Rock Lobster

This article is about the song by the B-52's. For the crustacean, see Spiny lobster. For other uses, see Rock Lobster (disambiguation).

"Rock Lobster"
Warner Bros. vinyl rerelease
Single by The B-52's
from the album The B-52's
B-side
Released
  • April 1978
  • December 1979 (re-release)
RecordedFebruary 1978
Genre
Length3:57 (radio edit)
4:52 (single)
6:49 (album)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The B-52's singles chronology
"Rock Lobster"
(1978) 		"Planet Claire"
(1979)
Music video
"Rock Lobster" on YouTube

"Rock Lobster" is a song written by Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson, two members of the B-52's. It was twice recorded and released as a single, first by DB Records as their debut release in April 1978, and again the following year for the band's self-titled debut album on Warner Bros. Records.[7]

The song launched the band's career and became one of their signature tunes.[8] "Rock Lobster" was well received by critics, and went on to place at No. 147 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[9] list in December 2004. The song also inspired the name of Athens, Georgia's ice hockey team, the Rock Lobsters.

  1. ^ Echols, Alice (2010). Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-3930-7701-8. The B-52s' "Rock Lobster," another of the first new wave tracks to be played on disco dance floors, did not quite mock disco.
  2. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (July 17, 2000). "A Flock of Haircuts: New Wave". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
  3. ^ Talevski, Nick (2006). Rock Obituaries – Knocking on Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 725. ISBN 978-1-8460-9091-2. Featuring the quirky lead vocals of Fred Schneider, the group's début album, The B-52's (1979), became an instant classic with upbeat, lyrically amusing dance rock numbers such as 'Rock Lobster',...
  4. ^ Jackson, Josh (September 8, 2016). "The 50 Best New Wave Albums". Paste. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Pitchfork Staff (August 22, 2016). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 13, 2022. Amazingly, the song reaches a type of punk intensity, and Schneider yelling "Let's rock!" as the band clicks into a reckless frug-groove is one of the most thrilling moments of the '70s.
  6. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (June 25, 2022). "The Best Summer Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 10, 2023. Fred Schneider's brilliant Jacques Cousteau-gone-bonkers lyrics...made it a psychedelic beach rocker for the ages.
  7. ^ Clark, Jeff (August 2003). "Making It Up as You Go: How DB Recs Chronicled the South in the '80s". Stomp and Stammer. Vol. 8, no. 10. p. 30.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ALM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 147 – The B-52's, 'Rock Lobster'". Rolling Stone. December 11, 2003. Retrieved July 16, 2014.