Rock N Roll Nigger

Last updated
"Rock N Roll Nigger"
Song by Patti Smith Group
from the album Easter
ReleasedMarch 3, 1978 (1978-03-03)
Studio Record Plant Studios
Genre Punk rock
Length3:13
Label Arista
Songwriter(s) Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye
Producer(s) Jimmy Iovine

"Rock N Roll Nigger" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye, and released on the Patti Smith Group's 1978 album Easter .

Contents

While the song has always been controversial for its repeated use of the racial epithet "nigger", a remix was included on the soundtrack of the 1994 film Natural Born Killers and it has since been covered by several other artists, including Marilyn Manson (1995). [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

In October 2022 streaming services removed the song without comment, although the services did not remove cover versions of the song. [6]

Use of the word "nigger"

In the song, Smith self-identifies as a "nigger", which she uses to mean a rebellious and honorable outsider. [7] Duncombe and Tremblay suggest in White Riot that Smith is continuing Norman Mailer's tradition of The White Negro , adopting black culture to express things she believes her own culture will not allow, and rejecting the oppression white culture has historically imposed on others. [8]

In an interview following the release of Easter, Smith discussed the song with a reporter from Rolling Stone.

Reporter: The other day you said that if anyone was qualified to be a nigger, it was Mick Jagger. How is Mick Jagger qualified to be a nigger?
Smith: On our liner notes I redefined the word nigger as being an artist-mutant that was going beyond gender.
Reporter: I didn't understand how Mick Jagger has suffered like anyone who grew up in Harlem.
Smith: Suffering don't make you a nigger. I mean, I grew up poor too. Stylistically, I believe he qualifies. I think Mick Jagger has suffered plenty. He also has a great heart, and I believe, ya know, even in his most cynical moments, a great love for his children. He's got a lot of soul. I mean, like, I don't understand the question. Ya think black people are better than white people or sumpthin'? I was raised with black people. It's like, I can walk down the street and say to a kid, “Hey nigger.” I don't have any kind of super-respect or fear of that kind of stuff. When I say statements like that, they're not supposed to be analyzed, 'cause they're more like off-the-cuff humorous statements. I do have a sense of humor, ya know, which is sumpthin' that most people completely wash over when they deal with me. I never read anything where anybody talked about my sense of humor. It's like, a lot of the stuff I say is true, but it's supposed to be funny. [9] [10]

Reception

Because of its title and repeated use of the word "nigger", which in 1978 was already considered offensive, "Rock N Roll Nigger" received no mainstream radio airplay. [8] It was never released as a single, despite its popularity with live audiences. (The singles from Easter were "Because the Night"/"God Speed" in August 1977, and "Privilege (Set Me Free)"/"25th Floor" about 12 months later.)

In 2008, "Rock N Roll Nigger" was listed in The Pitchfork 500 , a music guide published by Pitchfork that lists the top 500 songs between 1977 and 2006. [11]

Marilyn Manson cover

Marilyn Manson covered the song for their 1995 album Smells Like Children . Of his decision to cover the song Manson explained: "I thought 'Rock N Roll Nigger' was a song that I could really relate to, and our fans could relate to, about being an outsider. I also thought that nobody else really, in our era of music, had the courage to do a cover of a song like that because, you know, they would get in trouble for the title but this song isn't about racism. It's about standing up for yourself." [12]

Sources

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References

  1. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Rock N Roll Nigger". Allmusic . Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ Murphy, Peter (August 20, 1997). "Nigger with attitude". Dublin, Ireland: Hot Press. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Patti Smith Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ Villepique, Greg (November 9, 1999). "Patti Smith: A punk icon in jeans and leather jacket, she added ecstasy and spiritual exaltation to the poet-songwriter equation". Salon.com . Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ Sinagra, Laura (December 2, 2005). "ROCK REVIEW; Celebrating 'Horses' and Everything After". New York Times . Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ Grow, Kory (2022-10-28). "Patti Smith's 'Rock n Roll N—-r' Quietly Removed from Streaming Services". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  7. ↑ Mahon, Maureen (2004). Right to Rock: The Black Rock Coalition and the Cultural Politics of Race . Duke University Press. pp.  204–205. ISBN   9780822333173.
  8. 1 2 Duncombe, Stephen & Tremblay, Maxwell (2011). White Riot: Punk Rock and the Politics of Race. Verso Books. pp. 18–23. ISBN   9781844676880.
  9. ↑ "A few observations on Patti Smith's "Rock n Roll Nigger"". www.greatwhatsit.com. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  10. ↑ "Patell and Waterman's History of New York · Patti Smith Catches Fire: 1978". ahistoryofnewyork.com. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  11. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott; Schreiber, Ryan, eds. (November 2008). The Pitchfork 500 . Simon & Schuster. pp. 15–16. ISBN   978-1-4165-6202-3.
  12. ↑ Ayugai, Ken (host) (1997-03-12). "Marilyn Manson Special". Vibe. MTV Japan.
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