Stories Behind the Arena Anthems

It's strange how some music played at sports events really catch on with crowds. Ironic that some of the most notable macho jock anthems have been written and/or performed by gay men like "YMCA" by The Village People, and "We are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You" by Queen. Then there are those anthems that come out of left field without any apparent rhyme or reason like "Who Let the Dogs Out?" by the Baha Men, and "Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam. And then (without preamble) there's "For Those Who are About to Die, We Salute You", complete with cannons firing, by kick-ass metal rockers AC/DC.

"For Those Who are About to Die, We Salute You"

According to AC/DC guitarist Angus Young, the group's lead singer Bon Scott gave him a book about ancient Roman warriors by English poet, scholar, and novelist ("I, Claudius") Robert Graves titled "For Those Who are About to Die, We Salute You."

A side note: they were inspired to add cannon fire to the song while watching the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Di on television. Speculation on my part, it was probably the cannons that helped make it a major stadium anthem.

"Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye"

Steam's 1969 song "Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye" was a million-selling hit in America and the UK and then it faded away for 15 years. The song didn't break out and become a popular professional sports stadium anthem until it was covered by British pop girl group Bananarama in 1983.

Strangely, the Bananarama spin on the song in their music video portrayed a feminist "girl power" message with the girls training in boxing gloves. Is there subtext here or what?

"Who Let the Dogs Out?"

How "Who Let the Dogs Out?" by The Baha Men became a hit song as well as a popular arena anthem is a baffler. The Baha Men are a Caribbean music group, superstars in their native Bahamas. The song originated from a record by Trinidadian musician Anslem Douglas.

After The Baha Men version of the song became a hit, Douglas tried to sue, claiming full authorship of the song. Unfortunately for Douglas, it was proven that he wasn't the sole author. The song's doggie bark chorus was originally composed for a Canadian radio jingle.

"Rock and Roll Part 2"

In 1972, Glam rocker Gary Glitter recorded the roaring almost-all-instrumental (except for the word "Hey!") anthem, "Rock and Roll Part 2." The song was a brief hit and then it faded then reemerged in the late seventies, when it was first played at a Colorado Rockies hockey game. The anthem immediately spread to other stadiums and other teams in other sports.

Unfortunately for Gary Glitter and his anthem, in 2005 he was arrested and convicted in Vietnam for child sexual abuse. For this reason, many stadiums have stopped playing "Rock and Roll Part 2."

"We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions"

No other group can claim the monster popularity of two stadium sports anthems like Queen. "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" are perennials. The supreme irony is that most macho sports fans could be unaware that the anthems originated from the late Freddie Mercury, an openly gay man.

"YMCA"

When The Village People recorded "YMCA", they were singing about YMCAs being notorious pick-up venues for gay men in the seventies. How this song became a sports stadium anthem is almost anyone's guess.

SOURCES:

"Arena anthems", John Moe, MSN, URL: (http://music.msn.com/music/features/arenaanthems)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadium_anthem

http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/denver/samadams/archives/2006/06/post_1.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/550343.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Will_Rock_You

"We are the Champions", Ken McCloud, Popular Music and Society, URL: (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2822/is_5_29/ai_n16850874/pg_16)

"Northern Exposure", Desa Philadelphia, Time, URL: (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,58398,00.html)