"Burnin' for You" is a song by American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
band
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967.
They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...
. It was released as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album ''
Fire of Unknown Origin
''Fire of Unknown Origin'' is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch.
The album, which included the Top 40 hit " Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's Album ...
'', released in June 1981, where it was the album's second track. The song was co-written by guitarist
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and rock critic songwriter
Richard Meltzer
Richard Meltzer (born May 10, 1945) is an American rock critic, performer, writer and songwriter. He is considered by some rock historians to be the first to write real analysis of rock and roll and is credited with inventing "rock criticism".
...
, who wrote lyrics for several of the band's songs. Roeser sang lead vocals on the song (as he also did on the band's biggest chart hit, 1976's "
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...
") in lieu of Blue Öyster Cult's usual lead vocalist
Eric Bloom.
The song hit No. 1 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart, and the single spent three weeks in the top 40 (peaking at No. 40) on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It was aided by a popular early
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
music video.
Composition
"Burnin' for You" was written by Blue Öyster Cult lead guitarist
Buck Dharma and rock critic
Richard Meltzer
Richard Meltzer (born May 10, 1945) is an American rock critic, performer, writer and songwriter. He is considered by some rock historians to be the first to write real analysis of rock and roll and is credited with inventing "rock criticism".
...
. Meltzer wrote numerous songs for the band, with many in conjunction with Roeser. Dharma wrote his parts of the song in his garage studio.
Dharma originally planned to keep the song for release on his 1982 solo debut album
''Flat Out''. However, Blue Öyster Cult's manager
Sandy Pearlman
Samuel Clarke "Sandy" Pearlman (August 5, 1943 – July 26, 2016) was an American music producer, artist manager, music journalist and critic, professor, poet, songwriter, and record company executive. He was best known for founding, writing for, ...
persuaded him to give the song to the band.
Reception
The song reached No. 40 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the band's second and final top 40 hit after "
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...
" reached No. 12 on the Hot 100 in 1976. It was Blue Öyster Cult's third song to ever chart on the Hot 100 and it would be their second to last after "
Shooting Shark" peaked at No. 83 in 1984.
"Burnin' for You" also became Blue Öyster Cult's first song to chart on ''Billboards newly created
Top Tracks chart (now known as Mainstream Rock Songs). It reached No. 1 on the chart dated the week of August 22, 1981, in its eighth week on the chart. It was the seventh song to ever reach No. 1 on the chart, and it stayed at No. 1 for two weeks. "Burnin' for You" remains Blue Öyster Cult's only number-one hit on the rock charts, and one of two top ten hits ("
Dancin' in the Ruins" reached No. 9 in 1986). The song stayed on the chart for 23 weeks.
''
Record World
''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' said that it's "one of
lue Oyster Cult'smost commercial outings to date, thanks to Eric Bloom's passionate vocals and a nifty melody."
Personnel
*
Eric Bloom – backing vocals
*
Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser – lead guitar, lead vocals
*
Allen Lanier
Allen Glover Lanier (; June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult.
Early life and education
Lanier was born in Birmingham, Alabama and later rel ...
– keyboards
*
Joe Bouchard
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage, based on the novel ''Joe'' (1991) by Larry Brown
* Joe (2023 film), an Indian film
* ''Joe'' (TV se ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals
*
Albert Bouchard – drums, backing vocals
Charts
Certifications
Cover version
Pop rock band
Shiny Toy Guns
Shiny Toy Guns is an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, in 2002. The band comprises guitarist/vocalist Chad Petree, vocalist/bassist/keyboardist Carah Faye Charnow, keyboardist/bassist Jeremy Dawson, ...
covered the song, albeit with a shortened pre-chorus and a bridge that just repeats "I'm burning, I'm burning, I'm burning, burning, burning..." before leading into a final chorus. This version of the song was used to advertise select models of
Lincoln sedans.
References
{{authority control
1981 songs
1981 singles
Blue Öyster Cult songs
Songs written by Buck Dharma
Songs written by Richard Meltzer
Columbia Records singles