Godzilla (Blue Öyster Cult song)
1977 single by Blue Öyster Cult
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"Godzilla" is a single by U.S. hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, the first track on the band's fifth studio album Spectres. The lyrics are a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the popular movie monster of the same name. The single release had a picture sleeve featuring a promotional still from the movie Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.[4] Despite its failure to chart, the song received significant airplay on rock radio stations[5] and soon became a sleeper hit. The song, along with "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Burnin' for You," is one of the band's best-known songs and has become a staple of its live performances. It has been covered by bands such as moe., Racer X, Fu Manchu, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sebastian Bach, Double Experience and Fighting Gravity.[6]
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| "Godzilla" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Blue Öyster Cult | ||||
| from the album Spectres | ||||
| B-side | "Nosferatu" | |||
| Released |
| |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:41 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Donald Roeser a.k.a. Buck Dharma | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Blue Öyster Cult singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
Cash Box called it "a clever rocker tale of Godzilla...with a strong, catchy hook, excellent guitar and special effects."[7] AllMusic called it a "sturdy, tongue-in-cheek rocker" and said "[t]he melody captures the bombast of old-fashioned monster movie music [...]".[1]
History
In response to the song's absence from the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack, Blue Öyster Cult members Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma created their own parody called "NoZilla",[8] released only to radio stations.
It was the walk up song for New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui from 2003 to 2009.[citation needed]
In 2019, a cover of the song, sung by Serj Tankian, was featured in the credits of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, marking the first usage of the song in a Godzilla film.
Personnel
- Eric Bloom – co-lead vocals, stun guitar
- Buck Dharma – co-lead vocals, lead guitar
- Joe Bouchard – bass guitar, background vocals
- Albert Bouchard – drums, background vocals
- Allen Lanier – rhythm guitar
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[9] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||