Barracuda (song)

Last updated

"Barracuda"
Heart - Barracuda.png
Single by Heart
from the album Little Queen
B-side "Cry to Me"
ReleasedMay 20, 1977
Recorded1977
Studio Kaye Smith, Seattle
Genre Hard rock [1] [2]
Length4:20
Label Portrait
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Mike Flicker
Heart singles chronology
"Dreamboat Annie"
(1976)		"Barracuda"
(1977)		"Little Queen"
(1977)
Music video
"Barracuda" on YouTube

"Barracuda" is a song by American rock band Heart, released in 1977 on their third studio album, Little Queen , and was released as the album's lead single. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009, "Barracuda" was named the 34th-best hard rock song of all time by VH1. [3]

Contents

The song was included on the compilation albums Greatest Hits/Live (1980), These Dreams: Greatest Hits (1997), Greatest Hits (1998), The Essential Heart (2002), Love Alive (2005), Playlist: The Very Best of Heart (2008) and Strange Euphoria (2012), and on the live albums Rock the House Live! (1991), The Road Home (1995), Alive in Seattle (2003) and Live in Atlantic City (2019).

Origin

Lyrics

Ann Wilson revealed in interviews that the song was about Heart's anger towards Mushroom Records, who as a publicity stunt released a made-up story of an incestuous affair involving Ann and her sister Nancy Wilson. The song particularly focuses on Ann's rage towards a male radio promoter who came up to her after a concert asking how her "lover" was. She initially thought he was talking about her boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher. After he revealed he was talking about her sister Nancy, Ann became outraged, went back to her hotel room, and wrote the original lyrics of the song. [4] When she relayed the incident to Nancy, she, too, was infuriated. Nancy joined Ann and contributed a melody and bridge. [5]

Producer Mike Flicker added that Mushroom Records was so obtuse in the contract negotiations that Heart decided to discard the album they were working on, Magazine —which the label still released in an unfinished form—and instead sign with the newly formed Portrait Records to make another record, Little Queen . As Flicker put it, "'Barracuda' was created conceptually out of a lot of this record business bullshit. Barracuda could be anyone from the local promotion man to the president of a record company. That is the barracuda. It was born out of that whole experience." [6]

Music

In a March 2019 interview with Gear Factor, Nancy Wilson said: "We'd been opening for a band called Nazareth in Europe and also for Queen. And Nazareth had a hit with a Joni Mitchell song that they covered [in 1973] called "This Flight Tonight" that had kind of that riff. So we kind of borrowed that. And we made it into 'Barracuda'. And we saw the guys from Nazareth later and they were pissed. 'You took our riff!' But that's kind of what everybody—you borrow from what you love and then you make it your own. It's one of those sounds too, it's one of those guitar tones that I'm still trying to figure out what we did. [Laughs] It's hard to re-create." [7]

Reception

"Barracuda" is a hard rock song incorporating elements of psychedelic rock. [2] Upon the song's release, it became Heart's second top-20 entry in the United States, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 20 weeks on the chart. [8]

Cash Box called it "an aggressive rocker, tempered with sparkling production and Ann Wilson's alluring lead vocal.." [9] Record World said that it is "tough, driving rock 'n' roll, topped by the Wilsons' evocative vocals." [10]

Usage at the 2008 Republican National Convention

"Barracuda" was played at the 2008 Republican National Convention in reference to John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, who claims she was known as "Sarah Barracuda" as a high school basketball star (and as "Sarracuda" after the convention, a play on her name). The Wilson sisters disapproved, as they disagreed with Palin's politics, and sent a cease-and-desist letter to John McCain's campaign, [11] despite the McCain campaign's claim to have lawfully purchased rights to use the song. [12]

In an appearance on a Seattle talk show, song co-writer and lead guitarist Roger Fisher announced he was thrilled with the RNC's use of the song, because it both resulted in royalties for the band and gave them an opportunity to publicly point out that he is a "staunch" supporter of Barack Obama. [13] Michael Derosier, a co-writer of the song and the band's drummer on the recording, also supports the use of the song by the RNC. [14] The McCain campaign continued to use the song, despite Nancy Wilson's statement to Entertainment Weekly that "Sarah Palin's views and values in no way represent us as American women." [12] [15]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Little Queen . [16]

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [35] Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart (band)</span> American rock band

Heart is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1973. The band evolved from previous projects led by founding members Roger Fisher (guitar) and Steve Fossen, including The Army (1967–1969), Hocus Pocus (1969–1970), and White Heart (1970–1973). By 1975, original members Fisher, Fossen, and Ann Wilson, along with Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier (drums), and Howard Leese formed the lineup for the band's initial mid- to late-1970s success period. These core members were included in the band's 2013 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Wilson</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1950)

Ann Dustin Wilson is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead singer of the rock band Heart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Wilson (rock musician)</span> American guitarist (born 1954)

Nancy Lamoureux Wilson is an American musician. She rose to fame alongside her older sister Ann as guitarist and second vocalist in the rock band Heart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretchen Wilson</span> American country singer

Gretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music singer and songwriter. She made her debut in March 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman", a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party. Wilson followed this album one year later with All Jacked Up, the title track of which became the highest-debuting single for a female country artist upon its 2005 release. A third album, One of the Boys, was released in 2007.

<i>Little Queen</i> 1977 studio album by Heart

Little Queen is the third studio album by American rock band Heart, released in May 1977 by Portrait Records. The album was recorded and mixed at Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle, Washington, from February to April 1977. On June 29, 2004, a remastered version of Little Queen was released by Epic Records and Legacy Recordings with two bonus tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic Man</span> 1975 song and single by Heart

"Magic Man" is a song by the American rock band Heart released as a single off their debut album, Dreamboat Annie. Written and composed by Ann and Nancy Wilson, the song is sung from the viewpoint of a young girl who is being seduced by an older man, much to the chagrin of her mother, who calls and begs the girl to come home. In an interview, Ann Wilson revealed that the "Magic Man" was about her then boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher, and that part of the song was an autobiographical tale of the beginnings of their relationship. Roger Fisher came up with the alternative tuning EADGDG for his guitar part. The album version of "Magic Man" features an over-two-minute instrumental break which consists of a guitar solo and the usage of a Minimoog synthesizer, while the single version of the song edits out most of this break, cutting it down from 5:28 to 3:29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy on You</span> Heart single

"Crazy on You" is a song by American rock band Heart from their debut studio album, Dreamboat Annie (1975). It was released in March 1976 as the album's third single in Canada and the album's debut single in the United States. It reached the top 25 in Canada and the top 35 in the US. It found more success in the Netherlands and Belgium where it peaked at number 2 and 13, respectively, in early 1977 after its release as the second single from Dreamboat Annie in those countries. It is considered one of Heart's signature songs as it is one of the most played tracks on classic rock radio stations in the US.

"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached No.13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A more well-known version of the song was recorded by the Beach Boys for their 1965 in-house live album Beach Boys' Party! In December, "Barbara Ann" was issued as a single with the B-side "Girl Don't Tell Me", peaking at No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 3 in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What About Love</span> 1985 single by Heart

"What About Love" is a song originally recorded by Canadian rock band Toronto in 1982. It was later recorded by American rock band Heart in 1985 and was released as the first single from the band's self-titled album, Heart. The band's "comeback" single, it was the first Heart track to reach the top 40 in three years, and their first top 10 hit in five. The song was also their first hit single on their new record label, Capitol Records. Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas, co-lead vocalists of Starship at the time, provide additional background vocals on the song.

The discography of the American rock band Heart consists of 15 studio albums, nine live albums, nine compilation albums, 64 singles and 35 music videos. The group, led by Ann and Nancy Wilson, have sold about 35 million records worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreamboat Annie (song)</span> 1976 single by Heart

"Dreamboat Annie" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Heart. It is the title track from their debut album Dreamboat Annie and was released as its third single in 1976. The song had originally appeared as the B-side to Heart's debut single "Crazy on You" earlier that year.

"Little Queen" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Heart. It was released as the second single from the band's second album Little Queen in 1977. The song is a midtempo rock and roll number similar in style to Heart's past hit "Magic Man" but much gentler than the album's hard rock debut single, "Barracuda". Although the song has endured as a fan-favorite amongst Heart's audience, "Little Queen" did not perform as well as previous singles when released, peaking at number sixty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kick It Out (Heart song)</span> 1977 single by Heart

"Kick It Out" is a short, fast-tempo hard rock song recorded by the rock band Heart, written by Ann Wilson. It was released as the third and final single from the band's second album Little Queen in 1977. When released the song did not perform as well as previous Heart singles, reaching number seventy-nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number sixty-seven on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heartless (Heart song)</span> 1978 single by Heart

"Heartless" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Heart in 1976 for their album Magazine. Issues with the band's previous record label Mushroom caused a delay in the album's release and "Heartless" was released as a single two years later, after the re-issue of their first single "Crazy on You".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straight On</span> 1978 single by Heart

"Straight On" is a song recorded by the rock band Heart. It was released as the first single from the band's 1978 album Dog & Butterfly. In the U.S., "Straight On" became Heart's third single to crack the top twenty, peaking at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was co-written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and Sue Ennis. "Straight On" was released during Heart's classic era and has been part of the group's setlist almost constantly since its release. It still was during their 2016 tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog & Butterfly (song)</span> 1979 single by Heart

"Dog & Butterfly" is a song recorded by the rock band Heart. It is the title track to the band's fourth studio album Dog & Butterfly and was released as the album's second single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never (Heart song)</span> 1985 single by Heart

"Never" is a song by American rock band Heart, released on August 29, 1985, as the second single from the band's eponymous eighth studio album (1985). It was written by Holly Knight, Gene Bloch and "Connie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">These Dreams</span> 1986 single by Heart

"These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their 1985 self-titled eighth studio album. It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The single's B-side track "Shell Shock", was also the B-side of Heart's previous single "Never".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This Man Is Mine (song)</span> 1982 single by Heart

"This Man Is Mine" is a song recorded by the rock band Heart. It was released in 1982 as the first single from the band's sixth studio album Private Audition.

"This Flight Tonight" is a song originally by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue. Scottish hard rock band Nazareth released the song as a single in 1973 that charted internationally.

References

  1. ↑ Vladimir Bogdanov; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine (eds.). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Hal Leonard. p. 518. ISBN   9780879306533.
  2. 1 2 Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (2019). Listen to Classic Rock!: Exploring a Musical Genre. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 1904. ISBN   9798216111931.
  3. ↑ "100 Best Hard Rock Songs Ever (According to VH1)". Stereogum . January 5, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Original TV Shows, Reality TV Shows". VH1. September 30, 2016. Archived from the original on September 4, 2002. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Ann; Wilson, Nancy; Cross, Charles R. (2012). Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll. Harper Collins. pp. 116–118. ISBN   9780062101693.
  6. ↑ "Classic Tracks: Heart's "Barracuda"". Mixonline. January 9, 1999. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Heart's Nancy Wilson: We Took 'Barracuda' Riff From Legendary Band". YouTube. March 5, 2019. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Heart Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  9. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 28, 1977. p. 18. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 4, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Heart to Sarah Palin: Don't Play 'Barracuda'". Fox News. September 5, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  12. 1 2 "McCain and Palin once again play 'Barracuda'". CNN. September 9, 2008. Archived from the original on September 11, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Heart's Roger Fisher thrilled with RNC 'Barracuda' play Archived September 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine " Summary and link to streaming audio. KIRO 97.3 FM
  14. ↑ On-air interview with Roger Fisher Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , by Dori Monson, 710 KIRO, Seattle
  15. ↑ "Exclusive: Heart's Nancy Wilson responds to McCain campaign's use of 'Barracuda' at Republican convention". Entertainment Weekly . May 9, 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009.
  16. ↑ Little Queen (liner notes). Heart. Portrait Records. 1977. JR 34799.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 136. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  18. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  19. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  20. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5417a." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Heart ((USA)) – Barracuda" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  23. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda". Top 40 Singles.
  24. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts H". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Heart – Barracuda". Singles Top 100.
  26. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending August 27, 1977". Cash Box . Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Heart – Barracuda" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". australian-charts.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Kent Music Report No 183 – 26 December 1977 > National Top 100 Singles for 1977". Kent Music Report . Retrieved January 8, 2022– via Imgur.com.
  30. ↑ "Top 200 singles of '77". RPM. Vol. 28, no. 14. December 31, 1977. p. 13. ISSN   0315-5994 . Retrieved October 12, 2016– via Library and Archives Canada.
  31. ↑ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1977". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1977". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  33. ↑ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1977 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 31, 1977. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1977" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  35. ↑ "British single certifications – Heart – Barracuda". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved August 20, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.