" Fight for Your Right (to Party!)" (sometimes shortened to "Fight for Your Right") is a song by American rap group the Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....

, released as the fourth single released from their debut album Licensed to Ill

Licensed to Ill

In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Sources 100 Best Rap Albums.It is still the only album by a white hip-hop act to receive the coveted 5 mics from The Source....

(1986

1986 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...

). One of their best-known songs, it reached #7 on the Billboard 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, and was later named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The Beastie Boys also included the track on their hits album, The Sounds of Science in 1999

1999 in music

-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....

, and Solid Gold Hits

Solid Gold Hits

Solid Gold Hits is a greatest hits collection by Beastie Boys, released in November 2005. In contrast to 1999's The Sounds of Science anthology, Solid Gold Hits consists only of tracks that were released as singles...

in 2005

2005 in music

-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...

.

History

Ironically, the song, written by band friend Tom "Tommy Triphammer" Cushman (who appears in the video), was intended as a parody of party and attitude songs, such as "Smokin' in the Boys Room

Smokin' In the Boys Room

"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!, reaching #3 on the U.S. charts, and later covered in 1985 by Mötley Crüe, with the Crüe's version accompanied by a conceptual music video featuring Michael Berryman as the school...

" and "I Wanna Rock

I Wanna Rock

"I Wanna Rock" is a song from the album Stay Hungry by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister. In 2009 it was named the 17th VH1 Greatest Hard Rock Songs by VH1...

". However, the irony was lost on most listeners. Mike D commented that, "The only thing that upsets me is that we might have reinforced certain values of some people in our audience when our own values were actually totally different. There were tons of guys singing along to 'Fight for Your Right' who were oblivious to the fact it was a total goof on them."

The band Public Enemy sampled the song for their 1988 song "Party for Your Right to Fight". Both bands were signed by Def Jam at that time.

Despite probably being the group's most famous song, the Beastie Boys have expressed distaste for it. In The Sounds of Science liner notes

Liner notes

Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...

, MCA

Adam Yauch

Adam Nathaniel Yauch , , is a founding member of hip hop trio the Beastie Boys. He is frequently known by his stage name, MCA, and other pseudonyms such as Nathanial Hörnblowér.-Early life:...

 jokingly says the song "sucks", though they did not feel the album would be complete without it. The group has not performed the song live since 1987.

Sammy Hagar

Sammy Hagar

Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....

 covers the song on his 2008 solo album Cosmic Universal Fashion

Cosmic Universal Fashion

-Personnel:*Sammy Hagar - lead vocals, guitar*Michael Anthony - bass, vocals on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10*Billy Gibbons - vocals on track 6*Billy Duffy - guitars on track 4*Matt Sorum - drums, percussion on track 4*Bootsy Collins - backing vocals on track 8...

.

Warrant

Warrant (American band)

Warrant is an American heavy metal band from Hollywood, California, that experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its...

, Trixter

Trixter

Trixter is an American hard rock band from Paramus, New Jersey. The band achieved moderate success in the late 1980's and early 1990s but disbanded for several years as glam metal lost mainstream popularity...

, and FireHouse covered the song as an end of the show jam during Warrant's Cherry Pie tour.

Ke$ha covered the song as the finale on her 2011 Get Sleazy Tour

Get Sleazy Tour

The Get Sleazy Tour was the first concert tour by American recording artist Kesha in support of her first extended play, Cannibal. Officially announced on November 8, 2010, the tour visited the Americas, Australia and Europe. It was scheduled to visit Asia but due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake...

.

Blondie

Blondie (band)

Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...

 covers the song as an interpolation with their 1981 hit "Rapture

Rapture (song)

"Rapture" is a single by the American new wave band Blondie. It was released in January 1981 and was the second and final song to be released from the band's 1980 top 10 album Autoamerican, the first being "The Tide Is High", which had topped the chart in the US and UK. "Rapture" went on to reach...

" in the shows of their Panic of Girls Tour

Panic of Girls Tour

Panic of Girls Tour is the 2011 concert tour by the American New Wave band Blondie, made as part of the support of their album Panic of Girls...

.

Music video

Many elements of the music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 for "Fight for Your Right" appear to be influenced by George A. Romero

George A. Romero

George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...

's zombie horror movie Dawn of the Dead. In Dawn of the Dead a biker gang infiltrates a shopping mall and attacks the zombies with (amongst other things) pies-in-the-face. At one point a biker even smashes a television set with a sledge-hammer, just like MCA in this video. There are also numerous cameos in this video, including an unknown at the time Tabitha Soren

Tabitha Soren

Tabitha Soren , married name Tabitha Soren Lewis, is a former reporter for MTV News. She is perhaps best known as the public face for MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign designed to inspire young people to vote.Soren was born in San Antonio, Texas...

, Def Jam label mate LL Cool J

LL Cool J

James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...

, members of the punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law (band)

Murphy's Law is an American hardcore band from New York City, New York, formed in 1982. While vocalist Jimmy Gestapo remains the only founding member of the band, the line-up has consisted of former members of bands such as Skinnerbox, Danzig, The Bouncing Souls, Mucky Pup, Dog Eat Dog, Hanoi...

, as well as the Beastie Boys' producer, Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...

, who was shown wearing a Slayer

Slayer

Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

 shirt, who were also signed to Def Jam at the time.

Fight for Your Right Revisited

In 2011, Adam Yauch

Adam Yauch

Adam Nathaniel Yauch , , is a founding member of hip hop trio the Beastie Boys. He is frequently known by his stage name, MCA, and other pseudonyms such as Nathanial Hörnblowér.-Early life:...

 directed and wrote a surreal comedic short film entitled Fight for Your Right Revisited to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original video's release. The video serves as a short film for the single "Make Some Noise

Make Some Noise (Beastie Boys song)

"Make Some Noise" is a song by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released as the third single from their eighth studio album album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two . Following two other singles from the album, "Make Some Noise" was released on April 11, 2011, prior to the album's release...

" from Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is the eighth studio album by the Beastie Boys, released in 2011.The album was originally planned for release on September 15, 2009 under the title Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1, as the first installment of a two part set. The album was delayed after band member Adam "MCA"...

. Most of the non-sequitor dialogue between characters were a result of improvisation by the cast.

'Revisited' acts as a sequel to the events that took place in the original music video and features Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA (played by Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...

, Elijah Wood

Elijah Wood

Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...

, and Danny McBride, respectively) as they get into more drunken antics, before being challenged to a dance battle by the future Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA (John C. Reilly

John C. Reilly

John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...

, 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...

, and Jack Black

Jack Black

Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...

, respectively), coming out of a DeLorean.

The short also features a wide number of cameo appearances, including Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...

, Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...

, Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi

Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...

, Alicia Silverstone

Alicia Silverstone

Alicia Silverstone is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin .-Early life:Silverstone...

, Laura Dern

Laura Dern

Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...

, Shannyn Sossamon

Shannyn Sossamon

Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon is an American actress. She starred in the film A Knight's Tale, which gained her wider fame and praise. She has since established herself in Hollywood after starring in several films such as 40 Days and 40 Nights, Wristcutters: A Love Story, and One Missed Call...

, Kirsten Dunst

Kirsten Dunst

Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...

, Ted Danson

Ted Danson

Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...

, Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones

Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...

, Jason Schwartzman

Jason Schwartzman

Jason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...

, Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson

Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...

, Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler

Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...

, Mary Steenburgen

Mary Steenburgen

Mary Nell Steenburgen is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard, which earned her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...

, Will Arnett

Will Arnett

William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...

, Adam Scott

Adam Scott (actor)

Adam Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series Party Down and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation....

, Chloe Sevigny

Chloë Sevigny

Chloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...

, Maya Rudolph

Maya Rudolph

Maya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber...

, David Cross

David Cross

David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...

, Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom

Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...

, Martin Starr

Martin Starr

Martin Starr is an American television and film actor, known for his roles as Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and as Roman DeBeers on the Starz comedy series Party Down, as well as for his roles in the films Knocked Up, Cheats, and Adventureland.-Life and...

, and the actual Mike D, Ad-Rock & MCA. Many of the listed appearances only appear for a few seconds.

Although the song itself is not performed, it can be heard at the beginning of the short.

Chart performance

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	7
Dutch Singles Chart Mega Single Top 100 The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is...	10
German Singles Chart	25
New Zealand Singles Chart	17
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	7

External links

• Fight For Your Right Revisited at Hulu.com