Ghostbusters (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Ghostbusters
Artist = Ray Parker Jr.
from Album = Ghostbusters OST
B-side =


Released = 1984
Genre = Pop
Length = 3:46
Label = Arista Records
Writer = Ray Parker Jr.
Producer = Ray Parker Jr.
Last single = "Woman Out of Control" (1984)
This single = "Ghostbusters" (1984)
Next single = "Jamie" (1984)

"Ghostbusters" is a song recorded by Ray Parker Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks. It also reached number two on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in summer 1984.

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song.

Background

According to Parker, he was approached by the film's producers to create a theme song for the film. Unfortunately, he only had a few days to do so and the film's title seemed impossible to include in any lyrics. However, when watching television late at night, Parker Jr. saw a cheap commercial for a local service that reminded him that the film had a similar commercial featured for the fictional business. This inspired him to write the song as a pseudo-advertising jingle that the business could have commissioned as a promotion.

Parker was later the defendant in a copyright-infringement lawsuit which claimed "Ghostbusters" was too similar in musical structure to "I Want a New Drug", written and performed by Huey Lewis and the News (more specifically, the guitar riff which runs through the song). "I Want a New Drug" was a U.S. top-ten hit earlier the same year. The two parties settled out of court, with Parker paying Lewis a settlement. Details of the settlement were confidential until 2001, when Huey Lewis commented on the payment in an episode of VH1's "Behind the Music" in 2001. Parker subsequently sued Huey Lewis for breaching confidentiality; the lawsuit is ongoing. [ [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1442126/20010323/lewis_huey.jhtml Ray Parker Jr. Suing Huey Lewis Over 'Ghostbusters' Comment ] ] Ironically, Huey Lewis had at one point been asked to record a theme song for the movie, but turned it down for other commitments.

In later years, AutoNation adopted the theme for their advertising campaign.

Cover versions

* A version of the song with a different set of vocals serves as the theme song for the spin-off cartoon series "The Real Ghostbusters".
* Run DMC recorded a rap cover for the "Ghostbusters II" soundtrack
*Rapper Mistah F.A.B. samples the song in his single "Ghost Ride It".
*A cover of the song also appears on the debut album "Peep" by the Finnish band The Rasmus. It is available on their compilation album "Hell of a Collection" as well.
*British thrash metal band Xentrix covered the song as a single and released it in various versions on several albums. There was a bit of controversy when they used the Ghostbusters logo on the single sleeve without permission, but the band later reissued the single with different artwork.
*It has been covered by many other artists, notably many ska bands, as the song's metre lends itself well to a ska beat. A common ska cover available on the Internet is [http://www.attaboyskip.com/ Attaboy Skip's] "Ghost Chasing Science Guys", though like many popular songs it is frequently misattributed on peer-to-peer file sharing services, often to Goldfinger or the Mad Caddies.
*A remix of the song serves as the theme song for the cartoon series Extreme Ghostbusters.
* includes a remix of the Ghostbusters Theme as a playable track.
*"Ghostbusters" has also been remixed by many DJs, and become one of the more popular songs to use in mashups. Most famously it has been combined with Michael Jackson's "Bad" as "Bad vs Ghostbusters", and Nine Inch Nails' "The Hand That Feeds" as " [http://www.nathanchase.com/2005/04/ghost-that-feedsray-parker-jrs.html The Ghost That Feeds] ".
*The song was also covered by Mickael Turtle, an animated character, in 2005, and reached #5 in France on December 3, 2005, and #23 in Switzerland on January 15, 2006 ["Ghosbusters", by Mickael Turtle [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Mickael+Turtle&titel=Ghostbusters&cat=s Lescharts.com] (Retrieved December 16, 2007)] .
* British pop/rock band McFly covered it during their Motion In The Ocean tour in 2006. It appears on the DVD of their show at Wembly during the tour.
* Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song in their cartoon episode "Who Ghost There?"

In the media

The song is referenced in both the films and the cartoon series.

In "Ghostbusters II", at one point in the movie, Peter Venkman says, "Kitten, I think what I'm saying is that sometimes, shit happens, someone has to deal with it, and who you gonna call?"

In an episode of "The Real Ghostbusters", the Ghostbusters are trapped in an alternate reality New York populated by ghosts, where a group of ghosts called the Peoplebusters go around the city catching human beings. When they are fleeing from the Peoplebusters, the GBs pass a ghost dining in an outdoor cafe, who witnesses the scene and sings "When there isn't something strange/in your neighborhood/Who you gonna call?/Peoplebusters!"

It has been confirmed that the song will appear in the "".

The British band McFly also performed the song as it is one of the lead singer's (Tom Fletcher) favorite songs

Professional wrestler Jerry Lawler made a parody of the song in Memphis Wrestling entitled "Wimpbusters".

In the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Spike asks Buffy, "Who you gonna call?" then follows it with "God, that line is never gonna be usable again, is it?" to which she replies, "Probably not."

Disney produced an abridged music video of the song in the special "DTV Monster Hits", set entirely to clips from the 1938 cartoon "Lonesome Ghosts".

A musical number on the Kids' WB! show "Histeria!", about Theodore Roosevelt and his anti-trust campaign (featured in the episode "The Teddy Roosevelt Show"), was sung to the theme.

In the "Petergeist" episode of "Family Guy", Tom Tucker reports that the Griffin family's house is infested with ghosts. "Who they gonna call?" he asks. His co-anchor, Diane Simmons, suggests "Ghostbusters?" and Tucker replies with "No, Diane, their insurance. That's just stupid what you said."

In an episode of the TV show "Max and Paddy's Road To Nowhere", a motor mechanic who goes by the name of Mick Bustin has the slogan "When there's something strange/Underneath your hood/Who ya gonna call?/Mick Bustin" for his business, and Ghostbuster parody logos all over his auto shop. [ [http://youtube.com/watch?v=EpKaPo8qxJM YouTube - Max and Paddy Break into Garage ] ]

In the "Bloooo" episode of "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends", when Wilt asks Coco what to do for their "ghost" problem, Coco picks up a telephone, and Wilt says, "Who you gonna call?" Coco responds by saying "Co-coco!" in the same way the word Ghostbusters is said in the song. Wilt replies, "Nah, they've been out of business for years."

In the arcade

"Ghostbusters" was made a playable song in Beatmania IIDX 14 Gold.

Track listings

; Ray Parker Jr. version

;; 7" single (Arista)
# "Ghostbusters" — 3:46
# "Ghostbusters" (instrumental) — 4:03; Mickael the Turtle version

;; CD single (Universal)
# "Ghostbusters" (radio edit) — 2:26
# "Ghostbusters" (extended club original mix) — 5:07
# "Ghostbusters" (who's that remix long voix) — 6:15
# "Ghostbusters" (extended club instrumental mix) — 5:07
# "Ghostbusters" (vho's that remix long dub) — 6:12
# Mickael The Turtle - Teaser Video

Certifications

; Ray Parker Jr version

References

External links

* [http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_ray_parker_jrs/ Ray Parker Jr. discusses the making of 'Ghostbusters']
* [http://www.psychopathic.co.uk/gbusters/gbusters.htm The Unofficial Ghostbusters Remix Project] - lists popular cover versions, remixes and mashups