Round and Round (Ratt song)

"Round and Round" is a song by the American band Ratt. It was released as a single in 1984 on Atlantic Records.

"Round and Round"
Artwork for US vinyl single, also used for German release with different titling layout
Single by Ratt
from the album Out of the Cellar
Released1984
Format7", cassette, CD
Recorded1984
Genre
Length4:22
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Beau Hill
Ratt singles chronology
"You Think You're Tough"
(1983)		 "Round and Round"
(1984)		 "Wanted Man"
(1984)
Music video
"Round and Round" on YouTube

Background

The song was written by group members Warren DeMartini, Stephen Pearcy, and Robbin Crosby.

It appears as the third track off Ratt's debut album Out of the Cellar. The tune was ranked number 51 on "VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s",[4] and was named the 61st best hard rock song of all time also by VH1.[3]

Music video

The music video finds the band set up in the attic of a rich family's mansion. They start to terrorize the family members during dinner while causing a major racket with their music. During the song's guitar solo, Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartini falls through the attic floor, onto the dining room table where the family members are eating. The video briefly features comedian Milton Berle, whose nephew Marshall Berle was Ratt's band manager at the time.

Milton Berle played the staid head-of-household and was cross-dressing to play the matron in the video. Both characters seem perturbed by the loud volume of Ratt's playing, and quickly leave the table. Meanwhile, a seemingly shy yet attractive woman is drawn by the music to the attic. On the way upstairs to the attic, her dress and wig fall off, and she gives herself a makeover. She appears in the attic as a completely different person, and begins dancing to the song. At the end of the video, the butler is seen dressed up as a metalhead and "rocking out" in a separate room.

The woman in the video is model Lisa Dean who would play the lead character, Diana, in the 1988 Michael Jackson music video for "Dirty Diana".[5]

Reception

"Round and Round" proved to be the biggest hit of Ratt's career, reaching No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

As of June 4, 2020 the song is at #18 on the Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales Chart, due to its recent use in a GEICO car insurance commercial.

"Round and Round" was used in season 1 of the series Supernatural and season 2 of the Netflix series Stranger Things. The song was also used in the end credits for Billy & Mandy Save Christmas and in the 2008 film The Wrestler. It also appeared in the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the fictional in-game radio station "V-Rock".

In 2020, the band was featured in a GEICO commercial performing the song.[6]

Track listing
  1. "Round and Round" – 4:22
  2. "The Morning After" – 3:33

Personnel

Charts
Year-end chart (1984)Rank
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[7] 87

References
  1. "100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop's Greatest Year". Rolling Stone. September 17, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  2. "Readers' Poll: The 10 Greatest Hair Metal Songs". Rolling Stone. February 5, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  3. Stosuy, Brandon (January 5, 2009). "100 Best Hard Rock Songs Ever (According to VH1)". Stereogum. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  4. "VH1 the 80's". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  5. "The Woman Above the Legs; LA Times, July 3, 1988".
  6. "Ratt GEICO Commercial" Ultimate Classic Rock
  7. "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96 no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-19.
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