Mr. Roboto
"Mr. Roboto" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Styx | ||||
from the album Kilroy Was Here | ||||
B-side | "Snowblind" | |||
Released | February 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Genre |
| |||
Length | 4:48 (Single Version) 5:30 (Album Version) | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dennis DeYoung | |||
Producer(s) | Styx | |||
Styx singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Mr Roboto"
| ||||
"Mr. Roboto" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, Kilroy Was Here (1983). It was written by band member Dennis DeYoung. In Canada, it went to #1 on the RPM national singles chart.[4] It entered on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and US CashBox Top 100 on February 12, 1983. On April 30 the song peaked at #3 on Billboard,but fared better on Cash Box, where it reached #1.[5][6][7]
Description and background
The Japanese lyrics at the beginning of the song are as follows:
どうもありがとうミスターロボット (Dōmo arigatō misutā robotto)
また会う日まで (Mata au hi made)
どうもありがとうミスターロボット (Dōmo arigatō misutā robotto)
秘密を知りたい (Himitsu o shiritai)
The lyrics translate into English as follows:
Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
Until the day we meet again
Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
I want to know your secret
The lyric "Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto" has entered popular culture as a catchphrase in the US and Canada.[8]
The song tells part of the story of Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK), in the rock opera Kilroy Was Here. The song is performed by Kilroy (as played by keyboardist Dennis DeYoung), a rock and roll performer who was placed in a futuristic prison for "rock and roll misfits" by the anti-rock-and-roll group the Majority for Musical Morality (MMM) and its founder Dr. Everett Righteous (played by guitarist James Young). The Roboto is a model of robot which does menial jobs in the prison. Kilroy escapes the prison by overpowering a Roboto prison guard and hiding inside its emptied-out metal shell. When Jonathan Chance (played by guitarist Tommy Shaw) finally meets Kilroy at the very end of the song, Kilroy unmasks and yells "I'm Kilroy! Kilroy!", ending the song.
Stan Winston, who would become well-known through his work on The Terminator, Aliens, Iron Man, and Jurassic Park, designed the Roboto costume and mask, which are displayed prominently on the cover of the album Kilroy Was Here.[9] The song's writer Dennis DeYoung did not think of the song as a single until his wife Suzanne, Dennis's friend Dave, and the staff at A&M suggested it as a good candidate. The track was released as the first single from the album at the last minute instead of "Don't Let It End" and turned out to be the band's last Top 5 US hit for eight years. As a result of this song, the Japanese phrase "domo arigato" entered popular American vernacular.[10] In addition, many have cited this song and the album as potentially having alienated older fans, some calling it "jumping the shark" for the band.[11] Though the song and album may not have resonated with older fans at the time, it remained relevant for younger generations, and James Young has said that due to the song, "we're a part of pop culture."[12]
"Mr. Roboto" has been described as synth-rock,[1][2] and techno-pop (or synth-pop).[3]
Reception
Cash Box reviewed the single, saying that "the group sings of the struggles of a creature with a human heart and an IBM brain. They communicate their message through such devices as a voice box intro and high tech, synth effects."[13] Billboard called it "a mesh of bouncy melody, electronically distorted vocals and a refrain in Japanese," saying that "the group bemoans the plight of 'modern man' oppressed by technology".[14]
Personnel
- Dennis DeYoung - lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizer
- Tommy Shaw - guitar, backing vocals, vocoder
- James Young - guitar, backing vocals, vocoder
- Chuck Panozzo - bass guitar
- John Panozzo - drums
Music video
The song's video, directed by Brian Gibson, depicts Jonathan Chance (played by guitarist Tommy Shaw) walking into the Rock Museum to meet Kilroy, and a robot approaches. After this, it morphs into five robots moving and dancing (choreographed by Kenny Ortega).[15] Shortly thereafter, the robots transform into the members of Styx, including a clean-shaven Dennis DeYoung (he shaved his trademark moustache off at the conclusion of the Paradise Theater tour in 1982). The video then alternates between the band playing the song on a stage and scenes from the Kilroy Was Here backdrop film. Then, the members of Styx morph back into the robots and DeYoung confronts the robots, screaming in the ear of one of the robots before collapsing. DeYoung awakens to see he is being experimented on and runs off. The video cuts back to the ending of the first scene and Jonathan Chance climbs on to the stage. Before the robot removes his mask to reveal Kilroy, another shot of the robot with lights on is used to end the clip.
Playing Mr. Roboto in the video was mime Robert Griffard.[16]
Single release
The song was released as a 45 RPM single in a 4:48 single edit, which has the synthesizer intro and a bar at the finale removed (available on Greatest Hits released by PolyTel in Canada in 1992), with the song "Snowblind" (from their previous album Paradise Theatre) as the B-side.
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] | 40 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] | 16 |
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] | 1 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] | 4 |
UK Singles (OCC)[21] | 90 |
US Cash Box Top 100[22] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100[23] | 3 |
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[24] | 3 |
West Germany (Official German Charts)[25] | 8 |
Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[26] | 11 |
Year-end chart
Year-end chart (1983) | Rank |
---|---|
US Cash Box Top 100 [27] | 17 |
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[28] | 28 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[29] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[30] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ a b Sweeney, Joe (June 26, 2010). "Ex-Styx frontman goes heavy on the cheese". The Buffalo News. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Jennifer Nicole (August 14, 2013). "Renegade Rockers". The Newport Daily News. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Whitaker, Sterling (February 28, 2015). "How 'Kilroy Was Here' Tore Styx Apart". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ "The Hot 100 : Apr 30, 1983 | Billboard Chart Archive". billboard.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
- ^ "Billboard". Billboard.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100–April 30, 1983" (PDF).
- ^ Kuhlmey, Matthias Paul (February 12, 2014). "Mr. Roboto". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ Wood, P. (April 2, 2014). "5 things to know about Styx." Gazette, p. B4.
- ^ Perusse, B. (March 26, 2007). "With all these fans, who needs critics?" The Gazette.
- ^ Penhollow, S. (June 1, 2007). "For Styx, still best of times supergroup embedded in 'fabric of pop culture'." Gazette, p. W3.
- ^ Ho, R. (January 17, 2008). "Sound Check: Rock of ages rolls with fans." The Atlanta Journal–Constitution, p. P9.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 5, 1983. p. 8. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. February 5, 1983. p. 61. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "HOLLYWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO HONOR KENNY ORTEGA WITH STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME IN FRONT OF THE FAMED PANTAGES THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD". Los Angeles Life and Style. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
- ^ Handy, Bruce (September 24, 2010). "An Interview With Randee Heller, Mad Men's Miss Blankenship". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 299. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Styx – Mr. Roboto" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6227." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Styx – Mr. Roboto". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100–April 30, 1983" (PDF). Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Styx Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Styx Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Styx – Mr. Roboto" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
- ^ "Top 100 Singles". Cash Box. Vol. XLV, no. 31. December 31, 1983. p. 50.
- ^ "Talent Almanac 1984: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Styx – Mr. Roboto". Music Canada. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
- ^ "American single certifications – Styx – Mr. Roboto". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
External links
"Mr. Roboto" on YouTube
- StyxCollector.com: Center For Roboto Research And Preservation Archived January 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- v
- t
- e
- Chuck Panozzo
- James "J.Y." Young
- Tommy Shaw
- Todd Sucherman
- Lawrence Gowan
- Will Evankovich
- Terry Gowan
- Styx
- Styx II
- The Serpent Is Rising
- Man of Miracles
- Equinox
- Crystal Ball
- The Grand Illusion
- Pieces of Eight
- Cornerstone
- Paradise Theatre
- Kilroy Was Here
- Edge of the Century
- Brave New World
- Cyclorama
- Big Bang Theory
- The Mission
- Crash of the Crown
- Regeneration: Volume I
- Regeneration: Volume II
- Caught in the Act
- Return to Paradise
- Arch Allies: Live at Riverport
- Styx World: Live 2001
- At the River's Edge: Live in St. Louis
- 21st Century Live
- One with Everything: Styx and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
- Best of Styx
- Lady
- Styx - Classics, Volume 15
- Styx Greatest Hits
- Greatest Hits Part 2
- Extended Versions
- Styx Yesterday & Today
- Rockers
- Come Sail Away – The Styx Anthology
- The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings
- "Best Thing"
- "Lies"
- "Lady"
- "You Need Love"
- "Lorelei"
- "Mademoiselle"
- "Crystal Ball"
- "The Grand Illusion"
- "Come Sail Away"
- "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)"
- "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"
- "Sing for the Day"
- "Renegade"
- "Babe"
- "Why Me"
- "Boat on the River"
- "Borrowed Time"
- "The Best of Times"
- "Too Much Time on My Hands"
- "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned"
- "Rockin' the Paradise"
- "Snowblind"
- "Mr. Roboto"
- "Don't Let It End"
- "High Time"
- "Music Time" / "Heavy Metal Poisoning"
- "Love Is the Ritual"
- "Show Me the Way"
- "Love at First Sight"
- "Paradise"
- "I Am the Walrus"
- Discography
- Kilroy Was Here
Category