"Rock Me Amadeus" is a song recorded by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n musician Falco, for his third studio album, ''

Falco 3 ''Falco 3'' is the third studio album by Austrian singer and rapper Falco, released on 15 October 1985 by GiG Records in Austria, by Teldec in Germany and by A&M Records elsewhere. In the United States, it peaked at number three on the ''Billb ...

'' (1985). The single was made available for physical sale in 1985 in German-speaking Europe, through A&M. "Rock Me Amadeus" was written by Falco along with Dutch music producers

Bolland & Bolland Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers and brothers, Rob Bolland (born 17 April 1955) and Ferdi Bolland (born on 5 August 1956). They were born in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Career They produced and wrote for such artists as F ...

. To date, the single is the only

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

song to peak at number one of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which it did on 29 March 1986. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, despite the artist's popularity in his native Austria and much of Europe.

Background and production

Originally recorded in German, the song is about

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, his popularity and his debts. A longer version (eight minutes), named the "

Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

Mix", appeared on the initial US release of the album ''

''. The song was inspired by the movie ''

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...

''. For the US release, the song was remixed with an English background overlay. There was never a full English version. The voice-over was performed by Rick McCullough, an acquaintance of Rob and Ferdi Bolland. McCullough is a successful television director in the Netherlands known for his 20 plus years as Director of the award winning series "Wie is de Mol?". Voiceover facts :1756:

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, January 27th, Wolfgang Amadeus is born. :1761: At the age of five Amadeus begins composing. :1773: He writes his first piano

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

. :1782: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart marries

Constanze Weber Maria Constanze Cäcilia Josepha Johanna Aloysia Mozart (née Weber; 5 January 1762 – 6 March 1842) was a trained Austrian singer. She was married twice, first to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; then to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen. She and Mozart had six ...

. :1784: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart becomes a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. :1791: Mozart composes ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

''. ::On December 5th of that same year, Mozart dies. (

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

) :1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records... "Rock Me Amadeus"!

Official versions and remixes

The song was released in Europe in 1985 in its original, German-language version. For the international markets (United States, UK, Japan, etc.), several different single and extended mixes were produced by

Rob Bolland Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers and brothers, Rob Bolland (born 17 April 1955) and Ferdi Bolland (born on 5 August 1956). They were born in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Career They produced and wrote for such artists as ...

; none of them were solely an English-language version, but the international single versions reduced the German lyrics. However, the video, which featured the original European version, was used worldwide. # Original Version (a.k.a. The Gold Mix) (3:21) # Extended Version (7:07) # Salieri Version (8:21) (on the international versions of ''Falco 3'' this mix is denoted wrongly as "Solieri Version") # Short Salieri Version (4:50) # Special Salieri Version (3:59) # American Edit (3:10) # Canadian Edit (4:02) # Canadian/American Edit (3:59) # Extended American Edit (5:50) # Club Mix 1991 (6:47) # Radio Remix 1991 (4:30) # Instrumental Remix 1991 (1:29) # Live Version 1985 (from the album ''Opus & Friends'') (4:20) # Live Version 1986 (from the album ''Live Forever'') (6:04) # Symphonic Remix 2008 (from the album ''Symphonic'') (4:52) # Live Symphonic Version 1994 (from the DVD ''Symphonic'') (4:12) # Falco Biography Mix 2010 (from the 25th Anniversary Edition of ''Falco 3'') (download only) (8:48) # Ogris Debris Wiener Mischung 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (4:50) # Motsa's Dub Revibe 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (3:10) # Wolfram Mix 2019 (from the album "Amadeus" by Wolfram) (4:36) # Extended Canadian/American 2022 Re-Edit (from the best of album "The Sound Of Musik") (5:25)

Music video

The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

mixes elements of Mozart's time with 1980s contemporary society. Falco is shown in a 20th-century-style

dinner jacket Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

, walking past people in eighteenth-century formal wear. Later, he is shown dressed as Mozart, with wild colored hair, being held on the shoulders of men dressed in modern motorcycle-riding attire. At the end, the two crowds mix. The video for the 1991 remix is a much more sexualized version, starting with the refrain 'sugar sweet', with extra footage spliced throughout, including a similar black carriage riding at night with the driver covered in lights, escorted by police motorcycles, scantily clad girls; in black leather riding outside it, and bright neon fashions inside, resembling earlier-century formal wear. A different crowd in a more Mozart-era formal attire was excessively fraternizing at a party. This version also contains red line art of Falco, guitar riff clips, and a long car scene driving away at the end, to a saxophone solo over the added refrain.

Commercial performance

With "Rock Me Amadeus", Falco became the first German-speaking artist to be credited with a number-one single on both mainstream US pop singles chart, the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Singles. Prior to Falco, "

99 Luftballons "99 Luftballons" (german: link=no, Neunundneunzig Luftballons, "99 balloons") is a song by the German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled "99 Red Balloons", with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also relea ...

" by Nena got to number one on ''Cash Box'', but peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 29 March 1986. In the United Kingdom, where his "Der Kommissar" failed to make the charts, the song hit number one on 10 May 1986, becoming the first single by an Austrian act to achieve this distinction. "Vienna Calling" hit number 10 and three subsequent singles briefly charted. In Canada, the song reached number one on 1 February 1986. (There, "Der Kommissar" had reached number 11 in January 1983, and "Vienna Calling" would hit number 8 in April 1986.) "Rock Me Amadeus" would later be ranked number 87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and number 44 in

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Original version

Canadian/American '86 mix

All-time charts

Certifications

References

External links

Song review
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{Authority control 1985 songs 1985 singles 1986 singles A&M Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs about classical music European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Falco (musician) songs German-language songs Songs written by Falco (musician) Songs written by Ferdi Bolland Songs written by Rob Bolland Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden RPM Top Singles number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Cultural depictions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart