"Wordy Rappinghood" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Tom Tom Club | ||||
from the album Tom Tom Club | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | 1981 (UK) May 1982 (US) [1] [ page needed ] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 6:27 | |||
Label |
| |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Tom Tom Club singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"Wordy Rappinghood" on YouTube |
"Wordy Rappinghood" is the debut single by American new wave band Tom Tom Club, from their 1981 self-titled debut album. It uses part of a traditional Moroccan children's song and game, "A Ram Sam Sam", made popular by the 1971 Rolf Harris recording. In the United States, the song topped the Billboard Disco Top 80 chart along with "Genius of Love".
The song opens with the sound of a typewriter and features jarring synthesizer chords and a distinctive drum break. The words of the fifth verse are spoken in French: "Mots pressés, mots sensés, mots qui disent la vérité, mots maudits, mots mentis, mots qui manquent le fruit d'esprit" [6] which translate as: "hurried words, sensible words, words that tell the truth, cursed words, lying words, words that lack the fruit of the mind."
Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz had relocated to Nassau, Bahamas. A neighbor, Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records, invited them to record at his Compass Point Studios. Frantz and Weymouth co-opted Steven Stanley, a keyboard player who had worked as the sound engineer on Ian Dury's album Lord Upminster , and Monte Browne, a bass player formerly with T-Connection. [7]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"Wordy Rappinghood" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Chicks on Speed | ||||
from the album 99 Cents | ||||
Released | 2003 | |||
Length | 6:26 | |||
Label | Chicks on Speed | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Glove | |||
Chicks on Speed singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Wordy Rappinghood" on YouTube |
"Wordy Rappinghood" was covered by German electroclash group Chicks on Speed and released as the second single from their album 99 Cents in 2003. Their version featured guest vocals by other female musicians such as Miss Kittin, Kevin Blechdom, Le Tigre, Adult.'s Nicola Kuperus, and Tom Tom Club founding member Tina Weymouth. [23]
This cover was sampled in the song "Really Rappin' Something" by the Kleptones from the album From Detroit to J.A. in 2005. In 2007, the Playgroup remix of Chicks on Speed's version appeared on the compilation album FabricLive.33 by Spank Rock . [24]
Christopher Lloyd of Drowned in Sound described the song as an "ultra-catchy seven minute dancefloor killer". [25]
Chart (2003–2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium Dance (Ultratop Flanders) [28] | 5 |
Scotland (OCC) [29] | 72 |
UK Singles (OCC) [30] | 66 |
UK Dance (OCC) [31] | 4 |
"Wordy Rappinghood" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Uffie | ||||
Released | 2011 | |||
Length | 3:08 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | DJ Mehdi | |||
Uffie singles chronology | ||||
|
French-American electronic artist Uffie covered the song in 2011. The single, produced by labelmate DJ Mehdi, was released on April 18, 2011, through Ed Banger Records, Because Music and Elektra Records. [32] Her version was used in a global Evian ad campaign. [33]
"Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album The Game (1980). It was a worldwide hit, charting at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, from 4 October to 18 October. The song spent 15 weeks in the Billboard top 10, including 13 weeks in the top five, and 31 weeks total on the chart. It reached number two on the Hot Soul Singles chart and the Disco Top 100 chart, and number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The song is credited as Queen's best-selling single, with sales of over 7 million copies. This version was ranked at number 34 on Billboard's All-Time Top Songs.
Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and a founding member and bassist of the new wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club, which she co-founded with her husband, Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz. In 2002, Weymouth was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and as a side project from Talking Heads. Their best known songs include the UK top 10 hit "Wordy Rappinghood" and the US top 40 hit "Genius of Love", both from their 1981 debut album, and a cover of The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk" that reached the UK top 30.
Le Tigre is an American electronic rock band formed by Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson. They mixed punk's directness and politics with playful samples, eclectic pop, and lo-fi electronics. The group also added multimedia and performance art elements to their live shows, which often featured support from like-minded acts such as the Need.
Caroline Hervé, known professionally as Miss Kittin, is a French electronic music producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy. She released her debut solo album I Com in 2004, a second, BatBox, in 2008, and a third, Calling from the Stars, in 2013. She achieved international popularity with the singles "Rippin Kittin" and "Silver Screen Shower Scene".
Playgroup is a British dance act. It is the project of musician and designer Trevor Jackson.
"Love Will Save the Day" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston from her second multi-platinum studio album Whitney (1987). The song was released on July 5, 1988 by Arista Records as the album's fifth single. The song did not have a music video but still was successful, climbing into the US Top Ten. "Love Will Save the Day" is the fastest-tempoed song on the album Whitney. Written by Toni C, produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, it is one of the uptempo singles on the album that also included "I Wanna Dance with Somebody " and "So Emotional."
"Rapture" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fifth studio album Autoamerican (1980). Written by band members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released as the second and final single from Autoamerican on January 12, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Musically, "Rapture" is a combination of new wave, disco and hip hop with a rap section forming an extended coda.
Tom Tom Club is the debut studio album by American new wave band Tom Tom Club, released in 1981, containing the UK hit singles "Wordy Rappinghood", which reached No. 7 in June 1981 and "Genius of Love", which reached No. 65 in October of the same year. It was re-released in the UK in 1982 to include "Under the Boardwalk", which reached No. 22 in August 1982. When released in the United States, "Genius of Love" peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both "Wordy Rappinghood" and "Genius of Love" topped the US dance chart.
"Heaven" is a song by the Canadian singer and songwriter Bryan Adams recorded in 1983, written by Adams and Jim Vallance. It first appeared on the A Night in Heaven soundtrack album the same year and was later included on Adams' album Reckless in 1984. It was released as the third single from Reckless and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in June 1985, over a year and a half after the song first appeared on record. The single was certified Gold in Canada in 1985.
"Genius of Love" is a 1981 hit song by American new wave band Tom Tom Club from their 1981 eponymous debut studio album. The song reached number one on the Billboard Disco Top 80 chart, and was performed by Talking Heads in the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense.
Kevin Blechdom is an American experimental electronic musician and performance artist. She is based in Santa Cruz, California.
Nicola Kuperus is an American musician and artist. She is a member of the band ADULT. with her husband Adam Lee Miller. ADULT. owns and manages Ersatz Audio, a record label based out of Detroit, Michigan. In 2003 she sang on the Death in Vegas track "Hands Around My Throat", from the album Scorpio Rising and also contributed vocals to "I Dance Alone" on Swayzak's Dirty Dancing album.
"Freak Me" is a song by American R&B group Silk. It was released in February 1993 as the second single from their debut album, Lose Control. It was co-written and co-produced by Keith Sweat, for whom Silk was a touring opening act. Tim Cameron, Jimmy Gates and Gary "Lil G" Jenkins sing lead on the song. The song was the group's highest-charting hit, reaching number-one on both the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, and the U.S. Hot R&B Singles chart for eight weeks. On the Hot 100, this song also spent ten weeks at number two. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold over 1.3 million copies domestically.
Anna-Catherine Hartley, known professionally as Uffie, is an American-French singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and fashion designer formerly signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records.
FabricLive.33 is a DJ mix compilation album by Spank Rock, as part of the FabricLive Mix Series.
"Automatic" is a song recorded by American vocal group the Pointer Sisters for their tenth studio album Break Out (1983). The song was released by the Planet label on January 13, 1984 as the second single from the album. It was written by Brock Walsh and Mark Goldenberg.
"Just Be" is a song by Tiësto, featuring British singer and songwriter Kirsty Hawkshaw.
"Ram Sam Sam", also known as "A Ram Sam Sam", "Aram Sa-sa", and by other names, is a Moroccan song that has gained popularity as a children's song around the world since the mid-20th century.
"Pyromania" is a song performed by German Eurodance group Cascada, released as the first single from their fourth studio album, Original Me. It was written by Yann Peifer, Allan Eshuijs, and Manuel Reuter, and it was produced by Reuter and Peifer. The song was premiered on February 12, 2010, and was first released on March 19, 2010 by Zooland Records. "Pyromania" features Natalie Horler singing the whole song with guest male vocals speaking the "pyro-pyro" hook. Lyrically, the song is a play on words. It talks about a love and obsession with fire.
Soon after, other punk and new wave groups started playing around with [rap]. Later in 1981, the Tom Tom Club made "Wordy Rappinghood"...