"Doctor Jones" is a song by Danish-Norwegian

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

group

Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. As such, it is often used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (Chicago), an 82-story resid ...

, released as the fourth single from their debut album, ''

Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

''. It was the follow-up to their most successful song, "

Barbie Girl "Barbie Girl" is a song by Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua. It was released in April 1997 by Universal and MCA as the third single from the group's debut studio album, ''Aquarium''. The song was written by band members Søren Rasted, Cl ...

", and first released as a single in most of Europe in October 1997 by

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. In December 1997, "Doctor Jones" was released in Australia and peaked at 1 for seven consecutive weeks. In January 1998, the song was released in the United Kingdom and became the group's second No. 1 single, topping the chart for three weeks. Throughout the rest of Europe, the song reached the top 10 in 11 countries, topping the charts of Croatia and Ireland. Its music video, directed by Peder Pedersen, continued the same cinematic style as in "Barbie Girl", this time using ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

'' characters from the film series of the same name.

Critical reception

Scottish '' Daily Record'' remarked that the band "give

the pop treatment last offered to

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

dolls." A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote, "The motto 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' seems to have been the creed of the Aqua team when they came up with this worthy successor to the phenomenon that is "

". Not only is it a strong pop song in its own right, but the inclusion of some tasty remixes by

Antiloop Antiloop were a Swedish electronic dance music duo, formed in Lidingö in 1994 by David Westerlund and Robin Söderman. They won two Swedish Grammis Awards and six Swedish Dance Music Awards. Biography Early career (1974–1994) Robin Staffan ...

and Molella & Phil Jay among others could arouse interest from programmers who usually chart their course away from the mainstream." ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave "Doctor Jones" four out of five, adding, "While not quite as insanely catchy as "Barbie Girl", this is still perfect pop. The now familiar girl/boy chemistry will appeal to kids of all ages." The magazine's Alan Jones said, "Looking set to become rather more than

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

s — their third single sounds like a

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

song — Aqua must nevertheless first prove themselves with "Doctor Jones", another cutesy novelty along the lines of "Barbie Girl", though taken at a more frantic pace, with the same cutesy girl and more brisk and less musical male counter. Horribly commercial, with lots of Yippy-yiyying and every chance of success."

Chart performance

"Doctor Jones" peaked at No. 1 in Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it reached the top spot during its first week at the UK Singles Chart, on 1 February 1998, spending two weeks at the top. It entered the top 10 also in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, as well as on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, where it reached No. 3. Outside Europe, "Doctor Jones" was a No. 1 hit in Australia for seven weeks while peaking at No. 2 in New Zealand. In the United States, it charted 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 ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

, peaking at No. 18. "Doctor Jones" was awarded with a gold record in Germany and the Netherlands, and a platinum record in Belgium, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK. In Australia, the single earned a triple platinum record.

Retrospective response

In a 2019 retrospective review, Can't Stop the Pop wrote, "Swimming amidst a sea of killer hooks is the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, which at times feels almost a little forgotten. It’s testament to the rest of the song being so good that this winds up being the case, rather than the chorus itself being poor." Bob Waliszewski of ''

Plugged In ''Plugged In'' is a 1994 album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds. The album is the last completely new studio album released by Edmunds to feature vocals. On ''Plugged In'', Edmunds returned to the "one man band" approach of his early solo ...

'' found that the "bouncy" tune deal with "the end to a summer of love". In a 2015 review, Pop Rescue commented, "Again, the contrast and back-and-forth between

René René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the feminin ...

's gruff vocals and Lene's higher pitched dance 'eye-pee-eye-ay' vocals really help this track to keep it's up-tempo pace and catchiness. The track is fun, aided by the duo's vocal play and caricatures." Nick Reed from

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

named the song a stand out of the album, adding, "It's so effortlessly catchy, with all these little bouncy melody lines, an awesome call-and-response bit, and a chorus with an out-of-nowhere "''Wake up now!''" line that still makes me laugh today. For this one moment, Aqua were able to channel

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

at their best, and managed to write a truly perfect pop song in the process."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Doctor Jones" implies the song is based around the

character from the film series of the same name, with

René Dif René Dif (born 17 October 1967) is a Danish musician, singer-songwriter, DJ and actor, best known as the male lead vocalist of the Danish-Norwegian Eurodance group Aqua. Biography 1967–1994: Early years and private life Dif was born in Cop ...

playing Jones and rescuing his fellow band members from a stereotypical

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

tribe. The title logo is written in a similar form to that of the ''Indiana Jones'' logo. There is also a shot of airplane's flight path over a map, which is used in the film series. The lyric "Dr. Jones, wake up now" may also be a reference to ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...

'' where

Short Round This is a list of characters in the ''Indiana Jones'' series. Overview Family tree , - , style="text-align: left;", Notes: Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton ...

implores Indiana Jones to "wake up" after being brainwashed by the blood of Kālī Ma, or during a scene on an airplane when Willie Scott says, "Calling Dr. Jones, wake up!". The video was one of five

videos directed by Peder Pedersen, who would later spoof the

-movies again in his computer-animated short film ''

Lego Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick Lego Indiana Jones (stylized as LEGO ''Indiana Jones'') is a Lego theme based on the ''Indiana Jones'' film franchise created by George Lucas, licensed from Lucasfilm. The exclusive franchise (for the 'Construction Category Rights') was first a ...

'' (2008).

Track listings

* European CD1 and UK cassette single # "Doctor Jones" (radio edit) – 3:22 # "Doctor Jones" (extended version) – 5:13 * European CD2 # "Doctor Jones" (radio edit) # "Doctor Jones" (extended mix) # "Doctor Jones" (Adrenalin club mix) # "Doctor Jones" (Molella and Phil Jay mix) # "Doctor Jones" (MPJ speed dub) # "Doctor Jones" (

club mix) # "Doctor Jones" (D-Bop's Prescription mix) * UK CD1 # "Doctor Jones" (radio edit) – 3:22 # "Doctor Jones" (extended mix) – 5:13 # "Doctor Jones" (Adrenalin club mix) – 6:21 # "Doctor Jones" (Molella and Phil Jay mix) – 5:19 # "Doctor Jones" (Antiloop club mix) – 10:00 # "Doctor Jones" (D-Bop's Prescription mix) – 8:02 * UK CD2 # "Doctor Jones" (radio edit) – 3:22 # "Doctor Jones" (Metro's 7-inch edit) – 3:36 # "Doctor Jones" (Metro's X-ray dub) – 6:22 # "Doctor Jones" (Metro's full video) * Australian CD single # "Doctor Jones" (radio track) # "Doctor Jones" (extended mix) # "Barbie Girl" (extended version) # " My Oh My" (extended version) # "

Roses Are Red "Roses Are Red" is a love poem and children's rhyme with Roud Folk Song Index number 19798. It has become a cliché for Valentine's Day, and has spawned multiple humorous and parodic variants. A modern standard version is: Origins The rhym ...

" (club version) # "Barbie Girl" (Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Clinical 12-inch mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles Aqua (band) songs Indiana Jones music Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Scotland UK singles chart number-one singles Universal Records singles