Rockit
Encyclopedia
"Rockit" is a song
recorded by Herbie Hancock
. It was released as a single
from his 1983 album Future Shock. The song was written by Hancock, bass guitar
ist Bill Laswell
, and synthesizer
/drum machine
programmer Michael Beinhorn
.
's in Brooklyn NY, the song is the first recognized popular single to feature scratching
and other turntablist techniques, performed by GrandMixer D.ST
- an influential DJ in the early years of turntablism
.
Some years later turntablists such as DJ Qbert and Mix Master Mike
cited the song as 'revelatory' in the documentary film Scratch
, inspiring their interest in the instrument. The single was a major radio hit in the United Kingdom and a popular dance club song in the United States.
, directed by duo Godley & Creme
and featuring robot-like movable sculptures (by Jim Whiting
) dancing, spinning and even walking in time to the music in a "virtual house" in London
, England
, garnered five MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, including Best Concept Video and Best Special Effects. The video is unique in that it was edited to the sounds of the scratching of the song, and it employed new techniques never seen in a music video up until then. Hancock himself appears and plays keyboard only as a black-and-white image on a television
, which is smashed on the pavement outside the front door of the house in the closing shot.
, released in 1982 on Celluloid Records
.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
recorded by Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
. It was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from his 1983 album Future Shock. The song was written by Hancock, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
/drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
programmer Michael Beinhorn
Michael Beinhorn
Michael Beinhorn is an American musician and record producer.Beinhorn started his professional career as a musician, playing keyboards in Bill Laswell's Material during the 1980s...
.
History
Constructed and composed during the recording process at various studios, including Martin BisiMartin bisi
Martin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter.He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Angels of Light and Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning song Rockit,In 1979, Martin Bisi...
's in Brooklyn NY, the song is the first recognized popular single to feature scratching
Scratching
Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
and other turntablist techniques, performed by GrandMixer D.ST
Grand Mixer DXT
Grand Mixer DXT is an American turntablist. He was formely known as Grand Mixer D.ST. "D.ST" is a reference to Manhattan, New York City's Delancey Street on the Lower East Side...
- an influential DJ in the early years of turntablism
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
.
Some years later turntablists such as DJ Qbert and Mix Master Mike
Mix Master Mike
Mix Master Mike is an American turntablist and contributing member of the Beastie Boys.-Life and career:Born Michael Schwartz in San Francisco, California, Mix Master Mike is of German and Filipino descent. He first came to prominence upon winning the 1992 New Music Seminar/Supermen Inc...
cited the song as 'revelatory' in the documentary film Scratch
Scratch (film)
Scratch is a documentary film, directed and edited by Doug Pray. The film explores the world of the hip-hop DJ. From the birth of hip-hop, when pioneering DJ's began extending breaks on their party records , to the invention of scratching and beat-juggling vinyl, to its more recent explosion as a...
, inspiring their interest in the instrument. The single was a major radio hit in the United Kingdom and a popular dance club song in the United States.
Music Video
The music videoMusic 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...
, directed by duo Godley & Creme
Godley & Creme
Godley & Creme were an English pop music duo composed of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing albums as a duo after splitting from the pop band 10cc. In 1979 they directed their first music video for their own single "An Englishman in New York"...
and featuring robot-like movable sculptures (by Jim Whiting
Jim Whiting
Jim Whiting is a British artist and inventor. He was born in Paris and spent his early childhood in Salisbury , Zimbabwe before returning to the UK with his family in 1959...
) dancing, spinning and even walking in time to the music in a "virtual house" in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, garnered five MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, including Best Concept Video and Best Special Effects. The video is unique in that it was edited to the sounds of the scratching of the song, and it employed new techniques never seen in a music video up until then. Hancock himself appears and plays keyboard only as a black-and-white image on a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, which is smashed on the pavement outside the front door of the house in the closing shot.
Appearances in other media
- It is featured in the video games: Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE 2Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2, or Universe 2, is a music video game for the North American Xbox 360. Released by Konami Digital Entertainment on December 4, 2007, Universe 2 is a sequel to Dance Dance Revolution Universe released earlier the same year...
, Amplitude, Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
, DJ HeroDJ HeroDJ Hero is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe...
, and NBA Street Homecourt.
- It is featured in the 1986 Soviet Union film Office Boy, where young people break danceBreak DanceBreak Dance is a Commodore 64 computer game that relies on players making dancing moves that resemble the classic game Simon says.-Gameplay:...
in the street. This version of B.T. & The City Slickers was produced only once in Breakdance.
- It is featured in the 2007 film Kickin' It Old Skool as the song being played during two breakdance competitions, and a song that wakes the main character Justin, played by Jamie KennedyJamie KennedyJames Harvey "Jamie" Kennedy is an American comedian, rapper, and actor.-Early life:Kennedy, the youngest of six children, was born in Upper Darby Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family is of Irish descent and he was raised Roman Catholic. He attended and graduated from...
, from his 20 year coma.
- It appears in the film ZoolanderZoolanderZoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
, where it is used to break Derek's hypnotism during the finale catwalk scene.
- It was used for the radio program "Showboat" on Soccer AMSoccer AMSoccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
.
- It was covered by jazz group Re:Jazz, on their 2006 album Expansion.
- It was featured when Chris SkeltonChris SkeltonPC/DC Christopher "Chris" Skelton is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars and its spin-off Ashes to Ashes.- Life on Mars :...
danced to the song in Episode 5 of Series 3 on the BBC TV show "Ashes to AshesAshes to Ashes (TV series)Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
."
Trivia
The vinyl record GrandMixer D.ST. used to scratch out a rhythm as the song's tempo was the B-side of Change The Beat by Fab Five FreddyFab Five Freddy
Fred Brathwaite , more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American Hip hop historian, Hip hop pioneer and former graffiti artist...
, released in 1982 on Celluloid Records
Celluloid Records
Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the early to late 1980s, largely under the auspices of de facto in-house producer Bill...
.
Charts
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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... |
71 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
6 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
1 |
| 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 ... |
8 |
| Germany | 6 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 7 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 7 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 10 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 4 |
External links
- [ Song Review] from Allmusic
- Rock On The Net: 1984 MTV Video Music Awards