Cowbell
Encyclopedia
The cowbell is an idiophone
hand percussion
instrument
used in various styles of music including salsa
and infrequently in popular music
. It is named after the similar bell
historically used by herdsmen
to keep track of the whereabouts of cows.
.
, and sometimes in classical music
, as in Richard Strauss
's Alpine Symphony. Since they are tuned differently to distinguish individual animals, they can be collected "from the pasture" in random tunings, but commercial sets in equal temperament
are also available. The metal clapper is retained, and they sound much more noisy
than handbell
s, which are otherwise used similarly in ensembles.
Composers who included almglocken among their musical palette include Tōru Takemitsu
, Gustav Mahler
, Richard Strauss
, Roy Harter
, John Adams, Joseph Schwantner
, and Karlheinz Stockhausen
.
In several parts of the world (notably in West Africa) pairs or trios of clapperless bells are joined in such a way that they can be struck separately or clashed together. The Brazilian name for these is "agogo" bells. Cylindrical wood block
s played in the same way are also called "Agogô
". In Cuba
n music the cowbell is called cencerro and often played by the same player as the bongo
s. In Caribbean
music two or three are often mounted together with a pair of Timbales
.
This type of cowbell can also be played with the foot, using a modified bass drum pedal, or bowed with a double bass
bow
.
in the 1920s, there are numerous examples of the cowbell as an instrument in more recent popular music. Early pop recording examples include The Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today
" and Hugh Masekela
's 1968 instrumental "Grazin' in the Grass". The Roland TR-808
drum machine was noted for its distinctive cowbell sound, which sounded almost nothing like an actual cowbell; the sound was highly electronic with a sharp, short decay. Regardless of its lack of realism, the TR-808 cowbell became a popular sound in 1980s R&B and hip hop music
, popularized by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis-produced artists such as The SOS Band
and Janet Jackson
. Its distinctive and notorious timbre
has enjoyed continued use by hip hop
and R&B artists well into the 1990s and 2000s, as well as by bands in other genres such as Skinny Puppy
("Dig It"), the Super Furry Animals
("Juxtaposed With U"), Think Tank ("A Knife & a Fork") and the Dismemberment Plan ("You Are Invited"). DFA Records
are noted for using a lot of cowbell in their remixes.
The cowbell gained popular attention as the subject of a famous Saturday Night Live
skit popularly known as "More Cowbell
." That skit parodied Blue Öyster Cult
's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper
", one of the more successful pieces of popular music
to feature that instrument. The guitar riffs and cowbell drew from Born on the Bayou
by Creedence Clearwater Revival
.
Though Queens of the Stone Age
have also used the cowbell in many songs, the cowbell sound in their 2005 single "Little Sister" was actually achieved using a jam block
, but when they performed it on Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell, dressed like Gene Frenkle from the "More Cowbell" skit, got up on stage and played the jam block part on the cowbell.
Some popular songs where the cowbell has featured prominently include: "Holiday
" by Madonna
, "Loveshack" by The B-52s,"Low Rider
" by War
, "Pigs (Three Different Ones)
" by Pink Floyd
, "Tall Paul" by Annette Funicello
, "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
" by LCD Soundsystem
, "Electioneering
" by Radiohead
, "Mississippi Queen
" by Mountain
, "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister
, "Honky Tonk Women
" by The Rolling Stones
, "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
", "Why Don't You Get A Job?
", and "The Worst Hangover Ever" by The Offspring
, "House Of Jealous Lovers
" by The Rapture
, "Junebug" by The B-52s, "Hair of the Dog
" by Nazareth
, "Never Been Any Reason" by Head East
, "Oowatanite" " by April Wine
, Dance the Night Away" by Van Halen
, "I'm a Man
" by Chicago
, "We're An American Band
" by Grand Funk Railroad
, "A Hard Day's Night
", "Drive My Car
", I Need You
(middle eight) & Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
by The Beatles
, "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
" by Dead or Alive
, "Never As Good As The First Time
" by Sade
, "Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard
, and "Good Times, Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin
. Rage Against The Machine
utilized the cowbell in many songs, such as, "Township Rebellion", "Freedom
", and "Killing in the Name
". Guns N' Roses
have often used the cowbell, notably in "Nightrain
", "Welcome to the Jungle
" and "It's So Easy
". Similarly, Queen
used a cowbell in such songs as "Liar","Who Needs You
", and "Dragon Attack
". A cowbell is featured prominently in "Teach Me How to Dougie
" by Cali Swag District
.. A cowbell is used in both the album and single mix version of (You Drive Me) Crazy
by Britney Spears
, they are most closely identified with the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers minor league baseball team and Mississippi State University
, whose football
fans once smuggled in cowbells by the thousands despite a ban on artificial noisemakers by its conference, the Southeastern Conference
. New SEC guidelines effective with the 2010 season have now made cowbells legal at Mississippi State, with use limited to pregame, halftime, postgame, timeouts, and after a score. Elsewhere in college football, the cowbell can be found at Penn State
and Michigan
football games, where it is played with a particular rhythm and accompanying chant.
Worldwide, in cross-country skiing
, cowbells are often rung vigorously at the start and finishes of races, to cheer on the racers. They are used by cyclocross fans in much the same way. Cornell
ice hockey
fans who are also known for their zealous support of their team have cheers that feature use of a cowbell while in Lynah Rink
. The San Jose SaberCats
of the Arena Football League are also infamous for their fans' use of cowbells. In New Zealand
, supporters of the Waikato Rugby Union
invariably use cowbells at home matches; this has been carried over to home matches of the Chiefs
, the Super Rugby franchise centered on the Waikato
region. They are also rung vigorously during cyclo-cross
races. During University of New Hampshire
ice hockey games, a small group of fans at the base of the student section show their support for the UNH Wildcats with a cowbell. This group also leads the chants and shows their support with posters and other props. The Alaska Aces of the ECHL
are known for fans who are encouraged to ring cowbells throughout Sullivan Arena
and are well-known in Anchorage as the "Cowbell Crew". Finally the 2006–2007 American Basketball Association (ABA) champion Vermont Frost Heaves have a large cowbell following at their home games.
A small, intrepid band of Toronto Blue Jays
fans at Rogers Centre
frequently bring cowbells to Blue Jays home games. They are common enough at Tampa Bay Rays
home games that the stadium scoreboard graphics crew have a pre-built graphic that says "More Cowbell!!". The Everett Silvertips
fans also use cowbells, after the team watched the Saturday Night Live
skit while on their tour bus in their inaugural season, and said they wanted the fans to have cowbells. They have a "more cowbell" that sometimes shows on the jumbotron
. The Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Hockey League used the skit on their video scoreboard and "More Cowbell" as a catchphrase during the 2007 playoffs. Their goalie Edward Pasquale has several Will Ferrell
characters painted on his goalie mask, including the one from the Saturday Night Live skit with the cowbell.
The cowbell has become a tradition for the Melbourne Storm
fans in the NRL and is rung by a group of 3 people in a the active supporter bay behind the goals at AAMI Park, as well as a few other people around the ground.
Idiophone
An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument's vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes. It is the first of the four main divisions in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification...
hand percussion
Hand percussion
Hand percussion is a term used to indicate a percussion instrument of any type from any culture that is held in the hand. They can be made from wood, metal or plastic and are usually either shaken, scraped or tapped with fingers or a stick...
instrument
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
used in various styles of music including salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and infrequently in popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. It is named after the similar bell
Cow bell
A cowbell or cow bell is a bell worn by freely roaming livestock, so that they do not run away or wander off without being heard. While bells were used on various types of animals, they are typically referred to as "cowbells" due to their extensive use with cattle.A trychel is a large cow bell...
historically used by herdsmen
Herder
A herder is a worker who lives a possibly semi-nomadic life, caring for various domestic animals, in places where these animals wander pasture lands....
to keep track of the whereabouts of cows.
Origins
While the cowbell is commonly found in musical contexts, its origin can be traced to freely roaming animals. In order to help identify the herd to which these animals belonged, herdsmen placed these bells around the animal's neck. As the animals moved about the bell would ring, thus making it easier to know of the animal's whereabouts. Though the bells were used on various types of animals, they are typically referred to as "cowbells" due to their extensive use with cattleCattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
.
Tuned cowbells
Tuned cowbells or Almglocken, sometimes known as Alpine Bells (Alpenglocken :de:Alpenglocken in German), typically refer to bulbous brass bells that are used to play music, sometimes as a novelty act or tourist attraction in the northern AlpsAlps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, and sometimes in classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, as in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Alpine Symphony. Since they are tuned differently to distinguish individual animals, they can be collected "from the pasture" in random tunings, but commercial sets in equal temperament
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
are also available. The metal clapper is retained, and they sound much more noisy
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
than handbell
Handbell
A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle — traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic — and moves the wrist to make the hinged clapper inside the bell strike...
s, which are otherwise used similarly in ensembles.
Composers who included almglocken among their musical palette include Tōru Takemitsu
Toru Takemitsu
was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
, Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, Roy Harter
Roy Harter
Roy Harter is a New York Emmy award-winning, sound designer and audio mixer, best known for his work in television and film. He is also a multi-instrumentalist for various performing and recording artists...
, John Adams, Joseph Schwantner
Joseph Schwantner
Joseph C. Schwantner is a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer and educator and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He was awarded the 1970 Charles Ives Prize....
, and Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
.
Clapperless cowbells
Clapperless cowbells made of metal are an important element in Latin-American and go-go music. These cowbells are struck with a stick – the tone being modulated by striking different parts of the bell and by damping with the hand holding the bell.In several parts of the world (notably in West Africa) pairs or trios of clapperless bells are joined in such a way that they can be struck separately or clashed together. The Brazilian name for these is "agogo" bells. Cylindrical wood block
Wood block
A woodblock is essentially a small piece of slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. It is struck with a stick, making a characteristically percussive sound....
s played in the same way are also called "Agogô
Agogô
An agogô is a single or multiple bell now used throughout the world but with origins in traditional Yoruba music and also in the samba baterias . The agogô may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African Yoruba single or double bells...
". In Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n music the cowbell is called cencerro and often played by the same player as the bongo
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
s. In Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
music two or three are often mounted together with a pair of Timbales
Timbales
Timbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...
.
This type of cowbell can also be played with the foot, using a modified bass drum pedal, or bowed with a double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
bow
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
.
Cowbells in popular music
Although cowbells first appeared in American hillbilly musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
in the 1920s, there are numerous examples of the cowbell as an instrument in more recent popular music. Early pop recording examples include The Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today
Time Has Come Today
"Time Has Come Today" is a song recorded by The Chambers Brothers in 1966. It was then released on album in November 1967, and it spent five weeks at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1968....
" and Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...
's 1968 instrumental "Grazin' in the Grass". The Roland TR-808
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines . Introduced by the Roland Corporation in early 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real...
drum machine was noted for its distinctive cowbell sound, which sounded almost nothing like an actual cowbell; the sound was highly electronic with a sharp, short decay. Regardless of its lack of realism, the TR-808 cowbell became a popular sound in 1980s R&B and hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, popularized by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis-produced artists such as The SOS Band
The SOS Band
The SOS Band is an American musical ensemble, founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. Originally known as Santa Monica, the 'SOS' initialism in the band's name stands for Sounds of Success.-History:...
and Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
. Its distinctive and notorious timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
has enjoyed continued use by hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and R&B artists well into the 1990s and 2000s, as well as by bands in other genres such as Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
("Dig It"), the Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
("Juxtaposed With U"), Think Tank ("A Knife & a Fork") and the Dismemberment Plan ("You Are Invited"). DFA Records
DFA Records
DFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
are noted for using a lot of cowbell in their remixes.
The cowbell gained popular attention as the subject of a famous Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
skit popularly known as "More Cowbell
More Cowbell
"More cowbell" is an American pop culture catchphrase originally derived from an April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live comedy sketch which fictionalized the recording of the song " The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult...
." That skit parodied Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
" The Reaper" is a song by the rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1976 album, Agents of Fortune. It was written and sung by the band's lead guitarist, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and was produced by David Lucas, Murray Krugman, and Sandy Pearlman. It is built around Dharma's guitar riff that...
", one of the more successful pieces of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
to feature that instrument. The guitar riffs and cowbell drew from Born on the Bayou
Born on the Bayou
"Born on the Bayou" is the first track on Creedence Clearwater Revival's second album, Bayou Country. It was released as the B-side of the single "Proud Mary" and reached #2 on the Billboard Charts.As the songwriter, John Fogerty, commented:...
by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
.
Though Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
have also used the cowbell in many songs, the cowbell sound in their 2005 single "Little Sister" was actually achieved using a jam block
Jam block
A jam block is a modern, hard plastic version of the more fragile wood block, and is sometimes referred to as a "clave block", "gock block" or "tempo block"...
, but when they performed it on Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell, dressed like Gene Frenkle from the "More Cowbell" skit, got up on stage and played the jam block part on the cowbell.
Some popular songs where the cowbell has featured prominently include: "Holiday
Holiday (Madonna song)
"Holiday" is a song by American singer Madonna from her self-titled debut album. Released on September 7, 1983 by Sire Records, it later appeared remixed on the 1987 remix compilation You Can Dance and the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection, and in its original form on the...
" by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, "Loveshack" by The B-52s,"Low Rider
Low Rider
"Low Rider" is a song written by the band War and appearing on their 1975 album Why Can't We Be Friends?. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts and peaked at number seven on the Pop Singles chart....
" by War
War (band)
War is an American funk band from California, known for the hit songs "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?". Formed in 1969, War was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae...
, "Pigs (Three Different Ones)
Pigs (Three Different Ones)
"Pigs " is a song from Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals. In the album's three parts, "Dogs", "Pigs", and "Sheep", pigs represent the people whom Roger Waters considers to be at the top of the social ladder, the ones with wealth and power; they also manipulate the rest of society and encourage them...
" by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, "Tall Paul" by Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
, "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
Daft Punk Is Playing at My House
"Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" is the fifth single from LCD Soundsystem, released on February 21, 2005. The accompanying music video paid tongue-in-cheek homage to Spike Jonze's and Michel Gondry's music videos for Daft Punk's "Da Funk" and "Around the World," respectively...
" by LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
, "Electioneering
OK Computer
OK Computer is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on Parlophone in the UK and 1 July 1997 by Capitol Records in the US. It marks a deliberate attempt by the band to move away from the introspective guitar-oriented sound of their previous...
" by Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, "Mississippi Queen
Mississippi Queen
"Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic, it was their most successful single, reaching #21 in the Billboard Hot 100 record chart in 1970...
" by Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
, "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
, "Honky Tonk Women
Honky Tonk Women
"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
" by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
-Australia CD Maxi:-Europe CD Maxi:-Composition and lyrics:Beginning with a sample of the pseudo-German nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" from Def Leppard's song "Rock of Ages," chanted as a replacement for the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4" to start the recording, the song ridicules a...
", "Why Don't You Get A Job?
Why Don't You Get a Job?
"Why Don't You Get a Job?" is a ska song by The Offspring. The song is featured as the 11th track on The Offspring's fifth studio album Americana and was released as the second single from the album. The song also appears as the eighth track on the band's Greatest Hits album...
", and "The Worst Hangover Ever" by The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
, "House Of Jealous Lovers
House of Jealous Lovers
"House of Jealous Lovers" is a single by The Rapture, from their second album Echoes. The track was rated 16th and 6th respectively on Pitchfork Media and NME's tracks of the decade...
" by The Rapture
The Rapture (band)
The Rapture is an Indie rock band based in New York City. The band mixes influences from many genres including post-punk, acid house, disco, electronica and rock, pioneering the post-punk revival genre...
, "Junebug" by The B-52s, "Hair of the Dog
Hair of the Dog (song)
"Hair of the Dog" is the title track of Nazareth's 1975 album Hair of the Dog. It is sometimes called "Son of a Bitch" because of the repeated lyric in the hook . The title is a pun on the refrain...
" by Nazareth
Nazareth (band)
Nazareth is a Scottish hard rock band, founded in 1968, that had several hits in the UK in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog. Perhaps their best-known hit single was a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts", in 1975...
, "Never Been Any Reason" by Head East
Head East
Head East is an American hard rock band originally from South Central Illinois. The band was formed by vocalist John Schlitt, guitarist Mike Somerville, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Dan Birney, and drummer Steve Huston. They met and formed the band while studying at the University of Illinois,...
, "Oowatanite" " by April Wine
April Wine
April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969. According to the band, they chose the name 'April Wine' simply because members thought the two words sounded good together...
, Dance the Night Away" by Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, "I'm a Man
I'm A Man (Spencer Davis Group song)
"I'm a Man" is a song written by Spencer Davis Group singer-songwriter Steve Winwood and record producer Jimmy Miller.-Original version by the Spencer Davis Group:...
" by Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
, "We're An American Band
We're an American Band
We're An American Band is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad, credited as Grand Funk. The album was released by Capitol Records on July 15, 1973 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America a little over a month after its release. Two...
" by Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
, "A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (song)
"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
", "Drive My Car
Drive My Car
"Drive My Car" is a song primarily written by Paul McCartney, with lyrical contributions from John Lennon, and first released by The Beatles on the British version of the 1965 album Rubber Soul; it also appeared in North America on the Yesterday and Today collection...
", I Need You
I Need You
"I Need You" is a song by The Beatles and appears on the album Help!. It is the second George Harrison song the band released after two albums without any songwriting contribution from Harrison...
(middle eight) & Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" is a song written by John Lennon and performed by The Beatles on their 1968 album The Beatles, also known as "The White Album".-Origins:...
by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)
"You Spin Me Round " is a song by British band Dead or Alive on their 1985 album Youthquake. The song was the first UK number-one hit by the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. Released in November 1984, the record reached number one in March 1985, taking seventeen weeks to get there...
" by Dead or Alive
Dead or Alive (band)
Dead or Alive were a British New Wave band from Wirral, England, United Kingdom, Europe. The band rose to fame in the 1980s with their number one single on the UK Singles Chart, "You Spin Me Round ". They were the first group to have a number one single under the production team Stock Aitken Waterman...
, "Never As Good As The First Time
Promise (Sade album)
Promise is the second studio album by the English group Sade. It was released in the United Kingdom on 16 November 1985 by Epic Records and in the United States on 21 December 1985 by Portrait Records....
" by Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, "Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, and "Good Times, Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
utilized the cowbell in many songs, such as, "Township Rebellion", "Freedom
Freedom (Rage Against the Machine song)
"Freedom" was a single released by Rage Against the Machine from their self-titled album in 1994.The song is played in Drop D tuning on the guitars and has a distinctive riff in the intro and chorus...
", and "Killing in the Name
Killing in the Name
"Killing in the Name" is a song by American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, featured on their self-titled debut album, and was released as the lead single from the album in November 1992...
". Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
have often used the cowbell, notably in "Nightrain
Nightrain
Personnel=* Axl Rose - lead vocals* Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals* Slash - lead guitar, rhythm guitar* Duff McKagan - bass, backing vocals* Steven Adler - drums...
", "Welcome to the Jungle
Welcome to the Jungle
"Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on its 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. It was released as the band's second single on October 3, 1987, and reached number #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number #24 on the UK Singles Chart...
" and "It's So Easy
It's So Easy
-Personnel:* Axl Rose - lead vocals* Izzy Stradlin - rhythm guitar, backing vocals* Slash - lead guitar* Duff McKagan - bass, backing vocals* Steven Adler - drums-Cover versions:...
". Similarly, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
used a cowbell in such songs as "Liar","Who Needs You
News of the World (album)
News of the World is the sixth studio album by British rock group Queen, released in 1977. Containing hit songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Spread Your Wings", the album went 4x platinum in the US, 2x platinum in the UK, and achieved high certifications around the world as...
", and "Dragon Attack
The Game (Queen album)
The Game is the eighth studio album by British rock band Queen released on 30 June 1980. It was the only Queen album to reach #1 in the US and became Queen's best selling studio album in the US with four million copies sold to date, tying News of the Worlds US sales tally. The album received very...
". A cowbell is featured prominently in "Teach Me How to Dougie
Teach Me How to Dougie
"Teach Me How to Dougie" is a song recorded by American hip hop group Cali Swag District. The track was produced by Runway Star for Cali Swag District's debut studio album, The Kickback . The song was written by Chanti Glee, Charon Childs, and Corey Fowler...
" by Cali Swag District
Cali Swag District
Cali Swag District is an American hip hop group from Inglewood, California, founded by former Death Row Records artist Big Wy and Dairold Potts. The group's members are rapper-DJ C-Smoove and rappers, Yung and JayAre...
.. A cowbell is used in both the album and single mix version of (You Drive Me) Crazy
(You Drive Me) Crazy
" Crazy" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written and produced by Max Martin, Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger for Spears' debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time . It was released on August 23, 1999 by Jive Records, as the third single from the...
by Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
Sports use
Cowbells are sometimes popular noisemakers at sporting events, despite attempts to suppress them. While different sports teams seem to have their own story explaining the use of cowbells at their games, it's unlikely that so many teams across varying levels of sports and geographical regions would not have a common cultural reason for the practice. Although the origin of cowbell noisemakers is unclear, the most plausible explanation has to do with early baseball. Baseball games in the 19th Century were often played in cow pastures, as American society was agrarian-based at the time. Cowbells were easily found or taken from around the necks of cows in the pasture and were utilized as noisemakers. The tradition naturally grew to be common practice at various sporting events, not just baseball. In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, they are most closely identified with the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers minor league baseball team and Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
, whose football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
fans once smuggled in cowbells by the thousands despite a ban on artificial noisemakers by its conference, the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
. New SEC guidelines effective with the 2010 season have now made cowbells legal at Mississippi State, with use limited to pregame, halftime, postgame, timeouts, and after a score. Elsewhere in college football, the cowbell can be found at Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
and Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
football games, where it is played with a particular rhythm and accompanying chant.
Worldwide, in cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
, cowbells are often rung vigorously at the start and finishes of races, to cheer on the racers. They are used by cyclocross fans in much the same way. Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
fans who are also known for their zealous support of their team have cheers that feature use of a cowbell while in Lynah Rink
Lynah Rink
Lynah Rink is a 4,267-seat hockey arena at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, that opened in 1957. Named after James Lynah, Class of 1905, who was the director of Cornell athletics from 1935-1943, it is home to the Big Red men's and women's ice hockey teams.Lynah has been home to hockey greats...
. The San Jose SaberCats
San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...
of the Arena Football League are also infamous for their fans' use of cowbells. In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, supporters of the Waikato Rugby Union
Waikato Rugby Union
The Waikato Rugby Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Its senior representative team competes in the ITM Cup , and won the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup in 2006.Waikato Rugby Union was founded in 1921...
invariably use cowbells at home matches; this has been carried over to home matches of the Chiefs
Chiefs (Super rugby franchise)
The Chiefs are a professional Rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their home ground is Waikato Stadium. The Chiefs play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys...
, the Super Rugby franchise centered on the Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
region. They are also rung vigorously during cyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter , and consists of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and...
races. During University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
ice hockey games, a small group of fans at the base of the student section show their support for the UNH Wildcats with a cowbell. This group also leads the chants and shows their support with posters and other props. The Alaska Aces of the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
are known for fans who are encouraged to ring cowbells throughout Sullivan Arena
Sullivan Arena
The George M. Sullivan Arena is an arena in Anchorage, Alaska. The arena opened in 1983 and has a seating capacity of 8,700 for basketball, 6,251 for hockey...
and are well-known in Anchorage as the "Cowbell Crew". Finally the 2006–2007 American Basketball Association (ABA) champion Vermont Frost Heaves have a large cowbell following at their home games.
A small, intrepid band of Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
fans at Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
frequently bring cowbells to Blue Jays home games. They are common enough at Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
home games that the stadium scoreboard graphics crew have a pre-built graphic that says "More Cowbell!!". The Everett Silvertips
Everett Silvertips
The Everett Silvertips are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League that plays in Everett, Washington. They joined the league as an expansion team for the 2003–04 WHL season. The team name comes from the silvertip bear...
fans also use cowbells, after the team watched the Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
skit while on their tour bus in their inaugural season, and said they wanted the fans to have cowbells. They have a "more cowbell" that sometimes shows on the jumbotron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
. The Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Hockey League used the skit on their video scoreboard and "More Cowbell" as a catchphrase during the 2007 playoffs. Their goalie Edward Pasquale has several Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
characters painted on his goalie mask, including the one from the Saturday Night Live skit with the cowbell.
The cowbell has become a tradition for the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
fans in the NRL and is rung by a group of 3 people in a the active supporter bay behind the goals at AAMI Park, as well as a few other people around the ground.
See also
- Artificial noiseArtificial noiseIn the context of spectator sports, artificial noise is the use of artificial sound-making devices to show the audience's support.In organized sports' early years, noise, such as there was, came solely from the cheering of a team's supporters...
- Safri DuoSafri DuoSafri Duo is a Danish percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery and Morten Friis . Initially classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000...
- More cowbellMore Cowbell"More cowbell" is an American pop culture catchphrase originally derived from an April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live comedy sketch which fictionalized the recording of the song " The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult...
- AgogôAgogôAn agogô is a single or multiple bell now used throughout the world but with origins in traditional Yoruba music and also in the samba baterias . The agogô may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African Yoruba single or double bells...
- GonguêGonguêGonguê is a Brazilian percussion instrument. It's a type of Cowbell consisting of a big, flat iron bell, measuring from 20 to 30 cm, and a cable that serves as a support...
- SkrabalaiSkrabalaiThe skrabalai is a Lithuanian folk tuned percussion instrument consisting of wooden bells. Trapezoid-shaped wooden troughs of various sizes in several vertical rows with one or two wooden or metal small clappers hanging inside them. It is played with two wooden sticks. When the skrabalai is moved a...
- a Lithuanian wooden folk instrument originating from cowbells.