"All You Zombies" is a song by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
The Hooters
The Hooters are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band combines elements of rock, reggae, ska, and folk music to create its sound.
The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid-198 ...
, written by the band's founding members
Eric Bazilian
Eric M. Bazilian (born July 21, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. Bazilian is a founding member of the rock band The Hooters. He wrote " One of Us", a song first recorded by Joan Osborne in 1 ...
and
Rob Hyman
Robert Andrew Hyman (born April 24, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, keyboard and accordion player, producer, arranger and recording studio owner, best known for being a founding member of the rock band The Hooters.
Early life
Hyman st ...
. It was first recorded live and released as a single in 1982. It was subsequently included on the band's debut album ''
Amore'' (1983) and an extended version of the song was included on their second album ''
Nervous Night'' (1985). This version was released as a single in 1985 and reached no. 58 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also charted within the top 20 in Germany and New Zealand, but was most successful in Australia, where it reached Number 8 on the charts in 1985.
Background
Influenced by
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
music, co-writer
Eric Bazilian
Eric M. Bazilian (born July 21, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. Bazilian is a founding member of the rock band The Hooters. He wrote " One of Us", a song first recorded by Joan Osborne in 1 ...
said the band was working on a different song when the idea "just came to us, like a vision." The band members dropped their work on the other song and finished "All You Zombies" that night. Writing partner
Rob Hyman
Robert Andrew Hyman (born April 24, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, keyboard and accordion player, producer, arranger and recording studio owner, best known for being a founding member of the rock band The Hooters.
Early life
Hyman st ...
believed the song to be the fastest they had written "that was of any quality."
The Hooters first released a version of "All You Zombies" recorded live at the Emerald City nightclub in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, on 11 April 1981. The single was released in 1982 by Eighty Percent Records. A different version of the song later appeared on the ''
Amore'' album, released independently in 1983. Hyman and Bazilian had worked with
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...
on her album ''
She's So Unusual
''She's So Unusual'' is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on October 14, 1983, by Portrait Records. The album was re-released in 2014 to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and was called ''She's So Unu ...
'', which led to
Columbia Records offering the band a contract. They re-released "All You Zombies" with additional instrumental sections, making the song almost six minutes long. It became a minor hit in the US, reaching the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and a top 10 success in Australia, where it peaked at no. 8 for two weeks in September 1985.
The single also reached the top 20 in New Zealand and Germany.
Eric Bazilian told the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' in 1985 that he didn't know the meaning of the song despite having written it. "People ask us what it's about ... the weird thing is we didn't consciously put
he heavy stuffthere."
[ Hyman later told ]Songfacts
Songfacts is a music-oriented website that has articles about songs, detailing the meaning behind the lyrics, how and when they were recorded, and any other info that can be found.
The journalists who work for the site have interviewed thousa ...
that the biblical images, including Moses and Noah, were not part of any agenda, though some radio stations refused to play it. "I love songs like that, you just listen and every time you hear it you kind of wonder what's going on."[ the song has no connection to the 1958 ]Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
story " '—All You Zombies—' ".
Formats and track listings
* 7" single (1982)
:A. "All You Zombies" (Live) – 4:09
:B. "Rescue Me" – 4:03
* 7" single (1985)
:A. "All You Zombies" (Long) – 5:54
:B. "Nervous Night" – 3:57
* 12" promo single (1985)
:A. "All You Zombies" (Long) – 5:54
:B. "All You Zombies" (Short) – 3:52
* 12" single (1986)
:A. "All You Zombies" (Extended Version) – 5:58
:B. "Where Do the Children Go" (Extended Version) – 5:29
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Cover versions
* The song was covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
by German singer Sandra for her eighth studio album '' The Art of Love'' (2007). It was then released as a promotional single to radio stations in Poland where it received considerable airplay.
* German band Santiano covered the song in German as "Bis in alle Ewigkeit (Walhalla)" on their 2013 album ''Mit den Gezeiten''. They changed the lyrics into a song about the Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
going to Valhalla
In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...
.
References
External links
The Hooters
at Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:All You Zombies (Song)
1982 songs
1982 singles
1985 singles
Columbia Records singles
The Hooters songs
Sandra (singer) songs
Song recordings produced by Rick Chertoff
Songs written by Eric Bazilian
Songs written by Rob Hyman