"King of Rock" is a
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
single by
Run–D.M.C. and the title track from their album
of the same name. It was featured in the video games ''
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'', ''
Thrasher: Skate and Destroy'', ''
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare'', and is a downloadable track on ''
Rock Band 3
''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...
''. The song was performed by the group at the 1985
Live Aid concert.
Eddie Martinez is the song's lead guitarist and appears in the video.
''
Cash Box'' said that the song is "in the traditional boasting rap themes which touches on humor and raw social critique and makes Run D.M.C. one of the few rap groups which can transcend its original trappings."
The music video featured
Calvert DeForest as a security guard.
Cover versions
In 1996, the song was covered by Institute of Technology for the
electro-industrial
Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound ...
various artists compilation ''
Operation Beatbox
''Operation Beatbox'' is a various artists compilation album released on September 17, 1996 by Re-Constriction Records. The album compiles covers of popular hip hop tracks performed by electro-industrial acts, many of whom were part of the Re-Co ...
''.
References in popular culture
*"King of Rock" is heard in the
2010 movie ''
Cop Out
Cop out or cop-out may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Cop Out (2010 film)'', a comedy film directed by Kevin Smith
* ''Cop-Out'', a film by Lawrence L. Simeone, produced by Kimberley Casey
* ''Cop-Out'', the US title for the 1967 UK film '' S ...
''.
*The song is featured in the film
Ready To Rumble
''Ready to Rumble'' is a 2000 American buddy comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Steven Brill, which is based on Turner Broadcasting's now defunct professional wrestling promotion, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The mo ...
as Jimmy King's entrance theme.
*The
Beastie Boys' song "Putting Shame In Your Game" from the album ''
Hello Nasty
''Hello Nasty'' is the fifth studio album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys, released by Capitol Records and Grand Royal Records on July 14, 1998. It sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album ...
'' includes the lyrics "I'm the king of
Boggle
''Boggle'' is a word game invented by Allan Turoff and originally distributed by Parker Brothers. The game is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players look for words in sequences of adjacent letters.
Rules
One player begi ...
, there is none higher/I get eleven points from the word quagmire", a reference to the opening lines of "King of Rock."
Track listing
*7" - Profile (US)
# "King of Rock" – 4:38
# "King of Rock (Instrumental)" – 4:10
*12" - Profile (US)
# "King of Rock" – 6:15
# "King of Rock (Instrumental)" – 6:34
Charts
References
1984 songs
1985 singles
Run-DMC songs
Songs written by Darryl McDaniels
Songs written by Joseph Simmons
Songs written by Jam Master Jay
Songs written by Russell Simmons
Profile Records singles
4th & B'way Records singles
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