White Riot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “White Riot” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Single by The Clash from the album The Clash |
|||||
| B-side | "1977" | ||||
| Released | March 18, 1977 | ||||
| Format | 7" vinyl | ||||
| Recorded | 1977 | ||||
| Genre | Punk rock | ||||
| Length | 2:01 | ||||
| Label | CBS CBS 5058 | ||||
| Writer(s) | Joe Strummer/Mick Jones | ||||
| Producer | Mickey Foote | ||||
| The Clash singles chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Music sample | |||||
"White Riot" was the first single put out by seminal punk band The Clash, in 1977. The song is featured on their debut album. It exists in two versions: the original on the UK version of the album, and the second (re-recorded, with a different intro) on the "White Riot" single and US version of the album released in the States two years later in 1979. The UK album version is 1:56 in running time, while the single and US album version run in at 2:01 respectively.
The song is short and intense, drawing influence from the Ramones' style of two chords played very fast. Mick Jones counts off "1-2-3-4" at the start (In the re-recorded version, it instead begins with the sound of a police siren).
Lyrically, the song is about class economics and race and thus proved controversial: many people thought it was advocating a kind of race war.[1] Rather, lyricist Joe Strummer was trying to appeal to white youths to find a worthy cause to riot, as he felt blacks in the UK already had. It contains a positive message in the lines "Are you taking over / Or are you taking orders? / Are you going backwards / Or are you going forwards?"
The song was written after Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon were involved in the riots at the Notting Hill Carnival of 1976.[1]
"White Riot" is considered a classic in The Clash canon, although as the band matured, Mick Jones would at times refuse to play it, considering it crude and musically inept. Over two decades later, Joe Strummer would perform it with his band the Mescaleros.
The B-side of the single was "1977", a non-album track. This song was along similar lines to "White Riot", suggesting that the music of Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones was no longer relevant.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed "White Riot" at number 34 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
This song was featured in the soundtrack for the game Tony Hawk's Underground.
Contents |
[edit] Cover versions
The song has been covered by, among others, hip-hop/punk rock band The Transplants, rock/folk/carnival band Camper Van Beethoven and Clash contemporaries Sham 69. The punk rock/Oi! band Cock Sparrer also did a live cover version of the song, which even appeared on their "The Best of Cock Sparrer" and "England Belongs to Me" albums. The Mekons' first single, "Never Been in a Riot" was a response to "White Riot."
"White Riot" was covered by the Angelic Upstarts who claimed live that they had written the song and "given it to Joe Strummer".
[edit] Charts
|
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Letts Don. (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World. Event occurs at 25:45–27:40.
[edit] References
- Gilbert, Pat [2004] (2005). Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash, 4th edition, London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1845131134. OCLC 61177239.
- Gray, Marcus [1995] (2005). The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town, 5th revised edition, London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1905139101. OCLC 60668626.
- Green, Johnny; Garry Barker [1997] (2003). A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Orion. ISBN 0752858432. OCLC 52990890.
- Gruen, Bob; Chris Salewicz [2001] (2004). The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Omnibus. ISBN 1903399343. OCLC 69241279.
- Letts Don; Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, Rick Elgood, The Clash. (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World [Documentary]. New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment; Dorismo; Uptown Films. Retrieved on 2007-11-26. Event occurs at 25:45–27:40. ISBN 0738900826. OCLC 49798077.
- Needs, Kris (2005-01-25). Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus. ISBN 085965348X. OCLC 53155325.
- Topping, Keith [2003] (2004). The Complete Clash, 2nd edition, Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111706. OCLC 63129186.
|
|||||||||||||||||
