Godzilla (song)

"Godzilla"
Japan single picture sleeve
Single by Blue Öyster Cult
from the album Spectres
B-side	"Nosferatu"
Released	November 1977 (1977-11) (album) February 1978 (single)
Recorded	1977
Genre	Heavy metal[1][2]
Length	3:41
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Donald Roeser a.k.a. Buck Dharma
Producer(s)	Murray Krugman Sandy Pearlman David Lucas
Blue Öyster Cult singles chronology
"Goin' Through the Motions" (1977) "Godzilla" (1977) "We Gotta Get out of This Place" (1978)

"Godzilla" is a single by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, the first track from the band's fifth studio album, Spectres. The lyrics are a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the popular movie monster of the same name. Despite failing to chart, the song received significant airplay on rock radio stations,^[3] and would go on to become a sleeper hit. The song is, along with "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Burnin' for You," one of the band's best-known songs and has become a staple of its live performances. It has been covered by bands such as moe., Racer X, Fu Manchu, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sebastian Bach and Fighting Gravity.^[4]

Parodies

In response to the song's absence from the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack, Blue Öyster Cult members Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma created their own parody called "NoZilla",^[5] released only to radio stations.

A parody called "Chinchilla" was sung by fictional character Donnie Baker (played by comedian Ron Sexton), in his familiar Kentuckiana accent, on the Bob & Tom Show.

In other media

• The song can be heard in the films Detroit Rock City and Dogtown and Z-Boys.
• Over a minute of the song was used for a promo for the Godzilla marathons that aired on TNT in the early 1990's.
• It was featured in an episode of Nip/Tuck.
• The chorus was used in a car commercial for AutoTrader.com, featuring a giant man grabbing cars out of dealerships to compare them.
• The song was used as the theme song for Robosaurus in 2013 and 2014.
• This song was the featured walk-up song for Major League Baseball player, Hideki Matsui.
• A cover version of the song appears as a playable track in Guitar Hero. The master track is available as a playable song in Guitar Hero Smash Hits, and as downloadable content for Rocksmith as well as the Rock Band series.

Personnel

• Eric Bloom – vocals, stun guitar
• Buck Dharma – vocals, lead guitar
• Joe Bouchard – bass
• Albert Bouchard – drums
• Allen Lanier – rhythm guitar

References