Yankee Rose (song)

Last updated

"Yankee Rose"
Yankee Rose.jpg
Single by David Lee Roth
from the album Eat 'Em and Smile
B-side "Shyboy"
ReleasedJune 18, 1986 [1]
Recorded1986
Genre
Length3:55
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Ted Templeman
David Lee Roth singles chronology
"Easy Street"
(1985)
"Yankee Rose"
(1986)
"Goin' Crazy"
(1986)

"Yankee Rose" is a song by American rock singer David Lee Roth, Raghu Acharya and features the prominent electric guitar of its co-writer, virtuoso Steve Vai. Roth's first single on his debut solo studio album Eat 'Em and Smile (1986), with lyrical allusions to the American national anthem and Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", as well as July 4, independence, flag unfurling, rocket flare, fire crackers, apple pie, and her torch light, was recorded as a tribute to the Statue of Liberty, [2] as the statue was completing a major renovation for the 100th anniversary of its dedication in 1886:

Contents

"coast to coast, sea to shining sea, hey sister, you're the perfect host"

"...nothing like her in the whole world"

The song was Roth's third Top 20 hit, the first two being covers of "California Girls" (peak #3) and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" (peak #12). "Yankee Rose" peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [3]

It also appears as a radio tune on the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the rock station "V-Rock". A cover of the song is the title song for the video game Rumble Roses and Rumble Roses XX performed by Teresa James.

Music video

Despite the song's topic, there were no visual references to the Statue of Liberty; rather it was a band performance with much sexual innuendo, bumping and grinding, as well as Roth rump shaking and even simulating coital insertion and thrusting with his microphone.

It featured a comical prolog of a gold medallion-wearing Indian convenience store clerk and various eccentric customers and their ensuing melodrama, as Bollywood-type music plays in the background from his radio. A mismatched newlywed couple arguing about a hotel room; a woman in a lei covered-bikini, buying a dozen boxes of breath mints, who passionately rebukes the clerk's advances; an obese woman screaming about over the counter laxatives, to which the clerk replies, "Not in my store you don't!"; a sleazy playboy in a suit (flanked by blondes in bikinis), played by Roth's co-creator Pete Angelus; and finally, David Lee Roth himself, shirtless, in the same blue and red tribal face paint seen on his album cover, head feathers and a loin cloth holding a spear, demanding "Give me a bottle of anything...and a glazed doughnut...to go," and cuts to the start of the song.

Charts

Chart (1986)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [4] 33
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [5] 29
US Billboard Hot 100 [6] 16
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [7] 10

Related Research Articles

<i>Fair Warning</i> (Van Halen album) 1981 studio album by Van Halen

Fair Warning is the fourth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on April 29, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records, the album peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200, while the single "So This Is Love?" failed to reach Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 110 on the Bubbling-Under list. The album sold more than two million copies in the United States, but was still the band's slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth era. Despite the album's commercially disappointing sales, Fair Warning was met with mostly positive reviews from critics. It was listed by Esquire as one of the "75 Albums Every Man Should Own".

<i>1984</i> (Van Halen album) 1984 studio album by Van Halen

1984 is the sixth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen studio album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full-length album to feature all four original members, although they reunited briefly in 2000 to start work on what would much later become 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Roth returned in 2007, but Eddie's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen's self-titled debut album are the band's best-selling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies in the United States.

<i>Eat Em and Smile</i> 1986 studio album by David Lee Roth

Eat 'Em and Smile is the debut studio album by former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, released on July 7, 1986, after his unpredicted successful debut EP Crazy from the Heat (1985).

<i>Skyscraper</i> (album) 1988 studio album by David Lee Roth

Skyscraper is the second full-length studio album by David Lee Roth, released during his solo career after his departure from Van Halen. It was released on January 25, 1988, on Warner Bros. Records, shortly after the commercially and critically successful Eat 'Em and Smile Tour of 1986–1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Don't Live Here Anymore</span> 1978 single by Rose Royce

"Love Don't Live Here Anymore" is a song written by Miles Gregory and originally recorded by Rose Royce. It was produced by former Motown songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield for Whitfield Records. Lead vocals were sung by Gwen Dickey and the song was released as the second single from their third studio album Strikes Again. The song was developed as a result of producer Whitfield's interest to work with Paul Buckmaster, the British arranger and composer. Together they asked songwriter Miles Gregory to write a song for them. Gregory's undergoing medical care for his deteriorating physical health became the inspiration behind the song. "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" incorporated the use of the Pollard Syndrum TwinDrum, and was one of the first songs to effectively use the sound reverbs of the instrument. The song was mainly recorded at music contractor Gene Bianco's house, where Dickey was present during the recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Wait</span> 1984 single by Van Halen

"I'll Wait" is a song by American rock band Van Halen, taken from their sixth studio album, 1984 (1984). It was written by band members Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, along with Michael McDonald, and produced by Ted Templeman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Highwaymen (country supergroup)</span> American country music supergroup

The Highwaymen was an American country music supergroup, composed of four of country music's biggest artists who pioneered the outlaw country subgenre: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Between 1985 and 1995, the group recorded three major label albums as The Highwaymen: two on Columbia Records and one for Liberty Records. Their Columbia works produced three chart singles, including the number one "Highwayman" in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hard Luck Woman</span> 1976 single by Kiss

"Hard Luck Woman" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss and the lead single from their 1976 album, Rock and Roll Over. It was originally written by Paul Stanley as a possible track for Rod Stewart, but after the success of the soft rock ballad "Beth", Kiss decided to keep it for themselves as a follow-up. Stanley has stated his admiration and love of Stewart's music numerous times, and that "Hard Luck Woman" was inspired by Rod Stewart, in particular the songs "Maggie May" and "You Wear It Well". While Stewart's music served as a partial inspiration for the song, the nautical themed song "Brandy" by American pop-rock band Looking Glass served as Stanley's main inspiration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundown (Gordon Lightfoot song)</span> 1974 single by Gordon Lightfoot

"Sundown" is a song by Canadian folk artist Gordon Lightfoot, from the titular album, released as a single in March 1974.

<i>Crazy from the Heat</i> 1985 EP by David Lee Roth

Crazy from the Heat is a 1985 EP by American rock musician David Lee Roth. His debut solo recording, it was released while Roth was still lead singer for Van Halen, though he parted ways with the band several weeks later and launched a solo career. The EP is certified platinum by the RIAA, having sold more than one million copies in the United States.

"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. While most sources state that O'Keefe was directly involved in composing the song, this has been questioned by others. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked in the United Kingdom on pirate stations Radio Atlanta and, as Tony Windsor, on Radio London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In a Big Country</span> 1983 song by Big Country

"In a Big Country" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country. It was released in May 1983 as the third single from their debut studio album The Crossing. The song reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1983. It was released in the US in the autumn of 1983 and peaked at No. 3 on the Top Rock Tracks chart and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December of that year. It reached No. 3 on the RPM Top Singles Chart in Canada on 26 November 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Halen discography</span> List of recorded material released by the US rock band Van Halen

Van Halen was an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972 by the Dutch-born American brothers Eddie Van Halen (guitar) and Alex Van Halen (drums), plus singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony. The band's discography consists of 12 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, and 56 singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh, Pretty Woman</span> 1964 single by Roy Orbison and the Candy Men

"Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 26, 1964, making it the second and final single by Orbison to reach number one in the United States. It was also Orbison's third single to top the UK Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at number one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's Every Woman</span> 1995 single by Garth Brooks

"She's Every Woman" is a song written by Victoria Shaw and Garth Brooks, and recorded by Brooks. It was released in August 1995 as the first single from the album Fresh Horses. It was a Number One hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in October 1995, becoming his 14th Number One on that chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just Like Paradise</span> 1987 single by David Lee Roth

"Just Like Paradise" is a song by American rock singer David Lee Roth. Released after he left Van Halen, it was produced by Roth and guitarist Steve Vai. The lead single from Roth's second solo album, 1988's Skyscraper, it reached the top 10 in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lee Roth discography</span>

David Lee Roth is an American rock singer best known as the lead singer of Van Halen. His solo discography consists of six studio albums, one extended play, one compilation album, and 20 singles. Of his eight albums, four have been certified Gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America. Eat 'Em and Smile, Skyscraper, and Crazy from the Heat are certified Platinum, and A Little Ain't Enough is certified Gold. As of 2012, all of David Lee Roth's Warner Brothers LPs are due for recertification.

"Rose Garden" is a song written in 1967 by American singer-songwriter Joe South. It was first recorded by Billy Joe Royal on his 1967 studio album Billy Joe Royal Featuring "Hush". Versions by South himself and Dobie Gray appeared shortly after the original. Gray's version became a minor hit in North America in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Nelson singles discography</span>

The following is a detailed discography of all singles released by American singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. A total of 25 Nelson singles have reached number one on music charts in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You're the Only Woman (You & I)</span> 1980 single by Ambrosia

"You're the Only Woman " is a song by American soft rock band Ambrosia, released in 1980 as the second single from the album One Eighty.

References

  1. "The Best" cd liner notes (1997)
  2. ""Yankee Rose" David Lee Roth". Rollingstone.com. 1986. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  3. "David Lee Roth – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 36. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was authorized by ARIA from 1970 to 1988.
  5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0722." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  6. "David Lee Roth Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  7. "David Lee Roth Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2021.