Frankenstein (instrumental)
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"Frankenstein" is an instrumental track by the American rock band Edgar Winter Group that was featured in the 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night and additionally released as a single.
The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1973. Frankenstein sold over one million copies. It fared equally well in Canada reaching number 1 on the RPM 100 Top Singles Chart the following month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same month, the song peaked at number 18 in the UK Singles Chart.<ref>Dafydd Rees & Luke Crampton, Rock Movers & Shakers, 1991 Billboard Books, Template:ISBN</ref> The following month, the song peaked at number 10 in Mexico. The song also peaked at number 39 in West Germany, remaining on the chart for one week. The single was certified gold on June 19, 1973, by the RIAA.<ref name="RIAA"/>
Background
Coined by the band's drummer Chuck Ruff, the song's title came about from the massive editing of the original studio recording. As the band deviated from the musical arrangement into less structured jams, the song required numerous edits to shorten it. The final track was spliced together from many sections of the original recording. Winter also frequently referred to the appropriateness of the name in relation to its "monster-like, lumbering beat". (One riff was first used by Winter in the song "Hung Up", on his jazz-oriented first album Entrance. He later tried a variation on it, "Martians" on the 1981 Standing on Rock album.)
Winter played many of the instruments on the track, including keyboards, alto saxophone and timbales.<ref name="corbett">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As the release's only instrumental cut, the song was not initially intended to be on the album, and was only included on a whim as a last-minute addition. It was originally released as the B-side to "Hangin' Around", but the two were soon reversed by the label when disc jockeys nationwide in the United States, as well as in Canada, were inundated with phone calls and realized this was the hit.<ref name="corbett"/> The song features a "double" drum solo, with Ruff on drums and Winter on percussion. In fact, the working title of the song was "The Double Drum Song".<ref>Morse, Tim. Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time, 1998.</ref> The group performed the song, with Rick Derringer on guitar, on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> The version featured there was over 9 minutes and is considered superior to the studio version at less than 5 minutes.
Record World called the song "a thumping instrumental featuring fine performances by each member [of the group]."<ref name=rw>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
The song was actually performed three years previously when Edgar was playing with his older brother Johnny Winter at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970. This rare recording was released in 2004 as one of several live bonus tracks included in the two-disc Legacy Edition CD of Johnny Winter's Second Winter.
Rolling Stone listed it number 7 on their top 25 best rock instrumentals.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sections of the track were edited and sequenced into idents and jingles for Alan Freeman's Top 40 and Saturday Rock Show on UK's BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 for many years, often followed with Freeman's trademark opening line "Greetings Pop Pickers..."Template:Citation needed
In live performances of the song, Edgar Winter further pioneered the advancement of the synthesizer as a lead instrument by becoming the first person to strap a keyboard instrument around his neck, giving him the on-stage mobility and audience interaction of guitar players.<ref>Keyboard Magazine, November 01, 2008, p. 19</ref>
The song is described as a hard rock,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> progressive rock, and blues rock instrumental,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Number Ones 2022">Template:Cite book</ref> and an example of art rock by non-art rock bands.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1983, Winter released a beat-heavy, more-synthesizer-heavy reworking of the song;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> its contemporaneous video, an homage with Winter appearing as Dr. Frankenstein, was added to MTV's playlist in November of that year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personnel
- Edgar Winter – ARP 2600 synthesizer, electric piano, alto saxophone,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> timbales
- Ronnie Montrose – guitar (1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Dan Hartman – bass
- Chuck Ruff – drums
- Rick Derringer – producer
Cover versions
A cover version performed by WaveGroup Sound was featured in the video game Guitar Hero as one of five tracks in its sixth and highest difficulty tier, referred to in-game as "Face Melters".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The band Phish has played the song live 94 times in the course of all their live shows.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band performed the song while Edgar Winter was part of the band, with Winter playing synthesizer, alto saxophone and timbales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Chart performance
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref> | 19 |
| Canadian Singles Chart<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1 |
| West German Singles Chart<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 39 |
| Mexican Singles Chart<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 10 |
| UK Singles Chart<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 18 |
| Billboard Hot 100 (US)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1973) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Canada <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 22 |
Certifications
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