'Rock Lobster' reached #37 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1979 when reissued as a double A-side with ' Planet Claire' in 1986, it peaked at No. A major hit in Canada, the single went all the way to No. was the band's first single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached No. The version of 'Rock Lobster' released by Warner Bros. This quirky, intriguing cut from their self-titled LP should do the same for AOR-pop fans.' Chart performance Cash Box called it a 'silly yet utterly enjoyable affair.' Record World said that 'The dance-oriented -rock band from Georgia has already charmed critics and cults. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the song 'incredibly infectious' and 'memorable'.

Pierson played the song's bassline on a Korg SB-100 synthesizer in the 1979 version. Instruments used in the music include a baritone-tuned surf-style Mosrite electric guitar, a Farfisa combo organ, and drums. 'Rock Lobster' is written in the key of C minor (with a raised fourth in the chorus) and is in common time.

The chorus features Pierson and Wilson singing a long 'ahhh' at an ascending pitch, followed by Schneider exclaiming the phrase 'rock lobster!'. The song's innuendo-laden lyrics describe a beach party while mentioning both real and imagined marine animals ('There goes a dogfish, chased by a catfish, in flew a sea robin, watch out for that piranha, there goes a narwhal, here comes a bikini whale!'), with absurd noises accompanying each, provided by Kate Pierson on the higher-pitched sounds and Cindy Wilson the lower-pitched ones. The 1979 single version is edited down from the album version, which lasts about seven minutes and contains an additional verse.Īccording to a 'Behind the Vinyl' video with B-52's singer Fred Schneider for CHBM-FM, the song was mostly inspired by the 2001 Club in Atlanta, where instead of having a light show, the club projected a slide show with pictures of puppies, babies, and lobsters on a grill. It has the same lyrics as the re-recorded version, but with more lines during the sequence that lists marine animals. The original DB Records single version has a duration of 4:37, and is faster in tempo and more 'raw' than the 1979 single version, basically due to lower sound quality and the absence of a bassline. ( August 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

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