"Lit Up" is the debut single by American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band
Buckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1995. The band released two albums, ''Buckcherry'' (1999) and ''Time Bomb'' (2001), before dissolving in 2002. Buckcherry's first album ''Buckcherry'' was DreamWorks first a ...
, taken from their
self-titled debut album. It was the band's first and only number one song on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
chart.
Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist
*Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...
from the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
played guitar on the song. The riff was taken from the intro riff to the
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
song "
Shock Me
"Shock Me" is a song by American heavy metal band Kiss, which first appeared on their 1977 album ''Love Gun''. It was written by lead guitarist Ace Frehley, who made his lead vocal debut. The song was inspired by an event that took place during K ...
".
Content
Singer Josh Todd said, "'Lit Up' is about the first time I did cocaine. I knew a couple of dealers in high school and had a lot of fun with that until it wasn't fun anymore - haha!"
Awards
The song reached number one on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
chart for three weeks and number 33 on the
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
in mid-1999. It was ranked number 98 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs in January 2009.
Music video
The music video for the song features the band playing in front of an audience. MTV censored the lines glorifying
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
.
See also
*
List of ''RPM'' number-one alternative rock singles
*
List of ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1990s
References
1999 debut singles
Buckcherry songs
Songs written by Josh Todd
Songs about cocaine
DreamWorks Records singles
1998 songs
{{1990s-rock-song-stub