"Rock Me Amadeus" is a song recorded by

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n musician Falco for his third studio album, '' Falco 3'' (1985). The single was made available for physical sale in 1985 in German-speaking Europe, through A&M. "Rock Me Amadeus" was written by Falco along with Dutch music producers

Bolland & Bolland Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers and brothers, Rob Bolland (born 17 April 1955) and Ferdi Bolland (born 5 August 1956). They were born in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Career The duo produced and wrote for such artists as F ...

. To date, the single is the only

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

song to peak at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which it did on 29 March 1986. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, despite the artist's popularity in his native Austria and much of Europe.

Background and production

Originally recorded in German, the song is about

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, his popularity and his debts. A longer version (eight minutes), named the "

Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarc ...

Mix", appeared on the initial US release of the album '' Falco 3''. The song was inspired by the movie ''

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: People and fictional characters * Amadeus (name) Amadeus is a theophoric name, theophoric given name derived from the Latin words ' – the Imperative mood, imperative of the word ' ("to love") – and ' ("god"). As a Compou ...

''. The US release did not include an English translation, instead remixing the song with an English background voice-over performed by ''Wie is de Mol?'' producer Rick McCullough, and presenting the following facts: :1756:

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, January 27th, Wolfgang Amadeus is born. :1761: At the age of five Amadeus begins composing. :1773: He writes his first piano

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

. :1782: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart marries

Constanze Weber Maria Constanze Cäcilia Josepha Johanna Aloysia Mozart (née Weber; 5 January 1762 – 6 March 1842) was a German soprano, later a businesswoman. She is best remembered as the spouse of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who from the eviden ...

. :1784: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart becomes a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. :1791: Mozart composes ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

''. ::On December 5th of that same year, Mozart dies. (

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

) :1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records... "Rock Me Amadeus"!

Official versions and remixes

The song was released in Europe in 1985 in its original, German-language version. For the international markets (United States, UK, Japan, etc.), several different single and extended mixes were produced by

Rob Bolland Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers and brothers, Rob Bolland (born 17 April 1955) and Ferdi Bolland (born 5 August 1956). They were born in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Career The duo produced and wrote for such artists as F ...

; none of them were solely an English-language version, but the international single versions reduced the German lyrics. However, the video, which featured the original European version, was used worldwide. # Original Version (a.k.a. The Gold Mix) (3:21) # Extended Version (7:07) # Salieri Version (8:21) (on the international versions of ''Falco 3'' this mix is denoted wrongly as "Solieri Version") # Short Salieri Version (4:50) # Special Salieri Version (3:59) # American Edit (3:10) # Canadian Edit (4:02) # Canadian/American Edit (3:59) # Extended American Edit (5:50) # Club Mix 1991 (6:47) # Radio Remix 1991 (4:30) # Instrumental Remix 1991 (1:29) # Live Version 1985 (from the album ''Opus & Friends'') (4:20) # Live Version 1986 (from the album ''Live Forever'') (6:04) # Symphonic Remix 2008 (from the album ''Symphonic'') (4:52) # Live Symphonic Version 1994 (from the DVD ''Symphonic'') (4:12) # Falco Biography Mix 2010 (from the 25th Anniversary Edition of ''Falco 3'') (download only) (8:48) # Ogris Debris Wiener Mischung 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (4:50) # Motsa's Dub Revibe 2017 (from the Falco remix series JNG RMR) (3:10) # Wolfram Mix 2019 (from the album "Amadeus" by Wolfram) (4:36) # Extended Canadian/American 2022 Re-Edit (from the best of album "The Sound Of Musik") (5:25)

Commercial performance

With "Rock Me Amadeus", Falco became the first German-speaking artist to be credited with a number-one single on both mainstream US pop singles chart, the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Singles. Prior to Falco, "

99 Luftballons "99 Luftballons" (, "99 balloons") is a song by the West German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled "99 Red Balloons" (), with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also released by Nena on the album '' 99 Lu ...

" by Nena got to number one on ''Cash Box'', but peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 29 March 1986. In the United Kingdom, where his "Der Kommissar" failed to make the charts, the song hit number one on 10 May 1986, becoming the first single by an Austrian act to achieve this distinction. "Vienna Calling" hit number 10 and three subsequent singles briefly charted. In Canada, the song reached number one on 1 February 1986. (There, "Der Kommissar" had reached number 11 in January 1983, and "Vienna Calling" would hit number 8 in April 1986.) "Rock Me Amadeus" would later be ranked number 87 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s and number 44 in

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's '' 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders''.

Music video

The song's

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

mixes elements of Mozart's time with 1980s contemporary society. Falco is shown in a 20th-century-style

dinner jacket Black tie is a semi-formal wear, semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for clothing, attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdoc ...

, walking past people in eighteenth-century formal wear. Later, he is shown dressed as Mozart, with wild colored hair, being held on the shoulders of men dressed in modern motorcycle-riding attire. At the end, the two crowds mix.

''The Simpsons'' parody

In the seventh season episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' entitled "

A Fish Called Selma "A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of the The Simpsons season 7, seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on Ma ...

Troy McClure Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated series ''The Simpsons''. He was originally voiced by Phil Hartman and first appeared in the second season episode " Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up a ...

(and other cast members) stars in a ''Planet of the Apes'' musical theatre adaptation ''Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!'', featuring a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

-style parody of "Rock Me Amadeus", " Dr. Zaius".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Original version

Canadian/American '86 mix

All-time charts

Certifications

References

External links

Song review
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{Authority control 1985 songs 1985 singles 1986 singles A&M Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs about classical music European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Falco (musician) songs Songs in German Songs written by Falco (musician) Songs written by Ferdi Bolland Songs written by Rob Bolland Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden RPM Top Singles number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Cultural depictions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart