"Where Eagles Dare" is a song by the American punk rock band Misfits. Written by frontman and vocalist

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns t ...

, the song was recorded and first released in 1979, alongside the track "Rat Fink", as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the band's single "

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...

". "Where Eagles Dare" was later included on the 1986

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' Misfits'', also known as ''Collection I''. A version of the song was also included on the compilation album ''

Legacy of Brutality ''Legacy of Brutality'' is a compilation album of early songs by the American punk rock band Misfits, released in September 1985. It contains overdubbed mixes of previously unreleased songs, mainly from the January–February 1978 '' Static Age' ...

'', which was released in 1985.

Recording and release

"Where Eagles Dare" was first recorded by the Misfits in January–February 1979 at C.I. Studios in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

. It was recorded again in June 1979 at the Song Shop in

, with Danny Zelonky producing. The Song Shop recording of "Where Eagles Dare" was released alongside the song "Rat Fink" as the

of the band's single "

", which was issued on October 31, 1979. The single, which was issued through

's own label

Plan 9 Records Plan 9 Records, originally known as Blank Records, was an independent record label that was founded in 1977 by Glenn Danzig of the horror punk band The Misfits. The label was discontinued in 1995. In 1977, Danzig founded Blank Records as a means ...

, consisted of 2,000 copies. Due to a mastering error, the songs on the single had an especially

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

-heavy sound. A version of "Where Eagles Dare", which was

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed exclusively by Danzig, was included on the 1985

''. The song was remixed again for its inclusion on the 1986 compilation album '' Misfits'' (also known as ''Collection I''), a process which fixed the mastering error present on the "Night of the Living Dead" single. This "proper" remix, along with the rest of the songs featured on ''Collection I'', was included in the 1996 box set '' The Misfits''.

Critical reception

In his book ''This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits'', author James Greene, Jr. calls the song "a crude pounder whose blustery chorus challenges you to take it seriously". Dan Ozzi of Diffuser.fm ranked the song #2 on his list of the 10 best Misfits songs, referring to the line "I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch / You better think about it, baby!" as being "one of the most well-known lyrics in punk rock history .. andman, is it fun to sing." Aaron Lariviere of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' ranked the song #5 on his list of the 10 best Misfits songs, writing that "there's no question the song is gold, to the point where the phrase 'goddamn son of a bitch' has become indelibly linked with the band."

Personnel

The Misfits *

– vocals *

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup. Biog ...

– bass * Bobby Steele – guitar * Joey Image – drums Production * Danny Zelonky – producer * Wayne Vlcan – engineer

Cover versions

"Where Eagles Dare" has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by such bands and artists as Bratmobile, Katy Goodman and

Greta Morgan Greta Morgan Salpeter (born February 12, 1988), better known as Greta Morgan, is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in Los Angeles, CA. Her career began in 2005 as singer/pianist of the Chicago-based band The Hush Sound. She later ...

Mac DeMarco MacBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco (born Vernor Winfield MacBriare Smith IV; April 30, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. DeMarco has released six full-length studio albums, his debut ''Rock and Roll Night C ...

, and No Fun at All. The Nutley Brass recorded an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

cover of the song for their 2005 Misfits

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

Fiend Club Lounge ''Misfits Meet the Nutley Brass: Fiend Club Lounge'' is a tribute album to the American horror punk band Misfits, recorded by the Nutley Brass (who had previously recorded a tribute record to the Ramones) and released in 2005 by Misfits Records. ...

''. Joe Pierce released a cover version on Halloween 2020

Recording and release

Critical reception

Personnel

Cover versions

See also

References

Further reading