Fight for Your Right

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(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party) was the first single released from the Beastie Boys' breakthrough album, Licensed to Ill (1986). It is one of their best-known songs. It reached #7 on the Billboard 100, 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.

Ironically, the song was intended as a parody of party and attitude songs, such as Smokin' In The Boys' Room and I Wanna Rock. But 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."

Despite probably being the groups most famous song, the Beastie Boys have expressed distaste for it. In, The Sounds of Science, liner notes, MCA jokingly says that he thinks the song "sucks," though he didn't feel the album would be complete without it. The group has not performed the song live since 1987.

[edit] Pop Culture References

Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine covered this as a Lounge style on his 2000 album "Lounge Against the Machine" and his 2006 album "The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese".
The song was performed by former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in his reality TV show, Tommy Lee Goes to College.
The closing track of Public Enemy's album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is titled "Party For Your Right To Fight" in reference to this song; Atmosphere later included a track whose titled played on both songs, "Party for the Fight to Write", on their Lucy Ford album.
This song was the first song played on WCBS-FM after its switch to the Jack format.
Sammy Hagar now plays this song as a medley to close his shows--singing the first verse of "Summertime Blues," by The Who then inviting a guest on stage the sing the rest of the song.
Pennywise has covered the song live in concert.
The album's producer, and band's DJ, Rick Rubin appears in the film clip wearing the T-shirt of thrash metal band Slayer t-shirt who were another band on his label. Rubin can also be seen wearing AC/DC and Beastie Boys shirts.
A very young LL Cool J appears in the video
The song was featured in an episode of The Simpsons.
Green Day performed a medley of the choruses of Fight for Your Right, and We're Not Gonna Take It during a jam at the end of their Woodstock 94 performance.