"Last Nite" is a song by American rock band

the Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

. It was released on October 23, 2001, as the second single from their debut album, ''

Is This It ''Is This It'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Strokes. It was first released on July 30, 2001 in Australia, with RCA Records handling the release internationally and Rough Trade Records handling the United Kingdom release. It ...

'' (2001). Outside of the United States, "Last Nite" peaked within the top 20 of the charts in the United Kingdom.

Background

The track was produced by

Gordon Raphael Gordon Raphael is an American record producer and musician from Seattle, Washington and New York (state), New York, currently living in Hebden Bridge (UK), after a 15 years in Berlin. Gordon runs a website calleGordotronicwhich features his ow ...

and was issued on

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

with the song "

When It Started "When It Started" is a song by the garage rock band The Strokes. It appears in the film ''Spider-Man'' as well as the film's soundtrack. The band's publicist stated that due to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City the song replace ...

" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. The song's opening guitar riff and overall structure is based on "

American Girl American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old girls of various ethnicities, faiths, nationalities, and social classes throughout different time periods ...

" by

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

. In a 2006 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Petty commented, "The Strokes took 'American Girl' or 'Last Nite' there was an interview that took place with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you.' It doesn't bother me". The Strokes were invited to be the opening act for several dates on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 2006 tour. The solo for the song was inspired by guitarist

Freddie King Freddie King (born Fred Christian; September 3, 1934December 28, 1976), also billed as Freddy King, was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King a ...

Reception

The single was the group's first to enter the American charts, reaching the top five on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart in late 2001. Meanwhile, the single obtained success in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. In March 2005, '' Q'' placed "Last Nite" at number 66 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In September 2006, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' placed "Last Nite" at number one on its list of the 50 Greatest Tracks of the Decade. In May 2007, ''NME'' magazine placed "Last Nite" at number nine in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. It was also placed at number 16 on ''

s 50 Best Songs of the Decade and number 478 on its list of "

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

". The same publication listed it at number 155 in a revamped version of the list in 2021. In 2011, ''

'' placed it at number four on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In 2020, ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' ranked the song number two and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 20 greatest Strokes songs.

Music video

The band were originally unwilling to appear in a music video. The band eventually agreed and the resulting video was directed by

Roman Coppola Roman François Coppola (born April 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He is the son of Francis Ford and Eleanor Coppola, and is known for his film collaborations with Wes Anderson. Coppola serves as president of fi ...

Track listings

US/UK #"Last Nite" - 3:15 #"

" - 2:59 AUS #"Last Nite" - 3:15 #"When It Started" - 2:59 #"Last Nite" (Live) - 3:27 #"Take It or Leave It" (Live) - 3:29

Personnel

Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...

– vocals *

Nick Valensi Nicholas Valensi (born January 16, 1981) is an American musician, best known for his role as lead and rhythm guitarist in the American rock band The Strokes. Since 2001, the band has released six studio albums, some of which Valensi has also con ...

– guitar * Albert Hammond Jr. – guitar *

Nikolai Fraiture Nikolai Philippe Fraiture (born November 13, 1978) is an American musician best known as the bassist of the rock band The Strokes. Since co-founding the band in 1998, he has released six studio albums with them. Among other creative projects, Fr ...

– bass guitar *

Fabrizio Moretti Fabrizio Moretti (born June 2, 1980) also known as Fab, is a Brazilian-American musician and visual artist best known as the drummer for American rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since 2001. A collaborative art ...

– drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Vitamin C version

Background

American pop singer

Vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

covered "Last Nite" and released it as a single in July 2003. The song was produced by Dave Derby, Michael Kotch, and Fred Maher. The single features a sample from Blondie's " Heart of Glass". After

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

dropped Vitamin C when her second album, ''

More More may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka Shade, ...

'', did not sell as expected, she signed to

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music and V2 Benelux; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007, sold to PIAS in 2013 and partially acquired by Universal in 2022 (as part of larger PIAS 49% ...

in the UK, hoping to break into the music scene there. After her third album was recorded, this single was released exclusively in the UK with plans to release the album a month later. The album was never released.

Reception

"Last Nite" debuted and peaking at number 70 on the UK Singles Chart and fell down the chart rapidly.Roberts, David (2006). ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 588. . V2 shelved Vitamin C's album afterwards and dropped her. However, "Last Nite" is Vitamin C's only chart entry on the UK Singles Chart, making it her most successful single there.

Music video

The music video for "Last Nite" was shot in New York City. It features Vitamin C, as a blonde, in or around the

Hotel Chelsea The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hotel was designed by Philip Hubert in a styl ...

as well as other New York City night spots. The club

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

is seen in the video.

Track listings

# "Last Nite" – 3:54 # "Last Nite" (Derby & Kotch Mix) – 3:45 # "Last Nite" (I Lick That Mix by Count Caligula) – 5:40 # "Last Nite" (Clique Remix) – 6:05

Charts

Cover versions, samples and parodies

* "Last Nite" was used in the parody "Angry White Boy Polka" by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

for his 2003 album ''

Poodle Hat ''Poodle Hat'' is the eleventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on May 20, 2003. It was the fifth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and past ...

'', sung in

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

. * "Last Nite" was covered by Brazilian group Rebeldes' member

Chay Suede Roobertchay Domingues da Rocha Filho (; born 30 June 1992), known professionally as Chay Suede, is a Brazilian actor and singer-songwriter. Career Suede's first television appearance was in the fifth season of the RecordTV show ''Ídolos (B ...

for their two tours, Rebelde and Nada Pode Nos Parar, and was included in their live album, '' Rebeldes: Ao Vivo'' (2012). * "Last Nite" was sampled in the song "Only Wanna Dance with You" by

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

for her 2012 album, ''

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 2001 songs 2001 singles 2003 singles The Strokes songs Vitamin C (singer) songs Bertelsmann Music Group singles Music videos directed by Roman Coppola RCA Records singles Songs written by Julian Casablancas UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles V2 Records singles