Whole Lotta Rosie

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"Whole Lotta Rosie"

Single by AC/DC
from the album 'Let There Be Rock'
B-side(s)	"Dog Eat Dog"
Released	1978
Format	CD
Recorded	1977
Genre	Hard Rock
Length	5:20
Label	ATCO
Producer(s)	Harry Vanda, George Young
AC/DC singles chronology
"Let There Be Rock / Problem Child" (1977)	"Whole Lotta Rosie" (1978)	"Rock 'n' Roll Damnation / Sin City" (1978)

"Whole Lotta Rosie"

Song by AC/DC
from the album Let There Be Rock
Released	March 1977
Recorded	January-February 1977
Genre	Hard Rock
Length	5:33
Label	ATCO
Writer(s)	Angus Young, Bon Scott, Malcolm Young
Producer(s)	Harry Vanda, George Young
Let There Be Rock track listing
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be (7)	"Whole Lotta Rosie" (8)	N/A

"Whole Lotta Rosie"

Song by AC/DC
from the album Let There Be Rock
Released	23 June, 1977
Length	5:33
Let There Be Rock track listing
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be (7)	"Whole Lotta Rosie" (8)	N/A

"Whole Lotta Rosie" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the eighth and final track on the band's fourth Australian album, Let There Be Rock, released in Australia in March 1977, and on its international version released in June the same year. The song was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott, and is about an obese woman with whom Scott had sexual relations.^[1] There is an ongoing search for the real Rosie on whom the song is based, although she has yet to be found.^[2] Some believe the title is a reference to the Led Zeppelin classic Whole Lotta Love, but it is more likely just a variation of the idiomatic English phrase "a whole lot of [something]": hence the chorus lyric, "you're a whole lotta woman".

The first verse reveals Rosie's substantial physical measurements (42"-39"-56"), and that she weighs nineteen stone (approximately 266 pounds/120.655 kilograms). Despite the woman's obesity, the singer finds her to be one of the most talented lovers he's ever experienced. On the Live from the Atlantic Studios disc, Scott describes the titular woman as "...a Tasmanian devil... weighs 305 pounds...," a measurement that differs from the "19 stone" lyric.

After the death of Bon Scott in 1980, Brian Johnson sang "Whole Lotta Rosie" in his audition as Scott's successor. One of AC/DC's most popular songs, live performances of "Whole Lotta Rosie" have been included on each of the band's the band's official live albums: three with Scott (If You Want Blood You've Got It, Live from the Atlantic Studios, Let There Be Rock: The Movie, the latter two released in 1997 as part of the Bonfire box set), and one with Brian Johnson (released on both AC/DC Live and its two-disc collector's edition. Only "The Jack" has also appeared on all five releases.) A live video of Whole Lotta Rosie also appears on the DVD Family Jewels from a 1978 appearance on the BBC's TV concert series Rock goes to College.

Current live performances of "Whole Lotta Rosie" is accompanied by a giant, inflatable "Rosie" as seen on the Live at Donington video. In March 2005, Q magazine placed the live version from If You Want Blood... at number 16 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

1 Eariler version
2 Trivia
3 Personnel
4 Production
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Eariler version

"Whole Lotta Rosie" had an earlier recording. This song was originally called "Dirty Eyes", and the recording can be found on Volts, part of the Bonfire box set.

Deserving of a place as an AC/DC classic in its own right, "Dirty Eyes" sets the "Rosie" riff into its place - albeit arranged differently - but has a less frenetic pace and feel about it.