Rock Me Amadeus

"Rock Me Amadeus" is a song recorded by Austrian musician Falco for his third studio album, Falco 3 (1985). The single was made available for physical sale in 1985 in German-speaking Europe, through A&M. "Rock Me Amadeus" was written by Falco along with Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland. To date, the single is the only German language song to peak at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which it did on 29 March 1986.^[5]

"Rock Me Amadeus"
Single by Falco
from the album Falco 3
Language	German
B-side	"Urban Tropical" "Vienna Calling"
Released	May 1985
Genre	Neue Deutsche Welle[1] synth-pop[2] dance-pop[3] hip hop[4]
Length	3:22
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Falco Rob Bolland Ferdi Bolland
Producer(s)	Bolland & Bolland
Falco singles chronology
"Kann es Liebe sein?" (1984) "Rock Me Amadeus" (1985) "Vienna Calling" (1985)
Music video
"Rock Me Amadeus" on YouTube

It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, despite the artist's popularity in his native Austria and much of Europe.

Background and production

Graffiti by the artist Lush Sux [de], at the Falco Staircase next to the Kettenbrückengasse subway station [de] in the Austrian capital Vienna, depicting Falco in a Mozart outfit

Originally recorded in German, the song is about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his popularity and his debts. A longer version (eight minutes), named the "Salieri Mix", appeared on the initial US release of the album Falco 3. The song was inspired by the movie Amadeus. The US release did not include an English translation, instead remixing the song with an English background voice-over^[5] performed by Wie is de Mol? producer Rick McCullough, and presenting the following facts:

1756: Salzburg, January 27th, Wolfgang Amadeus is born.

1761: At the age of five Amadeus begins composing.

1773: He writes his first piano concerto.

1782: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart marries Constanze Weber.

1784: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart becomes a Freemason.

1791: Mozart composes The Magic Flute.

On December 5th of that same year, Mozart dies. (Requiem)

1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records... "Rock Me Amadeus"!

Official versions and remixes

The song was released in Europe in 1985 in its original, German-language version. For the international markets (United States, UK, Japan, etc.), several different single and extended mixes were produced by Rob Bolland; none of them were solely an English-language version, but the international single versions reduced the German lyrics. However, the video, which featured the original European version, was used worldwide.

1. Original Version (a.k.a. The Gold Mix) (3:21)
2. Extended Version (7:07)
3. Salieri Version (8:21) (on the international versions of Falco 3 this mix is denoted wrongly as "Solieri Version")
4. Short Salieri Version (4:50)
5. Special Salieri Version (3:59)
6. American Edit (3:10)
7. Canadian Edit (4:02)
8. Canadian/American Edit (3:59)
9. Extended American Edit (5:50)
10. Club Mix 1991 (6:47)
11. Radio Remix 1991 (4:30)
12. Instrumental Remix 1991 (1:29)
13. Live Version 1985 (from the album Opus & Friends) (4:20)
14. Live Version 1986 (from the album Live Forever) (6:04)
15. Symphonic Remix 2008 (from the album Symphonic) (4:52)
16. Live Symphonic Version 1994 (from the DVD Symphonic) (4:12)
17. Falco Biography Mix 2010 (from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Falco 3) (download only) (8:48)
18. Ogris Debris Wiener Mischung 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (4:50)
19. Motsa's Dub Revibe 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (3:10)
20. Wolfram Mix 2019 (from the album "Amadeus" by Wolfram) (4:36)
21. Extended Canadian/American 2022 Re-Edit (from the best of album "The Sound Of Musik") (5:25)

Music video

The song's music video mixes elements of Mozart's time with 1980s contemporary society. Falco is shown in a 20th-century-style dinner jacket, walking past people in eighteenth-century formal wear. Later, he is shown dressed as Mozart, with wild colored hair, being held on the shoulders of men dressed in modern motorcycle-riding attire. At the end, the two crowds mix.

The video for the 1991 remix is a much more sexualized version, starting with the refrain 'sugar sweet', with extra footage spliced throughout, including a similar black carriage riding at night with the driver covered in lights, escorted by police motorcycles, scantily clad girls; in black leather riding outside it, and bright neon fashions inside, resembling earlier-century formal wear. A different crowd in a more Mozart-era formal attire was excessively fraternizing at a party. This version also contains red line art of Falco, guitar riff clips, and a long car scene driving away at the end, to a saxophone solo over the added refrain.

Commercial performance

With "Rock Me Amadeus", Falco became the first German-speaking artist to be credited with a number-one single on both mainstream US pop singles chart, the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 Singles. Prior to Falco, "99 Luftballons" by Nena got to number one on Cash Box, but peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 29 March 1986.^[6]

In the United Kingdom, where his "Der Kommissar" failed to make the charts, the song hit number one on 10 May 1986, becoming the first single by an Austrian act to achieve this distinction. "Vienna Calling" hit number 10 and three subsequent singles briefly charted.

In Canada, the song reached number one on 1 February 1986. (There, "Der Kommissar" had reached number 11 in January 1983, and "Vienna Calling" would hit number 8 in April 1986.)

"Rock Me Amadeus" would later be ranked number 87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and number 44 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.

The Simpsons parody

In the seventh season episode of The Simpsons entitled "A Fish Called Selma", Troy McClure (and other cast members) stars in a Planet of the Apes musical theatre adaptation Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!, featuring a musical-style parody of "Rock Me Amadeus", "Dr. Zaius".^[7]

Charts

Weekly charts Original version Chart (1985–1986) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 15 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 2 Canada (The Record)[11] 2 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 10 France (IFOP)[14] 79 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 1 Italy (Musica e dischi)[16] 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 46 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[19] 6 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[20] 1 Spain (AFYVE)[21] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[24] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 1 US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)[25] 4 US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[25] 6 US Cash Box Top 100[26] 1 West Germany (GfK)[27] 1 Canadian/American '86 mix Chart (1986) Peak position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 2 Sun Diego Remix Chart (2018) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 71 Germany (GfK)[31] 63

Year-end charts Original version Chart (1985) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[32] 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 5 Chart (1986) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[34] 69 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[35] 26 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[36] 22 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[37] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[38] 28 US Cash Box[39] 19 Canadian/American '86 mix Chart (1986) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[40] 45 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[41] 38 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[42] 472

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[43]	Gold	35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[44]	Platinum	100,000^
Germany (BVMI)[45]	Gold	500,000^
Japan	—	50,000[46]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[47]	Gold	10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[48]	Gold	500,000^
United States (RIAA)[49]	Platinum	2,000,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1986
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1986
• Lists of number-one singles (Austria)
• List of number-one singles of 1986 (Canada)
• List of number-one hits of 1985 (Germany)
• List of number-one singles from the 1980s (New Zealand)
• List of number-one singles of 1986 (Ireland)
• List of number-one singles and albums in Sweden
• List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1980s