"Raise a Little Hell" is a song by Canadian rock band Trooper, released in July 1978 as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from their fourth studio album, '' Thick as Thieves''. It is the band's only US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit. Widely regarded as their signature and most popular song, the song has become a staple track of

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

and

arena rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...

, regularly being played in sport stadiums across Canada and the United States. In 2012, the song received a

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

Classic Award in recognition of 100,000 radio plays.

Film and television

The song appeared in the television series ''

Call Me Fitz ''Call Me Fitz'' is a Canadian television series produced by E1 Entertainment, Amaze Film & Television, and Big Motion Pictures. The half-hour comedy stars Jason Priestley as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick, a morally bankrupt used-car salesman wh ...

'' and ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

''; and the films '' Gutterball'' (2008), ''

Drive Angry ''Drive Angry'' (alternatively titled ''Drive Angry 3D'') is a 2011 American action horror film in the exploitation cinema tradition, directed by Patrick Lussier, who co-wrote it with Todd Farmer. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, Will ...

'' (2011) and ''

Bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

'' (2022).

Legacy

"Raise a Little Hell" has become both a staple of

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

radio stations and a popular sports anthem in Canada and the United States, most notably at

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

games.

CKKQ-FM CKKQ-FM (100.3 MHz) ''100.3 The Q'' is a commercial FM radio station in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is owned by the Jim Pattison Group with studios on Quadra Street. It broadcasts a classic rock radio format. CKKQ is a Class C sta ...

"the Q" ranked the song at #10 on their list of "The 150 Best Canadian Songs". During the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

' time at

TD Place Arena TD Place Arena, originally the Ottawa Civic Centre, is an indoor arena located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Opened in December 1967, it is used primarily for sports, including curling, figure skating, ice hockey, and lacrosse. The arena has hos ...

, from 1992 to 1996, they used Raise a Little Hell as their goal song and continued to do so when they moved to the

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1802 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas (formally 2 Pallas), ...

(now the Canadian Tire Centre) until the 2000s. The song is briefly used in the first season of

Other versions

The song is covered by Canadian punk band GrimSkunk and appears on '' Fubar: The Album'' which the soundtrack to the film "

FUBAR Military slang is a colloquial language used by and associated with members of various military forces. This page lists slang words or phrases that originate with military forces, are used exclusively by military personnel or are strongly associa ...

". The song is covered by American rock band

Head East Head East is an American rock band from Illinois. The band was formed by singer John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. They met and formed the band while John, Roger, and La ...

and appears on their 2013 album, ''Raise a Little Hell''.

Charts

References

1978 songs 1978 singles Canadian hard rock songs {{1970s-rock-song-stub