"Dragula" is a debut solo single co-written and recorded by American rock musician Rob Zombie. It was released in August 1998 as the lead single from his solo debut Hellbilly Deluxe. Since its release, it has become Zombie's most recognizable song as a solo artist. It is also his best-selling song, and had sold over 717,000 copies in the U.S. by 2010.[3] The song is based on the drag racer "DRAG-U-LA" from the sitcom The Munsters.
| "Dragula" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Rob Zombie | ||||
| from the album Hellbilly Deluxe | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | August 24, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Studio | Chop Shop, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:42 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Rob Zombie Scott Humphrey | |||
| Producer(s) | Rob Zombie Scott Humphrey | |||
| Rob Zombie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Dragula" on YouTube | ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Dragula (Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare Mix)" on YouTube | ||||
The audio clip "superstition, fear and jealousy" heard at the beginning of the song is a sample of dialogue from the 1960 horror film The City of the Dead (also known as Horror Hotel), and is spoken by Christopher Lee.[4]
The song also appears on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future, the greatest hits album The Best of Rob Zombie. The original single included a big beat remix of the song by Charlie Clouser, entitled the "Hot Rod Herman" remix (in reference to the Munsters episode), which is contained on American Made Music to Strip By (under the name Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare Mix). Additionally, it appeared on the soundtracks for video games, films and TV shows.
Background and writing
editZombie told Billboard magazine that the title came from the name of Grandpa Munster's eponymous dragster DRAG-U-LA on The Munsters. He goes on to say that it "was a classic show with great comic characters. Strangely enough, 'Dragula' was one of the last songs finished for the record. It fell together really fast and worked, but it could just as easily not [have] been on the record."[5]
Music video
editThe music video shows Rob Zombie driving the Munster Koach (not the actual Dragula racing car) with various shots of the band members and different scenes from classic horror films, e.g. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) at the beginning of the video and the killer robot from chapter film series The Phantom Creeps (1939) along with home video footage of 1950s-1960s families being entertained by a clown with clips of nuclear testing mushroom clouds sardonically overlapping of when the clown and a girl are laughing, with the multi color backdrops referencing Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), also with footage of 1920s-1930s children being entertained and shocked. It achieved heavy rotation on MTV following the huge success of the album. The video also appears in the 1999 film Idle Hands.
Releases
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dragula" | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Dragula" (Hot Rod Herman Remix) | 4:36 |
| 3. | "Dragula" (Enhanced Music Video) | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 12:00 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dragula" | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Halloween (She Get So Mean)" | 2:50 |
| Total length: | 6:32 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dragula" | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Dragula" (Hot Rod Herman Remix) | 4:36 |
| Total length: | 8:18 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dragula" | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Super Monster Sex Action" | 3:00 |
| Total length: | 6:42 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dragula" | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Dragula" (Hot Rod Herman Remix) | 4:36 |
| 3. | "What Lurks On Channel X?" | 2:29 |
| Total length: | 10:47 | |
Covers
editThe song was covered by Mitchell Sigman for The Electro-Industrial Tribute to Rob Zombie in 2002. It was also covered by gothic metalcore band Motionless in White in 2009 and remixed by electronic rock band Crosses for the album Mondo Sex Head in 2012. Singer-songwriter Lissie covered the song for the horror film Haunt (2019).
In 2021, comedian Shane Gillis performed a cover of the song at Skankfest South.
In 2023, musician Little V Mills performed a cover of the song on Youtube.
Personnel
edit- Rob Zombie – vocals
- Riggs – guitars
- Blasko – bass
- Tempesta – drums
Additional personnel
edit- Rob Zombie – lyrics, artwork, music
- Tom Baker – mastering
- Paul DeCarli – additional programming
- Frank Gryner – additional engineering
- Scott Humphrey – production, engineering, mixing, programming
- Chris Lord-Alge – additional mixing
Charts
edit| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[6] | 1 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[7] | 44 |
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[8] | 16 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[9] | 6 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[10] | 27 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
In popular culture
edit- The Hot Rod Herman remix version of the song originally appeared in the 1999 Warner Bros. film The Matrix.[12] It was later heard in several video games including Sled Storm, Jet Set Radio, Gran Turismo 2, and Twisted Metal 4. In addition, the latter franchise featured the original version in the 2012 reboot and in Fortnite Festival.[13]
- The song is featured in the films Idle Hands and The Watcher, and in the TV shows Daria, King of the Hill, Alias, The Flash, and Echo.
- In the comic book The Green Hornet by Kevin Smith, there is a sequence where the son of the Green Hornet and the daughter of Kato defeat several gangsters who are singing the song in unison.
- Creature on the cover is from the 1939 serial The Phantom Creeps.
See also
edit- Trollhättan school stabbing, a 2015 mass stabbing in Trollhattan, Sweden, whose perpetrator played "Dragula" on his phone during the attack[14]
References
edit- ^ Kaufman, Gil (July 31, 1998). "Rob Zombie Solo Debut Is Monstrous". MTV. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^ "10 Greatest Nu-Metal Songs: Edsel Dope's Picks". 12 September 2022.
- ^ Chart Watch Extra: Halloween's Greatest Hits - Chart Watch
- ^ Law, Sam (May 17, 2021). "The 20 greatest Rob Zombie songs – ranked". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ Billboard, November 21, 1998 - Vol. 110, No. 47, Page 81.
- ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7034." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "Rob Zombie: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "Rob Zombie Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "Rob Zombie Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "Rob Zombie Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "British single certifications – Rob Zombie – Dragula". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ "The Matrix (1999) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ Brkljač, Bhernardo Viana, Ryan Galloway, Slobodan (2024-05-25). "All free Fortnite Festival songs today (May 2024)". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Eidenskog, Jakob (October 19, 2016). "Så rörde sig Trollhättemördaren genom Kronanskolan". Svt.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
