Rebel Yell (song)

At a televised performance of VH1 Storytellers, Idol said that he had attended an event where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones were taking swigs from a bottle of "Rebel Yell" bourbon whiskey. He was not familiar with the brand, but he liked the name and decided to write the song.^[5]

The song was co-written by guitarist Steve Stevens. The instrumental introduction, which sounds like a combination of electric guitar and electronic keyboard, is performed by Stevens on guitar alone, who intended it to sound this way. Stevens states that he was inspired by acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke's style.^[6]

In 1984, music magazine Cash Box wrote that the song "combines the tough swagger and high-powered drive of 'White Wedding' with the decadent dance focus of 'Dancing With Myself.'"^[7]

“Rebel Yell” also garnered Idol his first Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards.^[8]

The song was also adopted by English Association football club Worthing FC as an official anthem. Idol went to secondary school in the town of Worthing, and with one of Worthing FC's nicknames also being "the Rebels", prompting the decision to affiliate.

• UK 7-inch vinyl single

1. "Rebel Yell"
2. "Crank Call"

• UK 12" vinyl single

1. "Rebel Yell"
2. "Crank Call"
3. "White Wedding"

• (1985 re-issue) UK 7-inch vinyl single

1. "Rebel Yell"
2. "(Do Not) Stand in the Shadows♱"

♱Recorded live at Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, California, March 1984.

• (1985 re-issue) UK 12-inch vinyl single

1. "Rebel Yell (Extended Version)"
2. "(Do Not) Stand in the Shadows♱"
3. "Blue Highway♱"

♱Recorded live at Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, California, March 1984.

In 1994, Idol released the single "Speed", a song from the box office hit film of the same name, with a live acoustic version of "Rebel Yell" accompanying the lead song on the UK CD single release.

Idol performed the track live with Miley Cyrus at the 2016 iHeart Festival.^[20]

"Rebel Yell" has been covered by many different bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan^[21], Children of Bodom, HIM, Drowning Pool, Scooter, Dope, Black Veil Brides, Adrenaline Mob, Bullets and Octane, Otherwise, Kill Hannah, Blue Stahli, and Queensrÿche. It was referenced in Against Me!'s 2007 song "Thrash Unreal" ("she can still hear that rebel yell just as loud as it was in 1983").

The song appears in a cassette tape in the video game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and can be heard during gameplay.^[22]

The song is featured in the video games WWE 2K16, BandFuse: Rock Legends and Guitar Hero World Tour, as well as in Rock Band 2 as downloadable content.

The song was parodied in a 1985 Sesame Street segment entitled "Rebel L" directed by Jon Stone, with Billy Idle (an Idol-lookalike Muppet) lying in his bedroom one night when he's awakened by a little rebellious letter L dancing and singing on his front lawn until the police arrive to stop it from disturbing the peace, which Idle and the officers end up singing and dancing along with.^[23] The song also appeared on Sesame Street compilation albums; 1993's Sesame Road, Volume 1^[24] and the 2014 digital album Lyrical Letters.

The music video of "Rebel Yell" appeared in the 1988 film Big starring Tom Hanks.

Quick facts Single by Scooter, from the album Our Happy Hardcore ...

"Rebel Yell"
Single by Scooter
from the album Our Happy Hardcore
B-side	"Euphoria"
Released	9 May 1996 (1996-05-09)[25]
Length	3:40
Label	Club Tools
Songwriters	Billy Idol Steve Stevens
Producers	H. P. Baxxter Rick J. Jordan Jens Thele Ferris Bueller
Scooter singles chronology
"Let Me Be Your Valentine" (1996) "Rebel Yell" (1996) "I'm Raving" (1996)
Music video
"Rebel Yell" on YouTube

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In 1996, "Rebel Yell" was covered by German dance music band Scooter, released on 9 May by the labels Club Tools and Scorpio Music as the third single of their second album, Our Happy Hardcore (1996). It was produced by the band and became a top-10 hit in Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands. In the UK, the song reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side is the track "Euphoria". The accompanying music video was directed by Rainer Thieding and filmed in Prague, the Czech Republic. It was produced by Chopstick Films.^[26]

• Rebel yell