"Good Boys" 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 Blondie. Released on August 11, 2003, it was the only single to be released from their eighth studio album, ''

The Curse of Blondie ''The Curse of Blondie'' is the eighth studio album from the American rock band Blondie. It was released in October 2003, and peaked at #36 in the UK. Background and recording The band departed from bankrupt Beyond Records and signed with So ...

'' (2003). The single was released as part of a two- CD set and on 12-inch vinyl. CD 1 features live versions of "

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

" and "

Rapture The rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an Eschatology, end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurre ...

", plus the video for "Good Boys" directed by

Jonas Åkerlund Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, music video director, and drummer. His video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record of fiv ...

. CD 2 features a remix by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

. The 12-inch vinyl features remixes by Giorgio Moroder, Arthur Baker, and

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) as dr ...

. "Good Boys" charted at number seven on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart and peaked at number 12 in the UK. The Australian single release coincided with the band's 2003 tour of the country, peaking at number 37 and becoming their first top-40 hit there as a group since " Island of Lost Souls" in 1982. "Good Boys" was the final single from the band for almost eight years.

Songwriting credits

Although not credited on the original single release,

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

of the British rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

was later credited as a co-writer because

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

used lyrics that were similar to those of Queen's 1977 hit "

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...

" for the

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

section. Although the lyrics are not entirely identical, Queen threatened to sue, as was explained by Harry and fellow Blondie member

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild Style'', and write ...

on a VH1 special. The lyrics used in "Good Boys" were "You got me on your face / A big disgrace / Shakin' your feathers all over the place." While the lyrics from "We Will Rock You" are "You got mud on your face / You big disgrace / Kicking your can all over the place."

Music video

The music video for "Good Boys" was directed by

. Filmed partly in black and white and partly in color, the video starts out in the style of an old silent film, with a title screen that presents the band, the song, and the director. Debbie Harry appears in a brunette wig, playing a ringmaster conducting the band in a vintage circus setting, intercut with scenes of a circus drama in which a clown is thrown inside a cage with a tiger and mauled to death. There's also a "blond" version, where Harry doesn't wear the brunette wig. Åkerlund also made an eight-minute silent short film also entitled "Good Boys" extending the clown story.

Track listings

All tracks were written by

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

Kevin Griffin Kevin Michael Griffin (born October 1, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Better Than Ezra. His songs have been performed and recorded by artists such as Taylor ...

, and

unless otherwise noted. US promo CD (SANDJ-85600-2) # "Good Boys" (radio edit) – 3:36 # "Good Boys" (album version) – 4:18 UK 12-inch single (674399 6) :A1. "Good Boys" (

extended long) – 7:07 :B1. "Good Boys" (

' Gyad Byas Myax Ya mix) – 3:40 :B2. "Good Boys" (Return to New York mix) – 8:22 UK CD1 (674399 2) # "Good Boys" (album version) – 4:18 # "Maria" (live) – 4:49 # "Rapture (live) – 6:24 # "Good Boys" (video—B&W version with color) – 3:47 UK CD2 (674399 5) # "Good Boys" (album version) – 4:18 # "Good Boys" (Giorgio Moroder extended long) – 7:07 European CD single (EPC 674065 2) # "Good Boys" (album version) – 4:18 # "Good Boys" (Giorgio Moroder extended long) – 7:07 # "Good Boys" (Scissor Sisters' Gyad Byas Myax Ya mix) – 3:40 # "Good Boys" (Return to New York mix) – 8:22 Australian CD (674065 5) # "Good Boys" (album version) – 4:18 # "Good Boys" (Giorgio Moroder single mix) – 4:06 # "Good Boys" (Dead Guy's Ghost remix) – 7:14 # "Good Boys" (Scissor Sisters' Gyad Byas Myax Ya mix extended) – 5:15

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2003 singles Blondie (band) songs Music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund Songs written by Kevin Griffin Songs written by Debbie Harry Songs written by Brian May Epic Records singles Songs involved in plagiarism controversies