"Wanted Man" is the first track on American heavy metal band

Ratt Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

's album ''

Out of the Cellar ''Out of the Cellar'' is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Ratt. Released in 1984, it was an immediate success, with wide airplay on radio and heavy rotation on MTV of its singles, especially the hit " Round and Round". The albu ...

''. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1985 film '' Weird Science''. The song was composed by

Robbin Crosby Robbinson Lantz Crosby (August 4, 1959 – June 6, 2002) was an American guitarist who was a member of glam metal band Ratt, earning several platinum albums in the US in the 1980s. Crosby died in 2002 from a heroin overdose. Early life Crosby ...

Stephen Pearcy Stephen Eric Pearcy (born July 3, 1956) is an American musician. He is best known as the founder, singer, songwriter and sole remaining original member of the heavy metal band Ratt. He has also created the bands Firedome, Crystal Pystal, Arcade ...

, and Joey Cristofanilli (who was briefly filling in for full-time Ratt bassist

Juan Croucier Juan Croucier (born August 22, 1959) is a Cuban-born American musician. He is best known as the bassist for the hard rock/glam metal band Ratt. Career Croucier attended Torrance High School in Torrance, California, and played in various ban ...

), and it was the second biggest hit on the album (note: "Back for More" did not qualify for a chart position since it was not an actual single release), reaching number 87 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and 38 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Background

The song was written in an abandoned building guitarist

Warren DeMartini Warren Justin DeMartini (born April 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist for glam metal band Ratt, which achieved international stardom in the 1980s. Early life DeMartini was born on April 10, 1963, in Chicago, ...

and former bassist Joey Cristofanilli were squatting in on

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

in Los Angeles. The riff was Cristofanilli's idea. On the lyrics, singer Stephen Pearcy said, "Everybody wants to be a cowboy, right? That's the whole premise of that."

Music video

The music video for the song is based on a

wild west The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

theme. In the video, the band members are a group of wanted men also known as "The Ratt Gang," the name being taken from a line in the song. The band members end up getting into a gun fight with another gang of cowboys who were also up to no good.

Track listing

#"Wanted Man" - 3:37 #"She Wants Money" - 3:04

Personnel

- Vocals *

- co-lead guitar *

- Bass guitar *

Bobby Blotzer Robert John Blotzer (born October 22, 1958) is an American musician best known as the drummer for metal band Ratt. He attended Torrance High School in Torrance, California along with his Ratt bandmate Juan Croucier. Ratt Blotzer began his car ...

- Drums

Charts

References

External links

* {{Ratt 1984 singles Ratt songs Song recordings produced by Beau Hill Songs written by Stephen Pearcy Songs written by Robbin Crosby Songs written by Joey Cristofanilli 1984 songs Atlantic Records singles