"Elected" is a song by American rock band

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, released in 1972 as the first single off their sixth album '' Billion Dollar Babies''. It reached number 26 during election week on charts in the United States, number 4 in the United Kingdom and number 3 in Austria. The promotional music video was directed by Hart Perry.

Composition

"Elected" is a

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 ...

song with

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

influences. Its political theme was inspired by the

1972 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew defeated Democratic Senator George McGovern and former Ambassador Sargent Shriver in ...

. Cooper called the song “total political satire," and added “we hated politics, but the idea of Alice, the scourge of the entire world, being president was just too good.” Both the riff and part of the melody were recycled from "

Reflected Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves. The ...

" which appeared on their 1969 album '' Pretties for You''.

Legacy

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...

acknowledged the similarity between "Elected" and his band's song " I Wanna Be Sedated" according to Alice Cooper. The song was a favorite of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

, who called it "a great record" but added

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

would've done it better, which Cooper agreed with.

Charts

Track listing

Album appearances

*'' Billion Dollar Babies'' - 1973 *'' Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits'' - 1974 *'' The Beast of Alice Cooper'' - 1989 *'' The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper'' - 1999 *'' Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper'' - 2001 *'' The Definitive Alice Cooper'' - 2001 *'' The Essentials: Alice Cooper'' - 2002 *'' School's Out and Other Hits'' - 2004

Personnel

– vocals * Glen Buxton – lead guitar * Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar * Dennis Dunaway – bass * Neal Smith – drums

Covers

* In 1992, a cover version titled "(I Want To Be) Elected" by Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean) and Smear Campaign was released in support of the British charity

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

and featured a performance by

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...

and members of the hard rock band Taste (later known as

Skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

). The record was released in the run up to the United Kingdom General Election of 1992 and reached No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart. The music video, in which Mr. Bean's doorstep canvassing and electoral stunts are intercut with the live video of Dickinson and the band, was directed by

Paul Weiland Paul Weiland OBE (born 11 July 1953) is an English motion picture and television director, writer, and producer. Weiland is a director and producer of television commercials in the UK, having made over 500 commercials, including a popular and ...

. *

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

hard rock band

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

recorded a live version in 1987, which was used as a B-side for their songs " Heaven Is" and " Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)" from their 1992 album '' Adrenalize''. * Following the death of

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internation ...

on December 22, 2018, the music video was broadcast by ITV on December 24, 2018, and featured a title card paying tribute to Ashdown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elected (song) Alice Cooper songs Songs written by Dennis Dunaway 1972 singles Mr. Bean Comic Relief singles Bruce Dickinson songs Songs written by Alice Cooper Song recordings produced by Bob Ezrin Warner Records singles London Records singles 1992 singles 1972 songs