The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Musicals (originally called “musical comedies”) were the stuff that originally made Broadway great.

But by the late 1960s – the heyday of psychedelic rock and hippie culture – musicals seemed hopelessly outdated. The salvation came in the form of the rock musical! It began with Hair (1967), followed by Jesus Christ Superstar (1971) and Grease (1971). And then, in 1973: The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The idea for Rocky Horror came from English actor Richard O’Brien. Since he was out of work at the time, he used the opportunity to try writing a stage play. He wrote everything himself – the story, the dialogue, and the songs (music and lyrics). His piece was meant to be a tribute to old science-fiction and horror films, those campy little “B-movies” he had loved since childhood. So the play is set in a vampire castle; there’s a Frankenstein figure (Dr. Frank N. Furter) and the monster he creates (Rocky), a sort of hunchbacked Quasimodo (Riff Raff) – and in the end, the “vampires” reveal themselves to be aliens from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. The whole thing: as trashy, loud, and absurd as possible.

In 1973, London was all about glam rock. Bands like T. Rex, Slade, and Sweet were topping the charts. On stage, rock musicians wore colorful costumes, glitter, makeup, and styled hair. Stars like Freddie Mercury and David Bowie were already playing with sexual identity. O’Brien, who describes himself as transgender, found glam rock liberating and adapted its sound for his show. Tim Curry, in the role of the alien transvestite Dr. Frank N. Furter, was praised after the stage premiere for his “flashy, Bowie-like performance.” The theme of fluid sexuality (what we’d now call “non-binary”) took on a bigger role in the show than O’Brien had originally planned.

The London stage production ran for nearly 3,000 performances by 1980. The play was translated into more than 20 languages. A cast recording was released, followed by the film adaptation (1975) and its soundtrack LP – with 16 songs. Of course, Tim Curry also starred in the movie. Richard O’Brien, the creator, played Riff Raff. It took some time before the film became a cult phenomenon. In Munich, a theater has screened it every week since 1977. The soundtrack album remains a perennial favorite.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Recording: 1974
Release: 1975
Label: Ode
Producer: Richard Hartley

Tracklisting

Side A

1. Science Fiction/Double Feature – 4:30
2. Dammit Janet – 2:51
3. Over at the Frankenstein Place – 2:37
4. The Time Warp – 3:15
5. Sweet Transvestite – 3:21
6. I Can Make You a Man – 2:07
7. Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul – 3:00
8. I Can Make You a Man: Reprise – 1:44

Side B

1. Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me – 2:27
2. Eddie – 2:44
3. Rose Tint My World
   • Floor Show – 2:46
   • Fanfare/Don’t Dream It – 3:34
   • Wild and Untamed Thing – 1:53
4. I’m Going Home – 2:48
5. Super Heroes – 2:45
6. Science Fiction/Double Feature: Reprise – 1:26

Vocals

Tim Curry – vocals (“Frank-n-Furter”)
Susan Sarandon – vocals (“Janet”)
Barry Bostwick – vocals (“Brad”)
Richard O’Brien – vocals (“Riff Raff”)
Meat Loaf – vocals (“Eddie”)

and others

Musicians

Count Ian Blair, Mick Grabham – guitars
John Bundrick – keyboards
Phil Kenzie – saxophone
Dave Wintour – bass
B. J. Wilson – drums

plus string orchestra, arranged by Richard Hartley

• The theme song is “Science Fiction/Double Feature.” Its lyrics are a tribute to the films, actors, and characters that inspired The Rocky Horror Picture Show – including Flash Gordon, King Kong, Doctor X, and Tarantula!
• The song is sung by Richard O’Brien himself, the show’s creator. In the film, however, only a woman’s lips (Patricia Quinn’s) are shown – syncing to O’Brien’s vocals.
• “Dammit Janet” features a hilariously disastrous marriage proposal. The phrase “Dammit Janet” quickly entered everyday English slang.
• The band was made up of musicians from London’s rock scene, previously heard with Procol Harum, Free, Rick Wakeman, and even the Beatles. (Due to legal reasons, Procol Harum’s Mick Grabham and B. J. Wilson couldn’t be credited on the original cover.)
• Many songs use classic rock ’n’ roll elements, such as the saxophone growl and high-pitched female vocals reminiscent of Wanda Jackson. Rock ’n’ roll was a key stylistic foundation of glam rock.
• The film’s imagery references earlier horror and vampire movies, as well as famous works of art (by Man Ray, Grant Wood, and others).
• “The Time Warp” parodies the “dance songs” that once introduced new dance crazes (like the “Charleston,” “The Twist,” or “The Hucklebuck”). The term “time warp” itself is a familiar sci-fi trope, used in Star Trek.
• The glam rock anthem of the film is “Sweet Transvestite,” Dr. Frank-n-Furter’s big entrance number. Glam rock guitar sounds also dominate “The Time Warp” and “Rose Tint My World.”
• Susan Sarandon was 28 at the time of recording – just at the beginning of a long, successful film career (Thelma & Louise, Dead Man Walking).
• Meat Loaf was 27 and still known only as a stage musical singer. His breakthrough album Bat Out of Hell came two years later.

According to TV Spielfilm: “At every Rocky Horror screening, the theater turned into a party. Dressed up like Frank N. Furter, Riff Raff, or Eddie, fans sang along at the top of their lungs and threw rice during the wedding scene.”

Find The Rocks Horror Picture Show Original Soundtrack on discogs.