
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Alice Cooper Glen Buxton Michael Bruce Dennis Dunaway Neal Smith
Producer(s)	Bob Ezrin
Alice Cooper singles chronology
"School's Out" (1972) "Elected" (1972) "Hello Hooray" (1973)
Official video
"Elected" on YouTube

Composition

"Elected" is a hard rock song^[3] with glam rock influences.^[4] Its political theme was inspired by the 1972 United States presidential election. Cooper called the song “total political satire," and added “we hated politics, but the idea of Alice, the scourge of the entire world, being president was just too good.”^[5]

Both the riff and part of the melody were recycled from "Reflected" which appeared on their 1969 album Pretties for You.^[6]

Legacy

Joey Ramone acknowledged the similarity between "Elected" and his band's song "I Wanna Be Sedated" according to Alice Cooper.^[7]

The song was a favorite of John Lennon, who called it "a great record" but added Paul McCartney would've done it better, which Cooper agreed with.^[8]

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
United States	26[9]
United Kingdom	4[10]
Austria	3[11]
Netherlands	5[12]
Ireland	8[13]
Germany	3[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Elected"	3:40
2.	"Luney Tune"	3:36

Album appearances

• Billion Dollar Babies - 1973
• Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits - 1974
• The Beast of Alice Cooper - 1989
• The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper - 1999
• Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper - 2001
• The Definitive Alice Cooper - 2001
• The Essentials: Alice Cooper - 2002
• School's Out and Other Hits - 2004

Personnel

• Alice Cooper – vocals
• Glen Buxton – lead guitar
• Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar
• Dennis Dunaway – bass
• Neal Smith – drums

Covers

"(I Want To Be) Elected"
Single by Mr. Bean and Smear Campaign ft. Bruce Dickinson
B-side	"(I Want To Be) Elected"
Released	April 1992
Recorded	1992
Genre	Hard rock comedy rock
Length	4:28
Label	London Records (for Comic Relief)
Songwriter(s)	A. Cooper, D. Dunaway, G. Buxton, M. Bruce, N. Smith
Producer(s)	Chris Tsangarides

• In 1992, a cover version titled "(I Want To Be) Elected" by Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean) and Smear Campaign was released in support of the British charity Comic Relief and featured a performance by Bruce Dickinson and members of the hard rock band Taste (later known as Skin). The record was released in the run up to the United Kingdom General Election of 1992 and reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart.^[15] The music video, in which Mr. Bean's doorstep canvassing and electoral stunts are intercut with the live video of Dickinson and the band, was directed by Paul Weiland.^[16]
• British hard rock band Def Leppard recorded a live version in 1987, which was used as a B-side for their songs "Heaven Is" and "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)" from their 1992 album Adrenalize.
• Following the death of Paddy Ashdown on December 22, 2018, the music video was broadcast by ITV on December 24, 2018, and featured a title card paying tribute to Ashdown.