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The Wrestling Album is the debut soundtrack album released by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) on November 9, 1985, at the height of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection era.[2][3] It featured mostly theme music of wrestlers on the roster at the time. The Wrestling Album peaked at No. 84 on the Billboard album sales chart.[4] None of the singles received any heavy radio airplay nor did they crack the Top 100.
| The Wrestling Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | November 9, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:53 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| World Wrestling Federation chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Production
editMost of the songs were produced by Rick Derringer. David Wolff, at the time Cyndi Lauper's manager and boyfriend, was executive producer. The album was basically Wolff's concept. Jim Steinman composed and produced "Hulk Hogan's Theme", which was used on the Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling cartoon. Lauper participated on the album as a backing vocalist on "Real American" (which would eventually become Hulk Hogan's entrance theme) and "For Everybody" as well as producer of "Captain" Lou Albano's track under the pseudonym "Mona Flambé."[5]
The album was reissued in 1998 on CD by Koch Records, who licensed the master rights from Epic/Sony. A 30th-anniversary version was released in June 2015 on Sony's Legacy imprint.
The album's tracks are bridged with commentary from Vince McMahon, "Mean Gene" Okerlund, and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Three singles were issued from the album: "Land of a Thousand Dances?!!?" (in a shortened version with overdubbed saxophones), "Grab Them Cakes," and "Don't Go Messin' with a Country Boy." All three singles were issued in picture sleeves, and featured "Captain Lou's History of Music/Captain Lou" as the B-side. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper's track, "For Everybody," was a cover of the Mike Angelo & The Idols song "Fuck Everybody", with all of the profanity removed. A year after the album's release, Jim Steinman wrote lyrics to "Hulk Hogan's Theme" and re-released it as "Ravishing," the opening track of Bonnie Tyler's 1986 album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. Meatloaf can be seen briefly playing the drums in the music video for "Land of a Thousand Dances?!!?".
The gatefold cover features the majority of the WWF's 1985 roster posing in a recording studio, with McMahon, Okerlund and Ventura in the foreground and ring announcer Howard Finkel in the center.[6] Lauper can be seen on the back cover wearing a black wig and holding a Rickenbacker guitar.[7]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Land of a Thousand Dances?!!?" | The Wrestlers | 4:34 | |
| 2. | "Grab Them Cakes" |
| Junkyard Dog | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Real American[8]" |
| Derringer | 3:22 |
| 4. | "Eat Your Heart Out, Rick Springfield" | Jimmy Hart | Jimmy Hart | 3:06 |
| 5. | "Captain Lou's History of Music / Captain Lou" |
| "Captain" Lou Albano and George "The Animal" Steele | 3:32 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hulk Hogan's Theme" | Jim Steinman | WWF All-Stars | 3:56 |
| 2. | "For Everybody" | M. Fitzgerald | "Rowdy" Roddy Piper | 2:44 |
| 3. | "Tutti Frutti" | "Mean" Gene Okerlund | 2:02 | |
| 4. | "Don't Go Messin' with a Country Boy" |
| Hillbilly Jim | 2:15 |
| 5. | "Cara Mia" | Nikolai Volkoff | 2:10 |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Torreano, Bradley. The Wrestling Album at AllMusic. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
- ^ Montgomery, James (November 18, 2015). "'The Wrestling Album' at 30: The Inside Story of an Album that Started a Revolution". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ Thaxton, Tony (July 23, 2019). "The Wrestling Album" (podcast). Bizarre Albums. Spotify.
- ^ "Top Pop Albums". Billboard. January 18, 1986. p. 60.
- ^ Trex, Ethan (January 22, 2009). "Reviewing The Wrestling Album". Mental Floss. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ^ Trex, 2009
- ^ "Scanned images for The Wrestling Album (1985, Gatefold, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
- ^ Real American song, retrieved July 3, 2022
External links
edit- The Wrestling Album at Discogs (list of releases)