Planet Rock

Album

Single

Label

Tommy Boy Records

Genre

Electro

Media Type

45s

Duration

6:25

Composer(s)

Robert Allen;Arthur Baker;John Miller;John Robie;Ellis Williams

Entered Chart

Jul 17, 1982

Peak Date

Sep 11, 1982

Released

1982

Recorded

Intergalactic Studio

Catalog #

823

B-Side

(instrumental)

Peaking at #48 on the Hot 100 in September 1982, "Planet Rock" was just the third rap song on that chart, following "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang (#36, 1979) and "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow (#87, 1980). But compared to other rap songs of the era, "Planet Rock" was in a different galaxy. Built around synthesizers and electronic elements, it was the template for a different class of hip-hop. Bambaataa (birth name: Kevin Donovan) was a New York DJ with an encyclopedic knowledge of music. One of the songs he often played in his set was a 1977 track by the German Electro band Kraftwerk called "Trans-Europe Express." After Bambaataa signed with Tommy Boy Records, their chairman, Tom Silverman, suggested using the song as the basis for a new composition. In a 1988 interview with Keyboard magazine, Silverman explained how it came together: "I thought it would be a great idea to use those rhythms and that kind of a sound in a black record, so Bambaataa and I went into the studio with Arthur Baker as the producer. We needed a guy to put synthesizers down, and somebody recommended John Robie, who had a danceable rock record out on this disco deejay service. He came over and we went into Intergalactic Studio, which, for $35 an hour, included a Neve board, a Fairlight, a Memorymoog, and a Roland TR-808. That was pretty much all we used. We had these giant orchestra hits in the tune, played in polyphony to make them sound even bigger. They were stock sounds from one of the Fairlight disks. Today, those chords are still the basis for samples on about 50 other records!" Even though this interpolated Kraftwerk's song "Trans-Europe Express," it didn't sample it directly. The three credited writers of "Planet Rock" are Bambaataa, producer Arthur Baker, and John Robie, who played the synthesizer. Arthur Baker, who produced this song, used many of the same musical elements on another project he was working on around the same time: an electro cover of Eddy Grant's song "Walking On Sunshine" by his group Rockers Revenge. "Sunshine" wasn't a hit in the US, but made it to #4 in the UK. Baker compared what he was doing to jazz, which was taking familiar hooks and adding something new to them. He also knew that Kraftwerk was popular with kids in New York City, but their record company wasn't pushing them there, which left the market open. According to producer Arthur Baker, the vocal effect on the "rock, rock, planet rock" section was made using a Lexicon PCM41 effects unit set to an extremely tight delay. The sound is similar to a vocoder, which funk acts like Zapp were using, but they didn't have one so they had to improvise. The proving ground for this song was a New York City club called The Funhouse, which drew a diverse crowd of about 2,500 revelers on Friday and Saturday nights. Bambaataa's label, Tommy Boy Records, would play their songs there to see if they were release-worthy. Released as a 12" single, Tommy Boy Records claimed that the song sold about 700,000 copies, making it one of the best-sellers ever in that format. The song was wildly popular in New York, where there were radio stations that played the song, but throughout the rest of the country, few stations would touch it. Since the Hot 100 was based on radio play and reports from selected record stores, "Planet Rock" achieved a meager chart position relative to its impact. A year earlier, Afrika Bambaataa released a song called "Jazzy Sensation" on Tommy Boy, this time with his rap crew dubbed "The Jazzy 5." The song was based on "Funky Sensation" by Gwen McGrae, and teamed Bambaataa with producer Arthur Baker for the first time. When they released "Planet Rock" the next year, it was with a different set of MCs: The Soulsonic Force. This was a time when the DJ was considered the star and the rappers could be interchangeable. In addition to "Trans-Europe Express," elements of another Kraftwerk song, "Numbers," also appear in this song, as does some of the synthesizer arrangement from the 1972 cover of "Theme From For A Few Dollars More" by the group Babe Ruth. For A Few Dollars More was a 1965 Western with the theme written by Ennio Morricone. Regarding the Kraftwerk influence, Bambaataa said in The Face: "I don't think they even knew how big they were among the black masses back in '77 when they came out with 'Trans Europe Express.' When that came out I thought that was one of the best and weirdest damn records I ever heard in my life... That's an amazing group to see – just to see what computers and all that can do." Note that Bambaataa took us to "Planet Rock," not "Planet Rap." Early practitioners of hip-hop considered their music an offshoot of rock, with rapping just one aspect of the art. Bambaataa was a DJ, so it made sense that his planet would rock, not rap. Over the next few years, Run-D.M.C. proclaimed themselves "King of Rock," LL Cool J Rocked The Bells, and Whodini got spooked in the "The Haunted House Of Rock." The term "rap" came to describe this music to a broad audience after "Rapper's Delight" was released in 1979, focusing attention on the rappers, not the producers or the DJ. In 1970, the term was used in song to describe a guy who smooth talks women: "The Rapper" was a #2 hit for The Jaggerz. Kraftwerk took issue with the group using the samples without permission and sued the record label. The settlement gave the German band a dollar for every record sold, leading Tommy Boy to charge more for the single to offset the loss. This was used in the movies White Boy Rick (2018), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Ali G Indahouse (2002), and Swordfish (2001). It was also used in the TV show Trailer Park Boys in the episodes "The F--kin' Way She Goes" (2005) and "I've Met Cats and Dogs Smarter Than Trevor and Cory" (2002). One of this song's many acolytes is DC Glenn of Tag Team, who told Songfacts: "The genesis of hip-hop, true, hip-hop, is 'Planet Rock,' because that started the whole B-boy revolution. You had Grandmaster Flash that was a certain type of hip-hop, but the true essence that everybody was able to deal with all over the country no matter who you were, was 'Planet Rock.' It was the ultimate party record. That's when breakdancing came and that's when the DJ became more relevant. That's when rocking the mic came became more relevant. In the beginning it was just two turntables and a microphone - the DJ cutting the scratching and a dude rapping. But the B-boy thing that was dance, that was the party."

Party people
Party people
Can why'all get funky?
Soul Sonic Force - can why'll get funky?
The Zulu Nation - can why'll get funky?
Yeah!

Just hit me
Just taste the funk and hit me
Just get on down and hit me
Bambaataa's jus' gettin' so funky, now, hit me
Yeah!
Just hit me

Just start to chase your dreams
Up out your seats, make your body sway
Socialize, get down, let your soul lead the way
Shake it now, go ladies, it's a livin' dream
Love Life Live
Come play the game, our world is free
Do what you want but scream

We know a place where the nights are hot
It is a house of funk
Females and males
Both headed all for the disco

The D.J. plays your favorite blasts
Takes you back to the past, music's magic (poof)
Bump bump bump get bump with some flash, people

Rock rock to the Planet Rock, don't stop
Rock rock to the Planet Rock, don't stop

The Soul Sonic Force - Mr. Biggs, Pow Wow, and M.C. Globe
We emphasize the show, we got ego
Make this your night, just slip it right, and by day
As the people say, live it up, shucks
No work or play, our world is free
Be what you be - be

Rock rock to the Planet Rock, don't stop
Rock rock to the Planet Rock, don't stop

You're in a place where the nights are hot
Where nature's children dance and set a chance
On this Mother Earth, which is our rock
The time has come, and work for soul, show you really got soul
Are you ready hump bump bump, get bump, now let's go, house

Twist and turn, the you let your body slide
You got the body rock and pop, bounce and pounce
Everybody just rock it, don't stop it
Gotta rock it, don't stop
Keep tickin' and tockin', work it all around the clock

Everybody keep rockin' and clockin' and shockin' and rockin', go house
Everybody say, rock it, don't stop it (Crowd repeats)
Well hit me, Mr. Biggs (Crowd repeats)
Pow Wow (Crowd repeats)
G-L-O-be -E (Crowd repeats)
The Soul Sonic Force

You gotta rock it, pop it, 'cause it's the century
There is such a place tht creates such a melody
Our world is but a land of a master jam, get up and dance
It's time to chase your dreams
Up out your seats, make your body sway
Socialize, get down, let your soul lead the way
Shake it now, go ladies, it's a livin' dream
Love Life Live

Zih Zih Zih Zih Zih (ad lib)
Everybody say, rock it, don't stop it (Crowd repeats)
Everybody say, shock it and pop it (Crowd repeats)
Everybody say, ich me sun chi (Crowd repeats)
Say, Planet Rock (Crowd repeats)
It's the sure shot (Crowd repeats)
Say, Planet Rock (Crowd repeats)
It's the sure shot (Crowd repeats)

So twist and turn, then you let your body glide
You got the body rock and pop, bounce and pounce
So hit me
Just taste the funk and hit me
Just get on down and hit me

Bambaataa's gettin' so funky, now hit me
Every piece of the world
Rate the message of the worlds
All men, women, boys, and girls, hey our Planet Rock is superb
Get on it

You got the groove, move (ad lib)
Feel the groove - fell it
Do what ya want but ya know ya got to be cool and boogie
Out on the floor, go down
Bring it low

Close to the ground
Everybody just rock it, don't stop it, gotta rock it
Don't stop
Keep tickin' and tockin'
Work it all around the clock
Everybody just rock it, don't stop it
Gotta rock it, don't stop (repeats)