"Photograph" is a song by the English rock band

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

and produced by

Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...

. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, ''

Pyromania Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...

'' (1983). Their lead vocalist

Joe Elliott Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...

has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses musi ...

chart, where it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the Pop Singles chart. In 2008, they performed the song with

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

on ''

CMT Crossroads ''CMT Crossroads'' is an American television program broadcast on CMT that pairs country music artists with musicians from other music genres such as alternative rock, pop, R&B, Rock, soul and more, frequently trading off performing one anot ...

''. The performance was nominated for both Wide Open Country Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year at the 2009

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

. In 2013, the song was featured in the '' Grand Theft Auto V'' video game, on the Los Santos Rock Radio station. It was also featured in the DLC release of ''

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 ...

'', in 2011.

Musical style

The song has been described as

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

, hard rock, and

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...

Reception

'' Cash Box'' called it "a well-crafted if typical hard-pop outing," praising the "incendiary metal guitar licks and deafening drumbeats."

Music video

There are two slightly different versions of the music video. The uncensored version shows a knife scene at the beginning, and on the censored version of the video, it is almost the same except the knife scene is replaced with a stationary black cat among other minor bits removed. There are several appearances of a lookalike impersonating

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

in the video, for the song is actually about the star and lead singer

's declaration that he does not just "want erphotograph" but that is all he has of her, and he must admire her from afar. The music video was directed by David Mallet and was shot on 2 December 1982 (bassist

Rick Savage Richard Savage (born 2 December 1960) is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the English rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original ...

's 22nd birthday), in Battersea, London, England. It featured the video debut of their co-lead guitarist

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...

. The video aired in heavy rotation on MTV.

Live performances

"Photograph" has been performed at every Def Leppard concert tour since its release. The song is traditionally the final song of the concert, often used during the encore (as well as fellow ''

'' track " Rock of Ages"). During these performances, Elliott attempts to rile the crowd into singing along by saying "Come on, sing it" before the first chorus. "Photograph", however, is harsh on the singer's vocals (especially as time wears on) due to the song's high notes.

Legacy

"Photograph" is widely considered one of Def Leppard's best songs and one of the best rock songs of all time. In 2009 it was named the 13th-greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. It was also listed as the 17th-greatest song of the past 25 years by VH1. In 2015, '' Loudwire'' ranked the song number one on their list of the 10 greatest Def Leppard songs, and in 2017, '' Billboard'' placed it number two on their list of the 15 best Def Leppard songs.

Personnel

– lead vocals *

– guitar solo, backing vocals * Steve Clark – lead guitar *

Pete Willis Peter Andrew Willis (born 16 February 1960) is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known as a founding member of the band Def Leppard. He co-wrote many tracks and played guitar on the band's first three albums: ''On Through th ...

– rhythm guitar *

– bass guitar, backing vocals * Rick Allen – drums *

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

– keyboards

Charts

;Original version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

;Santana featuring Chris Daughtry

References

{{Authority control Songs about Marilyn Monroe Def Leppard songs 1983 singles Songs written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Santana (band) songs Daughtry (band) songs 2011 singles 1982 songs Songs written by Steve Clark Songs written by Pete Willis Songs written by Joe Elliott Songs written by Rick Savage British power pop songs Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by David Mallet (director)